Important Notice
| We like to know who is attending our Forums and Astro Imaging Group meetings. When attending meetings in person, we like you to wear your membership card and sign the attendance register. Likewise, when attending online via Zoom, we like you to display your full name while you are present. |
🙂 How to display your full name on Zoom.
Members Event Diary
| DATE | EVENT | DETAILS | PUBLIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 30th Aug | Stargard At The Oaks CANCELLED | Members Observing Evening Sunset 5.37 pm | No |
| Sat 13th Sep | Astro Imaging Group at Narellan Library | Improving Your Photographic Technique. 12.30 – 3.00 | No |
| Sat 13th Sep | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing Evening Sunset 5.46 pm | No |
| Mon 15th Sep | Macarthur Astronomy Forum At WSU Location Map. | Guest Speaker: Assoc. Prof Brad Tucker (ANU) 7.15pm for 7.30 pm start | YES |
| Fri 19th Sep | The Forest Weekend At Belanglo | Members Observing Night 1 Sunset 5.50 pm | No |
| Sat 20th Sep | The Forest Weekend At Belanglo | Members Observing Night 2 Sunset 5.51 pm | No |
| Sat 20th Sep | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing Evening Sunset 5.51 pm | No |
| Sat 27th Sep | Stargard At The Oaks | Members Observing Evening Sunset 5.56 pm | No |
| Sat 27th Sep | Parklands At The Dairy, Western Sydney Parklands | Public Outreach Event. Sunset 5.56 pm | YES |
Macarthur Astronomy Forum
September Forum: Prof Brad Tucker (ANU) will be our speaker.
The topic of his talk will be: The New Age of Dark Energy!
Synopsis:
New results from large scale supernova surveys, like the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Dark Energy Survey Instrument (DESI) are pushing the bounds of our measurements and understanding of dark energy. Moreover, new measurements of Hubble’s constant is led to what is called the Hubble tension. With new surveys like DEbass, and facilities like VRO, we are on the cusp of a greater understanding of the Universe, it just may be that our understanding is a lot less than we thought.
The Forum meets on the third Monday of the month (Feb-Nov); and on the First Monday in December at:
Lecture Theatre 6, Building 21, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown. See this map
Members: please wear your membership card when attending the Forum in person at WSU and please sign the attendance register.
Please also display your full name when attending online via Zoom.
How to display your full name.
We want to share our passion with the local community, so Macarthur Astronomy Forum is open to the public, FREE. Optional gold coin donations from non-members are appreciated.
We recommend attending the Forum in person, which gives you the opportunity to interact with other members (and the guest speaker) before and after the meeting. However, MAS members who are unable to get to WSU can still watch and participate remotely using Zoom.
Parklands
Public Star-gazing
Organised by the Greater Sydney Parklands in association with Macarthur Astronomical Society
27th September
Saturday 27th September
Public attendance is limited and booking is required.
Location: The Greater Sydney Parklands site at Abbotsbury, just off Cowpasture Road at The Dairy Picnic Ground, Western Sydney Parklands, about 20 minutes drive from Campbelltown.
Members with telescopes are requested to contact John Rombi if they are willing to show the Universe to members of the public. Thanks to those of you who have already volunteered. Please remember that to participate your WWCC accreditation must be up-to-date.
Members intending to volunteer with their telescope to assist at upcoming public outreach events are reminded that participation in such events is conditional on fulfilling the mandatory NSW Government requirement to undergo a free Working With Children Check (WWCC). Details on how to obtain this vital clearance can be obtained at Services NSW or go to their website.
A Message To Members From Tony Law
Hi All,
I made this video in memory of our friend and former MAS President, Chris Malikoff. To play go to the following LINK.
A wake was held in Hobart two weeks ago and his ashes were scattered in the centre of Tasmania.
Best Regards, Tony
Our Observing Sites
Members Only
The Forest Cabin in Belanglo Forest has been an MAS dark sky observatory for a quarter of a century. We are now scheduling regular weekenders again. See the Forest page for site details.
Wooglemai is a prime dark sky observing site, conveniently located near Oakdale. With clubhouse amenities, sleeping accommodation and unlimited overnight viewing hours, the experience is excellent value for money. See our Wooglemai page for site details.
Stargard is our main general purpose observing field at The Oaks. Whilst it cannot boast the facilities that the Forest Cabin and Wooglemai do, it provides convenient evening sessions much closer to home, free of charge to members. See our Stargard page for site details.
Coming? We need to know who is planning to attend our observing sessions. Members are requested to contact John Rombi at: president@macastro.org.au to reserve a place before travelling to an observing session. For essential information about our observing session protocols, please read our Field Night page. All sessions are weather dependent.
🌦️ Weather Check
Article: Weather Forecasting for Amateur Astronomers
The Oaks Weather-cam: South facing
The Oaks Weather-cam: North facing
General Notices
Beginners
We understand the needs of beginners and we are here to help you get started. We run workshops two or three times a year, depending on demand.
Sometimes we will dedicate a Macarthur Astronomy Forum to basic amateur astronomy topics.
Questions can be asked of other members through the MAS Facebook page, the MAS Private Messaging System or by e-mail to contact@macastro.org.au.
Beginners can attend our field nights and ask questions directly to other members.
YouTube is a very useful learning tool. Whichever part of astronomy you wish to learn, someone has made a YouTube video about it!
Astro Imaging Group
Astro Imaging has become very popular. It can also be highly technical. Fear not, we run monthly meetings of our Astro Imaging Group where you can learn more about it and ask questions.
Committee Members 2025-26
President: John Rombi
Vice President: Noel Sharpe
Secretary: Roger Powell
Treasurer: Suzanne Adijans
Membership Officer: Frank Alvaro
Committee Member: Greg Bradford
Committee Member: Phil Kidd
Observing
Members intending to attend our observing nights must read our Field Night page and Stargard , Forest or Wooglemai pages.
Sessions are normally scheduled for Saturdays, because we recognise the needs of members who may have weekday jobs to go to.
Before travelling, members should check this page and your e-mail in box.
Laser Pointers
It is a legal requirement here in NSW to register laser pointer ownership with the Police Firearms Registry. However, as MAS members, you are exempted from this obligation if the laser pointer is only used for astronomy.
The Society keeps a register of members who are laser pointer owners and requires you to formally notify the Membership Officer if you have purchased a laser pointer.
Membership
Please contact Frank Alvaro (Membership Officer) for all new membership enquiries: membership@macastro.org.au or go to our new membership page.
E-mail is our primary means of direct communication with all our members, so don’t forget to tell us if your e-mail address changes: membership@macastro.org.au.
Member’s Postal Address.
Membership cards are posted annually to the last postal address which you have provided to us, so please contact us with your new details at membership@macastro.org.au.
MAS Postal Address
We no longer maintain a PO Box address. After many years the cost and time did not justify a service that was so rarely used.
Sydney Solar Eclipse
If you or a family member are showing any symptoms of covid, influenza or the common cold etc. please do not attend any of our events.
