From k.williams at physics.usyd.edu.au Tue Jun 9 17:07:55 2015 From: k.williams at physics.usyd.edu.au (Kylie Williams) Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2015 17:07:55 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Uluru Astronomy Weekend 2015 Message-ID: <01df01d0a283$028c0290$07a407b0$@physics.usyd.edu.au> Inspirational Conferences Designed for astronomy enthusiasts of all ages, Ayers Rock Resort, in partnership with the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), plays host to the Uluru Astronomy Weekend 14-16 August 2015. Lead by popular scientific personality and celebrated author Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, along with some of the world?s leading experts, this enlightening weekend will include engaging discussions on astro-statistics and the structure of the cosmos, fun family activities and demonstrations, an exciting Galaxy Star Ball and more. https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/12d0ff0b279e41a7a39adc0e4a27ddff.ashx Entry: majority of the Uluru Astronomy Weekend event sessions are FREE Signature Events & Outback Sky Journeys are paid for events "The Australian Outback is a haven for stargazers and perhaps one of the best places in the world to explore the galaxies in the night sky. Join me for a spectacular stargazing weekend, listen as we decode the night sky and enjoy the full astronomical experience at one of our signature events. If you?re familiar with the night sky, you?ll have a fantastic opportunity to gain new insights, and if you?re new to studying the cosmos, be inspired with an exciting introduction to the wonders of the universe." ~ Dr Karl Kruszelnicki https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/9f696fb656274b189af6ce2aaf5891bd.ashx SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION PACKAGE Take advantage of the special 2 Night Package at Ayers Rock Resort from $279* per person twin share. Your stay includes; two nights' accommodation based on a Standard Room at Outback Pioneer Hotel, return Ayers Rock Airport transfers to your hotel, free access to Uluru Astronomy Weekend Events (excludes Signature Events and Outback Sky Journeys), an Indigenous activities program including cultural dance performance, guided garden walk, spear & boomerang throwing and Indigenous story telling experience, free use of Ayers Rock Resort shuttle bus service to get around the Resort and children 15 years and under stay using existing bedding including breakfast^. Or stay three nights and save further on your accommodation, PLUS receive free buffet breakfast daily. For package details & conditions - click here SIGNATURE EVENTS To make your Uluru Astronomy Weekend truly memorable make sure to take part in the three unique Signature Events. Stellar Sounds of Silence As the sun sets over Uluru, enjoy canap?s and chilled sparkling wine and, as darkness falls, join your table of fellow travellers for an unforgettable dining experience under the outback sky. Enjoy a bush tucker inspired buffet, then settle back and listen to Dr Karl and guest astronomers as they decode the southern night sky. After an unforgettable stargazing experience, your evening will end with an aperitif under the stunning Milky Way. Panel Predictions with Astro Trivia Lunch While you sit back and enjoy a delicious continental style lunch, test your astronomical knowledge and challenge others, as MC Dr Karl and our guest astronomers and speakers - Professor Roger Davies, Professor Steven Tingay, Professor Rachel Webster and Associate Professor Emma Ryan-Weber, lead competing tables of teams for who knows most about the cosmos with a fun trivia competition, complete with astro-themed prizes. Galaxy Star Dinner Celebrate the final night of the Uluru Astronomy Weekend beginning with drinks at our outdoor space lounge as you stargaze into the night sky using a telescope. Enjoy a BBQ buffet dinner that includes a selection of mouth-watering hot and cold courses and a chef?s selection of desserts. An after dinner speech on amusing and fascinating ?factoids? by the infectiously enthusiastic MC Dr. Karl follows, then your evening culminates with space themed music from ?Stars on 45? to a spectacular dance version of ?Dark Side of the Moon.? Set to be a star studded affair, this is an event not to be missed. Book your dining events here. Bookings are essential. Discover the full schedule of events - click here https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/0c9db348d5f449cfa01fc5cc3d368767.ashx https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/4b048407900a47cabdae8e061de700cc.ashx https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/2fe4ff5f16274b0f987f824a9cfcf82c.ashx https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/21b9331010bb48889888369fb1b57c54.ashx https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/c8a98689454d4206833c0d0f2406e745.ashx https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/1f74eaef619043bc95c79ebd79a02832.ashx ULURU ASTRONOMY WEEKEND EVENTS Dr Karl will be your host for the weekend and along with some of the world's leading