Macarthur Astronomy Forum is a monthly public forum organised by

Macarthur Astronomical Society Macarthur Astronomical Society is an organisation of amateur astronomers, based in the Macarthur Region of outer South Western Sydney, NSW, Australia, including the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council, Wollo ...

, providing leading national and international professional astronomers with a platform to address the Forum on topics of

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

interest; also providing members of the Society and the general public with opportunities to learn and ask questions. 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 Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

( 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) and on the second Monday of December.

Aims

* To bring excellence in astronomy to the Macarthur Region. * To provide a prestigious public platform for expert national and international astronomers from Australia and elsewhere to make an illustrated presentation on their individual fields of expertise. * To foster the science of astronomy within the community. * To bridge the divide between professional astronomy and amateur astronomy. An Evening With The Stars - Before 5 crop

An Evening With The Stars - Before 5 crop

Macarthur Astronomy Forum - Lewis & Malikoff

List of International guest speakers

International speakers who have addressed the Society: * Dr Gregory Chamitoff, a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronaut,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, who flew on

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

and Endeavour missions STS-124 and

STS-134 STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the Internationa ...

to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

. * Professor John Peacock,

cosmologist Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

and astronomer, (

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

). * Dr. Mark Phillips, Associate Director of the

Las Campanas Observatory Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS). It is in the southern Atacama Desert of Chile in the Atacama Region approximately northeast of the city of La Serena. ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. * Dr Giovanni Carraro,

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

Paranal Observatory Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on Cerro Paranal at altitude, south of Antofagasta. By total light-collecting area, it ...

, ( European Southern Observatory),

. *

Geoffrey Notkin Geoffrey Notkin (born February 1, 1961) is an American actor, author, and entrepreneur. Notkin is known as one of the hosts of ''Meteorite Men'', a documentary reality television series from Science Channel, which ran for three seasons. He is the ...

, a

meteorite hunter Meteorite hunting is the search for meteorites. A person engaged in the search for meteorites is known as a meteorite hunter. Meteorite hunters may be amateurs who search on the weekends and after work, or professionals who recover meteorites for ...

based in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and co-star of the American TV series The Meteorite Men. *

Amy Shira Teitel Amy Shira Teitel is a Canadian author, popular science writer, spaceflight historian, and YouTuber. Career Writer Amy Shira Teitel is a native of Toronto. She has written for The Daily Beast, ''National Geographic'', Discovery News, ''Scientific ...

, a space exploration historian an
YouTuber
based in

. * Tom Nolan, Earth and Climate Scientist, NASA

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

. * Shannon McConnell, Deep Sky Network, Public Engagement Manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. * Todd Barber, Senior Propulsion Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. * Deb Brice, Marine Science Educator, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. * Rachel Zimmerman Brachman, Outreach Lead for Radioisotope Power Systems, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. * Christine Fuller, Robotics Mechanical Engineer, Extreme Terrain Robotics, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. * Dr. Michael Malaska, Astrobiologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

List of Local guest speakers

Professional astronomers who have recently addressed the Society include: * The 2011 Nobel Laureate for Physics Professor Brian Schmidt (

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Mount Stromlo Observatory Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). History The observatory was established in 1924 as The Commonweal ...

). * Professor Bryan Gaensler ( Sydney University, Young Australian of the Year 1999 and Director o
CAASTRO
, University of Toronto since Jan 2015. * Professor Geraint Lewis ( Sydney University) * Professor Fred Watson AM (Astronomer-In-Charge of the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Australia's first Astronomer at Large). * Professor Naomi McClure-Griffiths (

) * Professor Tamara Davis (

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

). * Professor Gary DaCosta (

). * Prof. Michael Wheatland (University of Sydney). * Associate Professor Peter Tuthill ( Sydney University), known for his work on the

Red Square Nebula The Red Square Nebula is a celestial object located in the area of the sky occupied by star MWC 922 in the constellation Serpens. The first images of this bipolar nebula, taken using the Mt. Palomar Hale telescope in California, were released ...

. * Dr. Ragbir Bhathal (

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

) * Dr. David Malin ( Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Prof.

Lisa Harvey-Smith Lisa Harvey-Smith (born 1979) is a British-Australian astrophysicist, Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador and a Professor of Practice in Science Communication at the University of NSW. Her research interests include the origin and evolution o ...

(Project Scientist for the

Square Kilometre Array The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKA ...

2009-2012 & Project Scientist for

ASKAP The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a radio telescope array located at Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The facility began as a technology demonstrator for the in ...

2012-to 2018 and first Australian Ambassador for Women in STEM). * Prof. Tim Bedding (University of Sydney). * Assoc. Prof. Charley Lineweaver (Australian National University). * Prof. Tara Murphy (

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

). * Dr. Mike Ireland ( Macquarie University) * Dr. Max Spolaor ( Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Dr. Andrew Hopkins ( Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Dr. Tim Robishaw. * Dr. Greg Madsen ( Sydney University). * Dr. Simon O'Toole (Anglo-Australian Telescope). * Dr. Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer (School of Physics and Astrophysics, UNSW). * Dr. Emil Lenc (University of Sydney and CAASTRO) * Dr. Graeme Salter,

University of NSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

. * Dr. Jonti Horner, University of NSW. * Dr. Jeremy Bailey, University of NSW. * Dr. Geoff Sims, University of NSW. * Dr. Ángel R. López-Sánchez (Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Dr Amanda Bauer (Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Shaila Akhter (University of NSW). * Dr. Roberto Soria ( ICRAR & Curtin University). * Dr. Luke Barnes (University of Sydney). * Dr. Jonty Marshall (University of NSW). * Dr. James Allen (University of Sydney). * Dr. Ed Kruzins (CSIRO, Director of

Deep Space Communication Complex, Tidbinbilla) * Dr. Lee Spitler (Macquarie University). * Dr. Andrew Green (AVSO). * Dr. Stuart Ryder (Anglo-Australian Telescope). * Dr. Vanessa Moss (University of Sydney). * Dr. Maria Cunningham (University of NSW). * Marnie Ogg (

Dark skies ''Dark Skies'' is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that debuted on NBC on September 21, 1996, and ended on May 31, 1997, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel; 18 episodes and a two-hour pilot episode were br ...

advocate). * Dr. Brad Tucker (Australian National University). * Dr. Devika Kamath ( Maq. Uni). * Dr. Tayyaba Zafar ( Australian Astronomical Observatory). * Dr. Brett Addison ( USQ). * Dr Ashley Ruiter ( UNSW Canberra). These astronomers are users of the world's most sophisticated optical, radio, gamma-ray orbital and ground-based telescopes, including the Hubble, Keck,

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

and the ATNF telescopes. In Lisa Harvey-Smith's case, she was also the 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 Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomer ...

, such as

Anthony Wesley Anthony Wesley (born 1965 or 1966) is an Australian computer programmer and amateur astronomer, known for his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 Jupiter impact events. Background Wesley was born in Glen Innes, Australia in 1965. At as early as ten ...

and leading members of

and other Societies, to foster the science of astronomy within the community.

Students Night

The Forum holds Annual Students Nights on the second Monday of December, when students are invited to present their latest astronomy research projects. 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.

Space Rocks

In July, 2018, Macarthur Astronomy Forum and The Australian Botanic Garden collaborated to hold
Space Rocks
, bringing two international figures,

and television presenter from

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

and Amy Shira Teital, a space historian and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

br>presenter
from Canada, to Macarthur. This sellout event was the first Forum at which an entry fee was charged.

References