From Kate.Brooks at csiro.au Mon Jan 14 11:55:51 2013 From: Kate.Brooks at csiro.au (Kate Brooks) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:55:51 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Astroinformatics Summer School 2013 - Closing date for registration 15 January 2013 Message-ID: Astroinformatics Summer School 2013 We invite researchers working in Astrophysics to attend the ASA/ANITA Astroinformatics school, which will be held on the 18th-20th February (before the ANITA workshop) at the University of Queensland. The Astroinformatics School is a 3-day program of lectures and tutorials designed to serve as an introduction to a wide range of IT tools that are essential for the modern astronomer, especially PhD students. These skills include programming, Unix scripting, database construction and use, internet technologies and data mining. The program is based on a first year IT course developed by James Curran and Tara Murphy at the University of Sydney but with all the activities tailored to astronomers. It includes online learning material, example code, and lecture/tutorial notes. One critical feature of the program is that all participants install the required software onto their laptops, which they use throughout the summer school. Most sessions are interactive, with the participants following the examples ?live?. The advantage of this is that at the end of the program they can continue to use all the software (e.g. scripting, databases etc) that they have been working on. There will be a AUD 110 fee to attend the Summer School, but this will be waived for students. We also have some limited funds to support the travel of students who have no alternative travel funding. If you wish to apply for such funding, please let us know when you register. The closing date for registration is 15th January 2013. http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/anitaworkshop2013/?page_id=30 From Kate.Brooks at csiro.au Mon Jan 14 13:09:53 2013 From: Kate.Brooks at csiro.au (Kate Brooks) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:09:53 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Update on fire damage at Siding Spring Observatory and Mopra Telescope Message-ID: Dear ASA members, Many of you will have seen by now the media coverage of the fierce bush fire that roared through the Warrumbungle National Park to the West of Coonabarabran (the Wambelong Fire) late yesterday evening. The brave men and women of the NSW Rural Fire Service, local Police and other volunteers did an amazing job to ensure that no lives were lost and that the damage to properties was kept to a minimum. Unfortunately there has been damage to the Siding Spring Observatory and the Mopra Telescope. Some 15 homes in the area have also been lost. All staff and visiting astronomers were evacuated from the Siding Spring Observatory before the fire came through and are safe. The AAT and UK Schmidt appear to have escaped major damage, however the ANU Lodge has been destroyed. ANU and AAO websites will continue to provide updates on fire damage to the Siding Spring Observatory: http://www.aao.gov.au http://www.anu.edu.au Early reports on the Mopra Telescope (by Siding Spring Observatory staff) indicate that damage has been sustained to the onsite accommodation and control building. Fortunately the antenna itself appears intact. CASS staff travelled this morning from Narrabri to inspect the site, but were unable to get through as fire is now threatening the road. Further updates on fire damage to Mopra are not expected until tomorrow morning and will be posted to the ATNF website: http://www.atnf.csiro.au/ Updates are also available on the NSW Rural Fire Service webpage, under Wambelong WNP, www.rfs.nsw.gov.au. AAO staff member Amanda Bauer (@astropixie) is also giving updates on Twitter and on her blog (amandabauer.blogspot.com.au). My thoughts are with the observatory staff and local residents in the wake of this devastating fire. Kate Brooks, ASA, President -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au Mon Jan 14 16:08:05 2013 From: yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Yeshe Fenner) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:08:05 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Announcement: The first All Sky Virtual Observatory workshop Message-ID: ----------------------------------------------------------------- All Sky Virtual Observatory Workshop 27th February 2013 The Australian National University, Acton, ACT ------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration is open for a 1-day workshop on 27th February 2013 to introduce the astronomy community to a new resource, the* All Sky Virtual Observatory* (ASVO), which brings together optical and theoretical datasets within a single Virtual Observatory, along with value-add tools and services. This workshop will describe the design, capabilities and applications of ASVO, present a demonstration of the pilot system and common workflows, and allow participants to provide feedback on the design, features, and functionality. *Registration closes on 8th February 2013.