RASNZ 2019 Conference - New Plymouth 17 - 19 May
The RASNZ 2019 Conference will be held in New Plymouth 17 - 19 May and will be followed by the 13th Trans-Tasman Symposium on Occultations. The conference is being hosted by the New Plymouth Astronomical Society as part of their 100th celebrations and will be held at the Devon Hotel. More information will be available here as planning for the event progresses. We look forward to seeing you in New Plymouth
Registration and Paper Submissions
Conference registrations and paper submissions are now open. You can use the online forms linked below.
A PDF version of the conference registration form which can be printed, filled in and sent in by snail mail is also provided, along with a PDF of the conference brochure.
Online conference registration form
Online conference paper submission form
2019 RASNZ Conference Brochure.pdf
2019 RASNZ Conference Registration Form.pdf
The New Plymouth Astronomical Society
The New Plymouth Astronomical Society was founded in July 1919 and within 15 months an observatory was built to house a 6 inch Alvan Clark refractor which is still in place today.
The original observatory has been extended several times and once included a planetarium. Over the last 5 years considerable fundraising has been undertaken to enable major maintenance work on the building and the purchase and installation of a 14 inch Celestron telescope.
A history of the Society has been published to recognise the efforts and achievements of many Taranaki people who have kept the Society and observatory going for 100 years.
Invited Speaker: Professor Lisa Kewley
Associate Director at the Research School for Astronomy & Astrophysics at the Australian National University College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
Professor Kewley has made fundamental advances in our understanding of the cosmic chemical and star-formation history of the universe. Her globally acclaimed research has proven critical to our understanding of how galaxies like our own Milky Way formed and evolved from the Big Bang to the present day. Lisa’s work exploits advances in multi-wavelength instrumentation and spectroscopy and combines new observations with the latest generation of theoretical models. These allow the power sources exciting the plasma in galaxies to be both reliably identified and physically characterised.
Conference Papers (details added as they come to hand)
If you are considering presenting a paper to the conference please visit the Conference Paper Submission form and help enhance the conference.
Lisa Kewley (Invited talk) - All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D
Throughout the history of the universe, large-scale gas flows have moulded the arms of spiral galaxies, formed the bulges of the most massive galaxies in the universe, fed supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies, fuelled generation upon generation of new stars, and enriched the intergalactic medium with metals. The impact of these processes can now be traced through large surveys on new efficient, wide-field 3D spectrographs in combination with sensitive new radio telescopes. I will show how we track the matter and power sources in galaxies across 13 billion years of cosmic time from the infant universe to the present day Milky Way. This talk will highlight the use of 3D spectroscopy and gravitational lensing to understand the relationship between the gas, star-formation, and supermassive black holes in galaxies. I will finish with a look towards the future: what discoveries do we expect to make with the new mega-scale facilities that will be completed in the coming decade: the Square Kilometre Array, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope.
Nick Rattenbury (President’s talk) - Title
Abstract
Craig Young - Adaptive Tracking: Accurate telescope tracking without a guider
This paper introduces a new software program that removes the need for a sky model, refraction correction, and a guide camera to provide accurate telescope tracking. By measuring telescope drift in RA and DEC using science frames only, the tracking rate of both the RA and DEC motors is adjusted to offset the drift. This results in sub arc-second tracking over several hours.
Nick Rattenbury - The IAU Centenary
Abstract
John Drummond - E.E. Barnard - An Early 20th Century Pioneering Astrophotographer Whose Photos Still Inspire Awe
E.E. Barnard worked for Yerkes Observatory and spent much time photographing the Milky Way - and the nebulae contained therein. This presentation looks at some of the key features of his career and shows examples of his photographic work - with some images taken by the author for comparison.
Gary Sparks - Moçambique to Mongolia - A Philatelic Space Odyssey
Many years ago a friend sent me a set of Canadian space stamps. Little did I know that this was the beginning of what was to become a serious collection of astronomy and space stamps.
At one time the collection filled one small stamp album. It now consists of twenty full ring binders, one of which is the topic of this presentation. Join me for a tour to some unexpected places to learn about the history of mankind’s attempts to understand and conquer space. This talk will challenge your knowledge of world geography and perhaps introduce you to some new faces in the history of space exploration.
