Wednesday 16 February 2011

Invitation to the Southern Star Party (2011 March 04-06)


You're invited

Join us for a week-end of star gazing and friendly chat at the Southern Star Party, which will be held on March 04-06 on a farm just outside of Bonnievale, near Robertson, in the Western Cape.
The GPS position to point your car to is 34:00:45 South, 19:59:43 East.
The organizers of the event are Willie Koorts, Edward and Lynnette Foster, Martin Lyons, Suki Lock and Auke Slotegraaf.
Visit the website at the Southern Star Party blog for more.

Programme

As of this writing, the programme will consist of:
  1. "What astrophotography teaches us about the deep sky" – Dr Dieter Willasch
  2. "Basic astrophotography with a digital camera" - Kos Coronaios
  3. "The next step: astrophotography through a telescope" - Lucas Ferreira
  4. "How to care for and clean your telescope" – Willie Koorts
  5. "Fossils, Light & Time" – Edward Foster
  6. "Astronomy for beginners" – Edward Foster
  7. "Deep Sky Observing Workshop" – Auke Slotegraaf
There will also be an "Astronomy Pub Quiz", and a sale table.
Night-time events include:
  1. "What's up in the sky tonight" – Willie Koorts
  2. "Learning the Constellations: Using ConCards to find star patterns and bright deep sky objects" – Auke Slotegraaf
  3. "A Guided Binocular Starhop" – Auke Slotegraaf

Find out more

For more details, and the all-important booking and registration, visit the Southern Star Party blog. Space is very limited, so please book right away.

Monday 14 February 2011

Valentines day in NGC 2547 in Vela

 Click to enlarge

 Hi all Stargazers

May you have health, wealth, prosperity and joy in abundance this year!

About 7 years ago I “discovered” this cluster and took the liberty of naming it the Heart Cluster. I made mention of it in my book as well. It is cluster NGC2547, located near the bright multiple star Gamma Velorum in the constellation Vela.
 
I have copied Neville Young, a member and friend of the Pretoria Centre for ASSA. Hope you like it Neville!

Look Up and Discover the Cosmic Gems We All Deserve to See!

Best regards
Wayne Mitchell,
Author of the STAR GAZER'S DEEP SPACE ATLAS
Member of the Pretoria Centre of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa