General Meeting: Speaker: March

On the 3rd Tuesday of the month (February to November) at 7:30pm, we meet on zoom or at Regis Hall in the grounds of St Ignatius’ College, Riverview Street, Riverview (Lane Cove) which features a presentation from a Guest Lecturer. These presentations generally focus on the theoretical aspects of Cosmology, Astrophysics and Astrophotography and can include some of the most up-to-date research and scientific findings. We are fortunate to be able to obtain speakers from Australia’s top universities and scientific community – our past Guest Lecturers have included the likes of Dr Fred Watson and Nobel Prize winner Prof. Brian Schmidt.

Our speaker this month is Andy Casely, who will give a talk on planetary observing." For this talk, I'll explore the world of planetary imaging in 2024, from making nice images of some very pretty Solar System objects, and stretching out to some of the exciting science and collaborations we can do from our backyard. I'll explore the technique of lucky imaging, and how we can use it to capture very high resolution views of the Sun, Moon and planets in our sky, and move on to how some of the images can be used to make discoveries and track weather in the outer Solar System, particularly for the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. I'll close with a few of my favourite images and timelapses from recent years."

The format of the evening consists of a welcome to Members, Guests and Visitors, a quick discussion on general business of NSAS, the presentation from our Guest Speaker and then members usually stay for pizza and have a chat with a cup of tea or coffee.

These meetings are an excellent opportunity to get to know fellow members.

By attending any NSAS event, you agree to the following:

• You are attending the Event voluntarily as an individual;

• You will familiarise yourself with any information the Society provides about the Event;

• During the Event you will behave in an appropriate, lawful and respectful manner, and comply with the rules relating to, or reasonable directions of the Observing Officer or any Society committee member regarding the use of the site on which the Event is held;

• You are travelling to/from and attending the Event at your own risk;

• The Society is not responsible for any damage, loss or theft of any of your possessions or equipment during the Event or while you are travelling to or from it;

• The Society and its members are not liable to you for any loss (including indirect or consequential loss), expense, damage, personal injury, illness or death suffered during or in connection with Event, except for any liability which cannot be excluded (in which case that liability is limited to the greatest extent allowed by law).

• You acknowledge that any area that roped or sectioned off are out of bounds and are not to be entered.