Nick Gladstone - A brief history of the New Plymouth Observatory
A brief history of the New Plymouth Observatory, its evolution from small beginnings and its changing role in the communities it serves.
Sarang Shah - Analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-1170 with measured space parallax
Gravitational Microlensing is a unique method to detect distant masses in the galaxy without detecting light from them [1]. An application of this method is to find distant exoplanets. In the last decade this method has not only helped in exploring variety of exoplanet parameter space but also helped the same in case of brown dwarfs. Growing samples of the brown dwarf populations at various separations and variety of mass ratios have/are challenging the theories about their formation [2].
Microlensing parallax is an important parameter that constrains the mass of the lens. The orbit of the earth around Sun can induce a parallax effect in the microlensing light curve. However, it is biased towards closer and slow-moving lenses. Another method to measure the microlensing parallax is to observe a microlensing event simultaneously from space [3]. After the successful pilot campaign with the help of Spitzer satellite in measuring space parallaxes of 170 microlensing events, a project to measure the galactic distribution of planets was started in the year 2015 [4,5]. Microlensing events that are detected from ground-based telescopes and satisfy certain criteria are selected for Spitzer observations. OGLE-2017-BLG-1170 was one such event which was detected and alerted by the Early Warning System (EWS) of Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) [6]. The event was also observed by the three telescopes of Korean Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) in Australia, Chile and South Africa [7]. This event was also selected for Spitzer observations in 2017. We present the detailed analysis for this event which yields a brown dwarf orbiting a main sequence star in the galactic bulge. This is the farthest brown dwarf detected with the help of gravitational microlensing.
Graeme Jonas - The Twists and Turns of a 70+ Year-Old Optical Grinding and Polishing Machine
This presentation traces the history of a Draper type grinding and polishing machine. Built during the late 1940’s at Saint Andrew’s University Observatory in Scotland, the machine was used to make the optics for two very early Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. The Fund for Astrophysical Research (FAR), a North American organisation that supported southern hemisphere astrophysical projects, then acquired the machine. The FAR ran a program that loaned out the machine to encourage the production of optical equipment. This arrangement saw the machine shipped to Australia where it was to be used by Bill James to make optics for Canopus Hill Observatory in Tasmania. It is unclear whether or not it was used for this purpose. In 1981 the University of Canterbury (UoC) arranged with the FAR for the machine to be sent to Christchurch, where a small team lead by Garry Nankivell used it to make the one metre primary mirror for Mount John Observatory’s McLellan telescope. In 1985 the machine was shipped back to Australia by the FAR. This time to South Australia, where plans had been made for it to be used to make a series of high energy Cherenkov radiation collectors. The project was shelved and the machine placed in storage. 2004 saw the machine heading back to Christchurch. The intention was for UoC to re-furbish the machine and then send it to KiwiStar Optics (KSO) in Lower Hutt, where it would be used to produce optics for the SALT high resolution spectrograph. Unfortunately, on arrival in Christchurch the machine was found to be derelict and only fit for scrap. Before the machine was disposed of, KSO purchased it and fully restored it. The machine is now regularly used at KSO to produce optics for the international astronomical community.
Jenny Pollock - Looking, wondering and understanding; teaching Astronomy in New Zealand Schools
Many teachers wish to teach Astronomy as part of wider school programmes but simply don't know where to start. In this presentation I aim to show the breadth of topics that can be taught, highlight some of the practical problems and give examples of NZ orientated resources that are available. I also wish to create links with other people interested Astronomy education. I have 25 years experience of teaching, assessing, curriculum development, resource writing and running workshops for teachers in Astronomy in NZ schools.
Dave Herald - Asteroidal occultations - measurements at 1-km precision
RASNZ members have been observing asteroidal occultations since the early 1980’s. Since then we have moved from visual observing to video, had major improvements in the accuracy of predictions as a result of Hipparcos and Gaia, and models of the shapes of almost 2000 asteroids have been developed using light curve inversion techniques. This has resulted in a large increase in the number of observed events; asteroid sizes and shapes are being measured at a precision of a km or three; astrometry to 100- micro -arcsec is being reported to the Minor Planet Center, with the difference between the center of mass and the center of figure of an asteroid being significant for some astrometric results.