* There is no registration fee. For details and registration see the workshop website: http://astronomyaustralia.org.au/ASVO_Workshop_Feb2013.html Kind regards, Yeshe ______________________________ Dr Yeshe Fenner Executive Officer Astronomy Australia Ltd T: 03 9214 5520 M: 0430 708 995 F: 03 9214 4396 E: yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au W: astronomyaustralia.org.au P: P.O. Box 2100 Hawthorn VIC 3122 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amanda.bauer at aao.gov.au Tue Jan 15 09:48:27 2013 From: amanda.bauer at aao.gov.au (Amanda Bauer) Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:48:27 +1100 Subject: [ASA] .Astronomy 5 Announcement Message-ID: <50F48B3B.6040205@aao.gov.au> (i'm submitting this announcement on behalf of the .astronomy crew. - amanda) We're happy to announce that you can now sign up for .Astronomy 5. Our fifth event will be hosted by Harvard's Seamless Astronomy group at Microsoft's New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA, USA. Mark your diary, iCal, Google Calendar for the date: September 16-18, 2013. We'll be collecting together 50 attendees for a three-day conference, unconference and hack day: all about astronomy online. The Internet provides an incredible platform for astronomers and astrophysical research. .Astronomy (pronounced 'dot-astronomy') aims to bring together an international community of astronomy researchers, developers, educators and communicators to showcase, generate ideas for, and collaborate on innovative web-based projects, from research tools and data analysis to outreach and education. .Astronomy is not just for academics: we regularly attract participation and support from high-profile technology companies, such as Microsoft Research, Google and O'Reilly Media. .Astronomy events are held (almost) once a year. The most recent edition was in Heidelberg in July 2012. The events are focused, but informal, and encourage collaboration on new ideas that can benefit astronomy in a variety of ways. We limit .Astronomy to roughly 50 people: a number that we find is large enough to inspire productive group work, and that everyone can contribute, but not so large that participants can hide in anonymity. This year's sign up form can be found at http://bit.ly/Wv4PMt - it will remain open into February. Participants will be selected based on the information provided in the form, so if you'd like to come, please tell us why and what you hope to contribute to the conference. If you have any questions about the signup process, then drop us a line @dotastronomy or via robert.simpson at dotastronomy.com . For for information, visit http://dotastronomy.com/. Thanks, Robert Simpson Oxford University/Zooniverse -- Dr Amanda E. Bauer, Super Science Fellow Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde NSW 1670, Australia phone: +61 2 9372 4852 website -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Tue Jan 15 19:27:38 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:27:38 +1100 Subject: [ASA] ANITA Workshop 2013 extended to Jan 30 Message-ID: <7688143E-35F7-4765-81DF-C68007F80BE2@sydney.edu.au> Deadline for registration for the ANITA Workshop 2013 extended to Jan 30 We would like to invite you to attend the 7th Theory Workshop organised by the Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ANITA), to be held on the 21st and 22nd of February 2013 at the School of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. As with previous workshops, the main aims are: to provide a review of Theoretical Astrophysics in Australia and a platform for current research to facilitate collaboration between theorists and observers to promote a sense of community among theoretical astrophysicists to educate students and enhance their opportunities in the Australian and international community There will also be an inaugural invited talk from Professor Lawrence Krauss. He will be giving an review talk outlining his perspective on the state of astrophysics theory. The meeting is open to everyone, you do not need to be a member of ANITA or the ASA to attend (though we encourage you to join!), and we especially invite students to attend and contribute talks. Approximately 15-20 minutes will be allocated for each oral presentation. There will be no formal proceedings, but contributions will be available on the web after the workshop. The registration fee is AUD 55, though this will be waived for students. Morning and afternoon tea and lunch will be provided. The closing date for registration is 30th January 2013. There will be a social dinner on Thursday evening at a local restaurant, to be paid for by the participant on the night. We expect the cost of the dinner to be AUD 35, with drinks as extra. Please indicate when registering if you will be attending. Looking forward to seeing you in Brisbane! The SOC (David Parkinson (chair), Tamara Davis, Holger Baumgardt and Signe Riemer-Sorensen) and the LOC (Tamara Davis, David Parkinson, Anthea King and Joel Pfeffer). Contact email: ANITA_Workshop2013 at gmail.com (The Astroinformatics Summer School has reached capacity and registration is now closed.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN O?BYRNE Associate Head (Teaching & Learning) Chair, School Teaching & Learning Committee Secretary, Astronomical Society of Australia Inc. Sydney Institute for Astronomy School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 222, 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90 (see map) | (alternate: Rm 205, Physics Building A28) Postal address: School of Physics | The University of Sydney | NSW | Australia | 2006 T +61 2 9351 3184 | F +61 2 9351 7726 E john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au | W http://sydney.edu.au/science/physics/~obyrne CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email uses 100% recycled words and ideas. Do you really need to print it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed Jan 16 00:01:46 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:01:46 +1100 Subject: [ASA] ASA subscriptions and FAA donations In-Reply-To: <5346B3A72C6C8442A4B7A5F409095FC314E076BD8C@EXNSW-MBX01.nexus.csiro.au> References: <8DC7B633-46FC-4CC1-8D43-8BBCA5C724A8@sydney.edu.au> <50F4AB43.20004@aao.gov.au> <006a01cdf2c9$5923f750$0b6be5f0$%duldig@utas.edu.au> <50F4C2A8.9060609@aao.gov.au>, <009201cdf2cb$2dbd0e60$89372b20$%duldig@utas.edu.au> <5346B3A72C6C8442A4B7A5F409095FC314E076BD8C@EXNSW-MBX01.nexus.csiro.au> Message-ID: <6D20178E-14A2-4114-BA12-03F3DD4AC5D6@sydney.edu.au> All ASA members will shortly receive the Annual Subscription Notice for their ASA membership. Your prompt payment is appreciated - and will attract the usual discount! One feature of this notice each year is the opportunity to make a donation to the ASA's tax-deductible Foundation, the FAA. A notice describing the FAA and the activities it supports is attached. Please read it and consider if you can help the ASA sustain these activities. In addition, we have all heard about the fires around the Siding Spring Observatory and Mopra telescope. Although the telescopes have survived, it is likely that several ASA members and friends (including observatory staff and well-known amateur astronomers) have lost property in the fires. The ASA Council is considering how best it may help them. When we know more we will let you know. John ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN O?BYRNE Associate Head (Teaching & Learning) Chair, School Teaching & Learning Committee Secretary, Astronomical Society of Australia Inc. Sydney Institute for Astronomy School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 222, 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90 (see map) | (alternate: Rm 205, Physics Building A28) Postal address: School of Physics | The University of Sydney | NSW | Australia | 2006 T +61 2 9351 3184 | F +61 2 9351 7726 E john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au | W http://sydney.edu.au/science/physics/~obyrne CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email uses 100% recycled words and ideas. Do you really need to print it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FAA flier 2013.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 74839 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Kate.Brooks at csiro.au Wed Jan 16 11:15:00 2013 From: Kate.Brooks at csiro.au (Kate Brooks) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:15:00 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Fire Update - Wambelong Fire (Coonabarabran) Message-ID: Dear ASA members, The NSW Rural Fire Service are reporting that some 40 properties and over 110 out-buildings have been confirmed lost as well as a large number of livestock and farm machinery. The ANU continue to post on their website updates on the fire damage to the Siding Spring Observatory http://www.anu.edu.au A further visual assessment of the SSO site has confirmed: - 3 buildings have been destroyed (The Lodge, a cottage and a storage building) - 3 buildings have been badly damaged (The Visitors Centre and two sheds) - 4 telescopes appear to have some smoke damage to their buildings A new update on fire damage at the Mopra Telescope is available on the ATNF website: http://www.atnf.csiro.au Aerial footage of the Mopra Telescope and a brief first site visit from an SSO staff member on Monday indicated that there was significant fire damage to the onsite control building (see image attached). This building contained an accommodation area, a control room and an equipment room containing the VLBI data correlator and the MOPS spectrometre equipment. From the aerial photo it was clear that the accommodation area was burnt to the ground and yet the concrete roof above the control and equipment rooms appeared relatively intact. Late yesterday afternoon two CASS staff with an RFS Inspector were able to visit the site and give a brief visual report on the inside of the equipment room. There is smoke damage but the equipment is currently intact with no obvious heat or fire damage. This is very good news. Before the equipment can be tested to see if it is still operational, the structural safety of the building must be assessed and the equipment must be made physically safe. Amander Bauer continues to do a great job of posting the latest news on her blog: http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/ Warrumbungle Shire Council has set up a Warrumbungle Shire Mayor?s Bushfire Appeal and will be taking donations from members of the public who wish to assist residents who have suffered, and in many cases lost everything as a result of the fire. Further information is available at: http://www.warrumbungle.nsw.gov.au/News/Articles/Warrumbungle-Shire-Mayor-s-Bushfire-Appeal Food can be taken to the Coonabarabran Race Course, Nelson Street, Coonabarabran. Clothing and furniture donations are being administered by Vinnies, 49 Dalgarno Street, Coonabarabran. A Facebook page has also been set up to co-ordinate donations (see the ASA Facebook page). Information on the Rural Financial Counselling Service is available at: http://www.rfcsnsw-northernregion.org/locations/coonabarabran Kate Brooks ASA, President -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: mopra-2.jpeg Type: image/jpeg Size: 24455 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Kate.Brooks at csiro.au Wed Jan 16 11:59:59 2013 From: Kate.Brooks at csiro.au (Kate Brooks) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:59:59 +1100 Subject: [ASA] 2013 Academy awards for scientific excellence announced Message-ID: Dear members, The Australian Academy of Science today announced the 2013 winners of its prestigious annual awards for scientific excellence. Congratulations to ASA members Ken Freeman and Chris Blake, who have both received awards. - Professor Kenneth Freeman FAA FRS, Australian National University ? 