Formation 21 February 2011 Website www.macastro.org.au | Region served Macarthur Region. | |
Purpose Promote excellence in astronomy in Macarthur region. Location Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, SW Sydney, Australia Parent organization Macarthur Astronomical Society. |
Macarthur Astronomy Forum is a monthly public forum organised by Macarthur Astronomical Society, providing leading national and international professional astronomers with a platform to address the Forum on topics of astronomical interest; also providing members of the Society and the general public with opportunities to learn and ask questions.
Contents
The Forums (known as the General Meetings of the Society until the new identity was adopted in February 2011) have been held (admission free) at (and with the support of) the Western Sydney University (Cambelltown Campus), NSW, Australia since the second meeting of the Society in 1996.
The first Macarthur Astronomy Forum was held on 21 February 2011, with a presentation by Professor Fred Watson A.M., Astronomer-In-Charge of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, Siding Springs, NSW, Australia. The talk was entitled: "Poles Apart - The environment near a planet's poles"
The Forums are open to the general public and are held on the third Monday of each month (January to November).
Aims
International Guest Speakers
International speakers who have addressed the Society:
Local Guest Speakers
Professional astronomers who have recently addressed the Society include:
These astronomers are users of the world's most sophisticated optical, radio, gamma-ray orbital and ground-based telescopes, including the Hubble, Keck, Parkes and the ATNF telescopes. In Lisa Harvey-Smith's case, she is also Project Scientist responsible for Australia's participation in the design of the world's largest ever radio telescope, the SKA and the commissioning of its precursor, ASKAP.
The Forum is also addressed by other experts in astronomy, such as manufacturers and retailers of leading telescope equipment; and leading amateur astronomers, such as Anthony Wesley and leading members of Macarthur Astronomical Society and other Societies, to foster the science of astronomy within the community.
Students Night
The inaugural Student's Night was held in December 2015, with students Vina Hing & Linh Thuy Nguyen from Prairiewood High School presenting their research, using iTelescope, into eclipsing binary stars.