experts, he will take you on a guided journey through our magnificent cosmos. Trace the history of the universe and attempt to find an answer to burning questions such as 'Is there life somewhere else in the universe?' with Prof Rachel Webster. Discover the vast array of the MWA Telescope with Prof. Steven Tingay. While Prof. Roger Davies will take you on a tour into the extremes of our amazing Universe. Take part in as many of the events as you can fit into your weekend. All events are free of charge (excluding Signature Events & Outback Sky Journeys). Discover the full schedule of events - click here AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR HOST AND ASTRONOMERS FOR THE WEEKEND https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/536aba42d8fc4a4eaed223a1fa64f535.ashx Dr Karl made his TV debut in 1985 as the presenter of the first series of Quantum, while today Karl popularises science on ABC radio stations across Australia. His presentations Great Moments in Science? celebrate all sides of science; from sublime moments of deep thought to the most arcane and bizarre research imaginable. https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/6bc760dc998e4012aa7d7e8e8e43302f.ashx Prof. Roger Davies is the Philip Wetton Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University in the UK. He is one of the ?Seven Samurai? collaboration that discovered a concentration of mass in the Universe called the ?Great Attractor?. As an astronomer and cosmologist, he concentrates his research on cosmology and how galaxies form and evolve. https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/98f023b9cc8c49259d477862b5d7781f.ashx Assoc. Prof. Emma Ryan-Weber leads the ?Intergalactic Medium? research group in the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University. She discovered the oldest and most distant carbon in the Universe, and the darkest star forming neighbour of our own Milky Way galaxy, Leo T. https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/d7e07720a2d7457694b809e57c557a1d.ashx Prof. Steven Tingay seeks out experiments that are difficult and risky, but potentially have high rewards. Today, he?s the Director of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) project, a low frequency radio telescope worth $50-million. He was recently awarded the inaugural Science Ambassador of the Year at the 2012 WA Science Awards. https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/755ab0ae03454a00b7b864827e23258b.ashx Prof. Rachel Webster has been influential in astronomy for more than two decades as Head of the Astrophysics group at the University of Melbourne. Her team have recently been awarded telescope time on the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gemini Telescopes in Hawaii and Chile and the MWA in WA https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/81708b09d14b46fc96e48afd8c86f54d.ashx For more information and Uluru Astronomy Weekend Event bookings please contact the Voyages Travel Centre. Our travel specialists will be able to assist you with all your travel arrangements including flights, touring, accommodation and car hire. Phone: 1300 134 044 or +61 2 8296 8010 Website: www.ayersrockresort.com.au/astronomy-weekend Online Booking: Online Accommodation Booking Email: travel at voyages.com.au https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/~/media/e97834c53e7641dd97e33f6a8822c18b.ashx The Uluru Astronomy Weekend at Ayers Rock Resort works in partnership with CAASTRO, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, a collaborative research centre comprising staff and students from the University of Sydney, Australian National University, University of Western Australia, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, and Curtin University of Technology and international and national partners. Visit www.caastro.org We hope you have enjoyed receiving this special from CAASTRO in partnership with Voyages Ayers Rock Resort why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences CAASTRO ? The University of Sydney ? Sydney, NSW 2000 ? 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Name: image021.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4983 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sarah.brough at aao.gov.au Thu Jun 11 11:12:32 2015 From: sarah.brough at aao.gov.au (Sarah Brough) Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 11:12:32 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Reminder - Proposal to change ASA Women in Astronomy Chapter remit Message-ID: <5578E080.60703@aao.gov.au> Dear All, If you haven't had a chance to complete the survey polling ASA members on our proposal to change the ASA Women in Astronomy Chapter remit (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B33QPJ6) then please be reminded that it will close this weekend Sunday June 14th, Many regards, Sarah Brough Dear All, The ASA Women in Astronomy Chapter has made significant headway in representing the women in the Australian community.However, all marginalised people face -isms and -phobias that function as barriers to their