~ Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st July 2019 ~
 
It’s been 50 years since Australia helped send images of humankind’s first steps on the Moon around the world. To celebrate they are holding FREE open days at the Parkes Observatory with FREE transport to and from Parkes.
 
Please go to the link below to read all about this amazing weekend where you will see the incredible ‘Dish’ radio telescope.
https://apollo11.csiro.au/parkes-open-days/
 
While at the Parkes Radio Telescope you’ll also see the latest stunning photographs that have just been judged in the David Malin Astrophotography competition, they will be on show in the gallery at the visitors centre.
​Here is a link showing some of the images that will be on display.
https://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/astrofest/DMA/2019_shortlist/

One of my images won an award last year which was very exciting and that’s why we had visited the Parkes Observatory. The story is on my Astroblob at:
http://www.mystardustobservatory.com/astro-blog/-david-malin-astrophotography-awards-2018
​​

Our clubs editor Julie Lancaster has put together an excellent ‘Special Edition for the Apollo 11’s 50th Anniversary’
in this month’s ‘Event Horizon’ newsletter…great work Julie :-)
 
Please go to the link below to read all about this incredible achievement (or click on newsletter cover above)
and the involvement that Australia had in this remarkable event.
http://sas.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/July-EH-SAS.pdf

Google doodles have made a doodle and YouTube video for the 50th Anniversary with Michael Collins (Apollo 11 command module pilot astronaut) to celebrate the incredible achievement…. Stardust kids and parents please enjoy this video from a very special man who really went on a journey to the Moon 50 years ago in 1969 :-)
https://www.google.com/doodles/50th-anniversary-of-the-moon-landing

50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
July 19, 2019
 
Fifty years ago, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission changed our world and ideas of what is possible by successfully landing humans on the surface of the moon⁠—and bringing them home safely⁠—for the first time in history. Today’s video Doodle celebrates this moment of human achievement by taking us through the journey to the moon and back, narrated by someone with firsthand knowledge of the epic event: former astronaut and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins. 

A team of some 400,000 people from around the world worked on Project Apollo—mostly factory workers, scientists, and engineers who never left the ground. Within those 400,000 were the mission’s astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Their historic journey began when a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. After achieving orbit around the moon, the lunar module, known as “the Eagle,” separated for a 13-minute journey to the surface. Meanwhile, astronaut Michael Collins stayed behind in the command module, which would eventually bring all three astronauts back home to Earth.

Along the way to the moon’s surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lost radio contact with Earth, the onboard computer showed unfamiliar error codes, and fuel ran short. As millions watched on television with anxious anticipation, they successfully steered the module to a safe landing on the crater dubbed the “Sea of Tranquility” on July 20, 1969.
Not long after, Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon, stating the now infamous words “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” 

Returning safely to Earth on July 25, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew were followed by 10 more astronauts, with the final mission taking place in 1972. Countless scientific breakthroughs—from CAT scans to freeze-dried food—took place thanks to the mission to the moon.
​
Space exploration continues to this day, with milestones such as the International Space Station and plans for a mission to Mars. Most recently, NASA’s Artemis program—named for Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology—aims to bring the first woman to the moon.

Please click on image above from NASA's website to go to all the links and broadcasts
https://www.nasa.gov/

NASA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission and look to the future of exploration on the Moon and Mars with a live, two-hour television broadcast Friday, July 19, and partner-led events taking place across the country from July 16 through July 20.
 
On July 16, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a journey to the Moon and into history. Four days later, while Collins orbited the Moon in the command module, Armstrong and Aldrin landed Apollo 11’s lunar module, Eagle, on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility, becoming the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface.
 
NASA Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Historic Moon Landing with Live TV Broadcast & Events.
Please go to the links below to find out all about the exciting events:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-adds-events-to-celebration-of-50th-anniversary-of-historic-moon-landing
 
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-celebrates-50th-anniversary-of-historic-moon-landing-with-live-tv-broadcast

Please go to the live broadcast that both NASA and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will be broadcasting from 5.30am on the 3rd July (Australian EST).
 
NASA has partnered with the Exploratorium in San Francisco to bring live views to people across the world of a total solar eclipse, occurring Tuesday, July 2, over South America.
 
The eclipse will only be visible directly to observers within the path of totality, which stretches across parts of Chile and Argentina.

Live webcasting for Total Solar Eclipse 2019 at La Silla
https://www.eso.org/public/
NASA Live:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

With the upcoming Total Eclipse of the Sun due in two days times in Chile I’ve turned my mind to our wonderful solar eclipse we had here in Queensland, Australia on the 14th November 2012.
 
We were at a place called Ellis Beach just north of Cairns in tropical Queensland and at that time of year its notorious for heavy rain, and so it was as day dawned that the eastern sky was leaden with clouds, but then a miracle happen and from our beach location we saw the incredible eclipse of the Sun.
 
I wish everyone who has ventured to Chile and other places under the shadow best of luck for the 2nd July, seeing this spectacle is one of the most amazing things you will ever experience in your life :-)

It was a lovely clear evening here last night to take some more images of the beautiful planets Jupiter and Saturn through my telescope.
 
This time the Great Red Spot was not on display but it was nice to see the other side of the planet with all the bluish swirls and dark coloured gases in the North Equatorial Belt. There were even some small white ovals on display in the southern zone area.
 
Saturn looked just stunning with its dark Cassini division on display and some cloud markings on the body of the planet.
 
Both Jupiter and Saturn are to scale in size as I used the same imaging setup for both of the planets ☺
 
My image was taken with a Meade LX200 (GPS) 10inch telescope at prime focus using a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera with a 3x Barlow lens attached. AVI movie files were captured with 2000 frames that were then stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

Today marks the winter Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere, so while most of you who live in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing the longest day of the year, we here in the land down under are experiencing the shortest day of our year…. isn’t living on our Earth just amazing!
 
The Sun is indeed very quite and absolutely blank so no fireworks to celebrate this special event from the Sun :-)
 
Image taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 18-400mm lens and 2x teleconverter making a focal length of 1280mm. I used a glass solar filter attached to the lens to safely image the sun. Eight images were stacked in RegiStax6, exposure time was 1/500th second and ISO200.

I had a rare perfect evening here last night to take lots of images of Jupiter as the planet rotated with the Great Red Spot on show, at 9.20pm (AEST) one of its moons called Europa headed toward the planet for a shadow transit.
 
Yet again the coloured gases around the Great Red Spot have changed and are now showing lovely shaped ripples to one side and a strange flipping up in the air of dark material on the other side. 
 
There also seems to be a type of swirling vortex in the centre of the storm, which is showing up quite clearly…its all very exciting watching all these changes day by day on Jupiter :-)
 
My image was taken on the 11th June 2019 just a day after opposition with a Meade LX200 10inch telescope at prime focus using a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera with a 3x Barlow lens attached. An AVI movie file of 2000 frames were captured which were then stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

~ Wow…Stardust Kids loved learning all about Black Holes at the Stardust Junior Astronomy Club  ~
 
I don’t know what it is about black holes but children always love to learn all about Black Holes, they are mysterious and dangerous so I think that’s why they are so appealing. Mind you, after our exciting space session they know not to go too close to one them in their space rockets or they won’t be coming home for dinner!
 
All the children had a lot of fun and they did lots of wonderful drawings, please see some of them below :-)
 
Please find below some excellent NASA links to children’s teaching resources:
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html

~ Black Hole Image Makes History ~
NASA News: APRIL 10, 2019
 
Scientists have obtained the first image of a black hole, using Event Horizon Telescope observations of the center of the galaxy M87. The image shows a bright ring formed as light bends in the intense gravity around a black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun.
 
To read all about this outstanding achievement please go to:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7372

It was a bit windy and the sky was still not the best for taking pictures, but I managed to capture a couple of images of the shadow of Europa as it transited across the body of Jupiter.
 
I did not know this at the time, but when I posted my image on spaceweather.com one of the contributors left a message to say that my image could be seen in 3D if I crossed my eyes…. and low and behold I did it and it was awesome!
 
It’s a bit tricky to do, I hope you can see it :-)
 
My image was taken with a Meade LX200 10inch telescope at prime focus using a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera with a 3x Barlow lens attached. AVI movie files of 2000 frames were captured which were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.