2013 Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture (announced previously). The Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture recognises scientific research of the highest standing in the physical sciences, and honours the contributions of Australia's early scientific researchers. Nominations for this award are invited from Academy Fellows only. - Associate Professor Christopher Blake, Swinburne University of Technology ? 2013 Pawsey Medal The Pawsey Medal recognises the outstanding research in physics by early-mid career scientists. Chris is part of the Wiggle Z survey team and develops techniques to measure the properties of dark energy. Please join me in congratulating Ken an Chris on their fantastic efforts. Kate ASA, President -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 1-13 Awards announcement FINAL.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 129896 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Katrina.Sealey at aao.gov.au Wed Jan 16 14:54:00 2013 From: Katrina.Sealey at aao.gov.au (Katrina Sealey) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:54:00 +1100 Subject: [ASA] New ASA Sub Fax Number 02 9372 4860 Message-ID: <50F62458.8070903@aao.gov.au> Hi Everyone, There is a problem with the AAO fax number on the subscription notice. Please use the main one 02 9372 4860. Thank you Katrina Sealey ASA Treasurer From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Jan 17 22:12:16 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:12:16 +1100 Subject: [ASA] First announcement: MWA Expression of Interest and pre-operations meeting Message-ID: Dear ASA members, As outlined in the recently distributed first Announcement of Opportunity for the MWA (http://www.mwatelescope.org/info/docs/MWA-AO-01.pdf), the project is currently seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) for science projects that require an observing time allocation on the MWA. The EoI step is a precursor to the preparation of full observing proposals in the March/April timeframe, anticipating the commencement of the first MWA operations period from July 2013. In order to help potential MWA users prepare for proposal writing and the operations phase, a meeting will be held in Perth on February 25 and 26, 2013 (as flagged in the AO documentation). The meeting will be open to all potential MWA users, regardless of prior participation in the EoI process (EoIs are due on February 1, 2013). The goals of the meeting are: * To provide the most up-to-date information to the potential MWA user community regarding the projected operational capabilities of the MWA; * To describe the MWA operational model and operations team; * To provide the most up-to-date advice on the timeline of project activities leading up to the commencement of operations; * To provide the most up-to-date information regarding scheduling and data handling considerations for the operational MWA; * To obtain feedback from the community on the EoI process and input regarding the upcoming proposal preparation process; * To discuss the results of the EoI process and provide visibility for and discussion of the science programs likely to be proposed. This will be an important meeting that will bring together the MWA project staff and users, approximately four months before MWA operations commence. Attendance is strongly encouraged for anyone who anticipates proposing for MWA observing time and/or working on MWA datasets from the full array. The meeting will be held at Curtin University, on February 25/26, 2013. A registration page has been set up at: http://www.mwatelescope.org/meetings/eoi-perth-2013/ This page currently supports registration and will also be populated with a meeting agenda, local accommodation and travel information, and further advice shortly. The deadline for registration will be February 20, 2013. The MWA team looks forward to meeting with you in February in Perth, to embark upon the final stage of activity prior to the commencement of MWA operations. Regards, Steven -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Professor Steven Tingay Premier's Fellow Director, MWA Director, Science and Operations Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy Deputy Director, ICRAR Department of Imaging and Applied Physics Curtin University of Technology Bentley, Western Australia Australia Street address: Brodie Hall building 1 Turner Ave Technology Park Bentley 6102 Western Australia Email: s.tingay at ivec.org OR s.tingay at curtin.edu.au WWW: http://astronomy.curtin.edu.au Phone: +61 (0)8 9266 3516 Mobile: +61 (0)425 771 856