participation and prevent their inclusion in our community.Megan Clark (former CEO of CSIRO) has pointed out that if a minority group make up less than 10% of a community they lack the criticalmass necessary to stand up and make demands for themselves. We would like to propose the broadening of the Chapter?s remit to include other minority groups that we do not currently represent explicitly.With this would come a name change to ?Equity in Astronomy? (EiA).We intend for gender diversity to remain the main target of the Chapter?s efforts as this is an ongoing, unresolved issue. The Pleiades Awards will remain focussed on efforts to increase gender diversity. However, we also intend to stand up for those members of our community who lack representation. The proposed Chapter aims are given below (the current aims are available at http://asawomeninastronomy.org/about/aims/). We are now polling the whole ASA Membership on this proposal with an electronic survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B33QPJ6) to be completed by Friday 12^th June.This poll is completely anonymous and we strongly encourage everyone to provide their input.There will then be a discussion on this proposal at the Women in Astronomy Chapter lunch meeting at the ASA ASM. Following the electronic poll and the face-to-face discussion, the Women in Astronomy Chapter Steering Committee will provide a recommendation to the ASA Council.The ASA Council will then decide whether and how to proceed in any changes to the Chapter. If you have any questions about the survey or the process please feel free to email any Steering Committee member. Many Regards Sarah Brough (AAO & Chair) Jessica Bloom (Sydney) Alan Duffy (Swinburne) Andrew Hopkins (AAO & ASA Council representative) Katherine Mack (U. Melbourne) Celine d?Orgeville (ANU) Sarah Pearce (CSIRO) Jill Rathborne (CSIRO) Andrew Walsh (Curtin) *_Proposed Equity in Astronomy Chapter Aims:_* -The Chapter will represent women and minority groups working in astronomy in Australia and undertake to establish best practice guidelines around supporting the inclusion of these groups in our community. -The Chapter will monitor the status of women and minorities working in astronomy in Australia and recommend future actions that will improve the environment for all astronomers. -To improve the status of women in astronomy, the Chapter will assist to ensure appropriate representation for women within the Australian astronomy community, both at scientific meetings and on high-level decision making committees. -The Chapter will enable networking via annual Equity in Astronomy sessions at ASA Annual Science Meetings and annual workshops held around the country. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ebpetroff at gmail.com Thu Jun 11 11:22:31 2015 From: ebpetroff at gmail.com (Emily Petroff) Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 11:22:31 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Call for Student Representative Nominations to ASA Council Message-ID: Hi everyone, In July of this year I will be stepping down as the student representative to the ASA council and a new student representative is needed. The duties of the student representative are to attend ASA Council meetings either in person or over telecon and represent student interests in meetings of the Council. The meetings are held approximately 3 times per year and you will need to attend these as the student rep. As a member of the ASA Council you have input into ASA decision-making and get to learn about how organizations like the ASA are run and organized. It's a great opportunity. Additionally, you have the opportunity to meet and interact with your fellow council members who are all distinguished members of the Australian community. If you have any questions about what it means to be the student representative on the ASA Council you can email me at epetroff at astro.swin.edu.au At the moment we would like to call for nominations for a new student representative to begin their term at this year's July AGM. If you are interested, please send an email with a short paragraph about yourself to the ASA secretary John O'Byrne (john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au) including your name, your university, what you work on, and why you'd like to be a member of the ASA Council. Nominations should be submitted before Friday 19 June, 2015. If there are multiple candidates there will be an anonymous online vote that all students can participate in once the nominations period closes. I hope to hear from you! Cheers, Emily Petroff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri Jun 12 15:33:28 2015 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2015 15:33:28 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Second Announcement: Quantum Astronomy and Stellar Imaging - Sydney August 2015 Message-ID: <6E25FB39-6B5A-4E64-9D68-AEB1F8BAB752@sydney.edu.au> Dear ASA Colleagues I am writing with the second announcement and invitatation to "Quantum Astronomy and Stellar Imaging", a conference sponsored by the Australian Academy of Science in Sydney 17th - 19th of August 2015 . The official conference website is: http://www.quantumastro2015.org/ Here you will be able to register (the meeting does not have a registration fee), view details of the program and submit your abstract. Normal registration will close on the 1st of July. Although the meeting will have no written proceedings, we do have an arrangement with the editors of a special issue of Advances in Astronomy (a peer-reviewed, open access journal). This special issue will be entitled "Intensity Interferometry for High Resolution Observations in Astronomy". Submissions to this special edition have been held until a deadline of August 21 and we strongly encourage participants to consider writing up their conference material for this journal. The editors will take a broad interpretation of the topic for the special issue, and a wide selection of the topics at this meeting would be welcomed by the journal. The meeting itself has no registration fee, and we are planning a vibrant calendar of free social events in spectacular venues around Sydney. More inforation at the official conference website. See you in Sydney in August to celebrate a milestone in Australian Physics and Astronomy! Thanks and best wishes Prof Peter Tuthill ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quantum Astronomy and Stellar Imaging: Celebrating the 50th birthday of the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer (An Australian Academy of Science Elizabeth and Frederick White Confrence) The profound impact of the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer is very much alive today: it is regarded as the foundational experiment from which the field of Quantum Optics germinated, while its legacy pervades all coherent-light astronomy. This meeting will look to the future and ask the question, what are the breakthroughs in optical physics which will empower tomorrow's visionary astronomical instruments? We have barely begun to explore the myriad possibilities enabled by a sophisticated approach to coherence in optical astronomy. Areas of opportunity include the full exploitation of photonic technologies, emergent themes within Quantum Astronomy and the coming generation of ELTs and optical long-baseline interferometers. This meeting will have a particular emphasis on coherent-light astronomy and high angular resolution imaging, with the aim to crystallize community ideas around next generation devices such as the Planet Formation Imager, a bold new initiative intended to reveal the cradles of birth for exoplanets. From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Fri Jun 12 15:54:02 2015 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2015 15:54:02 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Science Internship Program and the Global SPHERE network Message-ID: <557A73FA.5090902@aao.gov.au> Dear ASA members, Some of you involved in undergraduate research programs and outreach programs may be interested to pursue opportunities available through the new scheme linked below. For further information please contact Raja Guhathakurta (raja at ucolick.org). The University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) runs a Science Internship Program for high school students, and they, in collaboration with Google, are looking to expand this program globally. Google and UCSC are putting resources and effort into the creation of a global network of STEM research programs for high-school students called SPHERE (STEM Programs for High-schoolers Engaging in Research Early). From their web page: The Science Internship Program provides motivated, advanced students with a unique opportunity to work and learn at a premier research institution. SIP is a summer-long (10 week) research internship program for high-school students in STEM fields. UCSC faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers provide one-on-one mentoring of these high-school interns. The research projects are REAL in that they are NOT made up just for the high-school students; instead students are inserted into existing research projects here at UCSC. We have found that it works well to pair up an undergraduate student with a high-school student and have them work together on a research project under the supervision of a PhD student or postdoc. In this sense, a STEM research program for high-school programs can often be added quite easily to an existing program for undergraduates. More information: Science Internship Program: http://ucsc-sip.org/ Document describing the creation of the Global SPHERE network: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HNpfrgeF99EBFCY-GPKwdg8TF07Qp-wjA7PzIVi5wK4/edit If your existing undergraduate vacation student programs, or your outreach programs to high school students, lend themselves to this, please feel free to contact Raja to get involved. Andrew Hopkins President, ASA -- Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Head of Research and Outreach Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia ph: +61 2 9372 4849 fax: +61 2 9372 4880 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: