Ballarat Municipal Observatory Museum » Earth Hour 2017 Starry Autumn Nights

This year, Earth Hour turns 10. So who better to talk about climate change than 10-year-olds who were born in the year it all began? Watch their own charming version of a morning news show: The Tomorrow Show! Tomorrow’s news, today. http://observatory.ballarat.net/events/event/earth-hour-2017-starry-autumn-nights/

BLANK SUN: The sun has been blank (no sunspots) for 12 consecutive days. If today ends without a sunspot, the number will increase to 13, matching the longest stretch of blank suns since April of 2010. This is yet another sign that the sunspot cycle is crashing toward a deep minimum expected in 2019-2020. Is space weather coming to an end? On the contrary, this is when things get interesting: Solar Minimum brings extra cosmic rays, pink auroras, and much more. BIG CORONAL HOLE TURNS TOWARD EARTH: A hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere, and it is turning toward Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is tracking the opening, which researchers call a "coronal hole" (CH): Coronal holes are places--big places--where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. A wide stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole is expected to reach our planet on March 23rd. The impact of the solar wind should produce magnetic activity around Earth's poles and could spark auroras. (NB: Aurora are mirror events, both Nth. & Sth. Poles.) More info - Space Weather website

Free Pass to Stargazing Live at the Observatory on one night if you attend our Earth Hour Event!

Stargazing Live

The Ballarat Observatory will be open from 8.30pm on 4th, 5th 6th April for the Stargazing Alive event with Professor Brian Cox on the ABC. Cost $5 Adult / $10 Family, includes Tea/Coffee/Milo. 8.30-9.30pm 4,5,6th April.

Stargazing Live

This should be fun..... http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/stargazing-live/

Why the Earth’s magnetic poles could be about to swap places – and how it would affect us

Very interesting..... https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/why-the-earth-s-magnetic-poles-could-be-about-to-swap-places-and-how-it-would-affect-us

Timeline Photos

Thursday 2rd March 7.30pm - Astronomical Conversations : Supernova 1987A - Three decades ago, a massive stellar explosion sent shockwaves not only through space but also through the astronomical community. SN 1987A was the closest observed supernova to Earth since the invention of the telescope and has become by far the best studied of all time, revolutionising our understanding of the explosive death of massive stars. Cost $5 for Members, $10 Non Members, includes light refreshments. Extra cost to view through the telescopes later for Non - Members $10 Adults, $7.50 Conc, $5 Student under 18yrs.

Earth Hour - Starry Autumn Nights

Saturday 25th March - Free Pass to Stargazing Live on one night if you attend this event! 6.00pm Star-be-cue – Bring your own picnic or have something from the 3rd Rock Cafe. 7.00pm: Kinja- Ron Murray and Sarah James -The Kinja sound is an ethereal blend of Indigenous Australian and Celtic inspired moods. Sarah and Ron feel that Kinja’s music unites their heritage. “People tend to be touched by hearing two musical cultures coming together and it seems to move people on that level “. Their haunting partnership of violin and didgeridoo transcends cultural differences. The stunning back drop for the music is be provided by Alex Cherney, with time lapse photography of the Australian Landscape, Ocean Beaches, ASKAP Telescope and Parkes Radio Telescope, the night sky at it’s best. Alex Cherney is a keen astronomer and photographer at night, with a particular passion in wide-field astrophotography. Alex loves the challenge of time-lapse imaging of night sky because it shows the motion of celestial bodies in relation to the landscape and helps connect viewers with the night sky. Spending the night under the stars and then sharing it with the world is one of the biggest rewards for him. Alex Cherney Alex Cherney travels throughout Australia to photograph the most beautiful landscapes under the stars of the Milky Way and loves to connect ocean, land and sky in his work. His images and videos have been published in well-known astronomy magazines and books, and won prestigious Australian and international awards. Alex is an active member of Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society. He enjoys helping get people involved with astronomy at public and school viewing nights.

Timeline Photos

The Sci Fi Event Saturday 28th January is fast approaching, a great family evening with children,s activities, live music, a trivia challenge, viewing at the telescopes. Best Dressed, Best accessory and Best Transport prizes......Gates open at 6pm, bring a picnic, rug and/or chair. The 3rd Rock Cafe is open for refreshments etc.....http://observatory.ballarat.net/events/event/starry-summer-night-the-sci-fi-event-2017/

Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum's cover photo

The Australian Space Weather Service (SWS ) has issued an Aurora Watch and a Geomagnetic Warning for 8-9 December from a high speed solar wind stream from a large coronal hole. Evening skies have the Last Quarter Moon visible all evening setting in the morning. This will not interfere too much with aurora visibility. It is possible aurora may be seen in Tasmania and Victoria if storms eventuate. G1 storm conditions have been predicted, most probably around midnight but we have been surprised with early evening aurora before. However, conditions are expected to fluctuate rapidly through the evening so there may be several bursts of short lived aurora.

LED Streetlights Are Giving Neighborhoods the Blues

This is an interesting article on the experience of LED technology in America....."The challenge with LEDs, as with so much other energy-saving technology, is to improve energy efficiency without creating more problems for humans and the nonhuman environment. Fortunately, LED technology is extraordinarily flexible. Its wide range of colors, and the ease of using adaptive techniques, will let us develop street lighting that illuminates a neighborhood with minimal impact on wildlife and residents. In retrospect, government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy and many municipalities pushed a wholesale shift to the first generation of outdoor LEDs more aggressively than they should have. But they were hardly alone. Most of us who grew up with streetlights tended to think of them as uninteresting utilitarian objects, when we thought of them at all. The turbulent early years of LED lighting have forced us to take another look at what nighttime lighting could—and should—be. Because of that, the future looks brighter, and it will also be much easier on the eye." More information here http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/conservation/led-streetlights-are-giving-neighborhoods-the-blues