This presentation will provide an overview of the results that asteroidal occultations are now producing, and which are expected to become routine when reliable asteroid orbits become available from Gaia (hopefully in DR3).
Rosemary Dorsey - Modes of Oscillation of Variable Pulsating Stars Observed by TESS
For my Master's thesis, I will be working with Karen Pollard to observe Delta Scuti and Gamma Dor stars using the HERCULES spectrograph on the 1m telescope at Mount John Observatory. This spectroscopic data will then be analysed alongside the corresponding photometry from the TESS satellite to determine the modes of oscillation of the target stars.
Gareth Hughes - Space environmentalism: The search for water and life in space, and the challenge of protecting it on Earth (20 min)
Green MP and space geek Gareth Hughes, explores some of the astronomical discoveries that has inspired his near-two decades working to protect New Zealand’s environment.
Every year we learn something new about our cosmos – water on Pluto, the spectra of exoplanets or gravitational waves and the search for knowledge in space can catalyse action and technology on Earth.
Karen Pollard - Research highlights from the UC Mt John Observatory
I will present an overview and highlights of research at the UC Mt John Observatory, including the music of pulsating stars, exoplanets and exocomets.
Margaret Streamer - A Window into delta-Sct stellar interiors using eclipsing binary systems.
Our knowledge of the structure of the sun, solar-like stars and red giants has advanced significantly using asteroseismology. However, the relationship between observed asteroseismic pulsations and the fundamental parameters of delta-Sct stars remains largely elusive. We can utilize binary systems with delta-Sct components to determine the precise parameters of the pulsating star. With well-characterised delta-Sct stars, together with identified pulsation modes, more reliable modelling of pulsation modes is possible. From this basis, models of single delta-Sct can be validated.
Aayushi Verma - The Morphology of Galaxies
I will present my research project for my astrophysics course, about the morphology and structure of galaxies, on which I have done some independent research to learn more about methods of classifying galaxies.
Aayushi Verma, Megan Poehler, Anushka Kharbanda - NZSSA Update: A New Take on STEM
The NZSSA – New Zealand Students’ Space Association, are an academically focused club aimed to increase student involvement in the Science and Space Industry. Last year, the NZSSA introduced themselves as a similar venture, out to inspire students into STEM. So here we are, we were so inspired by their talk that we decided to open our own branch in Christchurch this year. Our club although new, is going strong with over 100 signed members and two successful events – both live-streamed/recorded for anyone to access.
This talk is to expand on our ideas for the future, update the New Zealand Astronomical Community on the progress NZSSA has made and emphasise that in order to get more students interested in the Space Industry and STEM a more focused and resource-driven approach must be made. Information in terms of coursework and networking must be more accessible, outreach opportunities need to be more plentiful and more often – with some being permanent rather than relying on science camps to try and gather interest.
This is what we are trying to provide, a permanent platform for networking and intellectual exploration that will give students the leg up and inspiration they need to consider STEM as a viable career option.
Orlon Peterson - Something aimed at the SWAPAs
Abstract to come..
Joseph Chamberlain - Five minute SWAPA talk
A five minute talk on my interest in astronomy and what I would like to do in the future.
Heather Sinclair – Wentworth - My Astronomy Journey So Far...
This presentation will cover my early influences, current fascinations and possible future areas of interest in astronomy.
Antonio Herrera Martin - Bayesian Analysis with Gravitational Lensing: From dark matter to gravitational waves.
Gravitational lensing has proved to be resourceful technique to observe distant galaxies or discovering exoplanets. Now, with the increase in the use of Bayesian analysis not only for observations but also from the point of view of theoretical predictions, it could be used to deepen the information for other situations which in principle do not seem directly connected. This ranges from theories of dark matter to distortions in how gravitational waves are observed. This talk presents a brief review of some applications of Bayesian analysis which are based on the effects of gravitational lensing and could help to constraint parameters for dark matter models or produce effects during the observation of gravitational waves.
