Jupiter & Saturn Great Conjunction

The rare conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn planets is known as a great conjunction and will next occur on December 21. The last great conjunction occurred in the year 2000. The two bright planets will appear only 7 arc minutes of each other in the night sky. They will be so close that they will appear to make a bright double planet. Jupiter and Saturn will appear to almost merge as one to the unaided eye. The planets have not been this apparently close since July 1623. A team of ASV volunteers wish to share this event with you, allowing you an opportunity to see these planets together using our telescopes. We're running this registered COVIDSafe event at an area within Caulfield Race Course Reserve. This a gold coin donation event. Bookings are essential. Book your attendance via these links:

December 17th  https://www.trybooking.com/BNDVY December 19th  https://www.trybooking.com/BNKUN December 21st  https://www.trybooking.com/BNKUO No entry permitted without a ticket. Face masks must be worn while at the event. Social Distancing (1.5metres) and good hygiene must be practised. Please review these guidelines on hygiene and physical distancing. COVIDSafe Marshalls will be in attendance. The organisers have registered a COVIDSafe Event Checklist with the Victorian Government. This checklist can be viewed here.

LMDSS Update

The LMDSS has reopened (conditionally) for All Victorian members from 13th November 2020.

1.   The LMDSS is still subject to government rules and regulation which are currently in force.

2.   Opening dates will be limited to Dark Sky weekends.

3.   Attendance is limited by Covid 19 rules.

See “COVID SAFE PLAN LMDSS 22 Nov” in the members download area for instructions and booking process.

The next dark sky weekend is 11th - 13th December 2020. Xmas Star-B-Que

Bookings will open at 06:00hrs on Friday 4th December 2020.

See members section for details. 

Book your attendance via this link: Bookings open Friday 4th Dec, 2020. : https://www.trybooking.com/BMZIW

Room bookings are made through LMDSS Beds

See Members section for further details.

Pathways to the Planets

Here at the Astronomical Society of Victoria, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn about and observe the wonders of our universe.

That's why we've initiated our Pathways to the Planets project - to raise valuable funds for improving the facilities at our dark sky site which will enable access to the site and purpose-built astronomical equipment for limited mobility and low vision observers.

To read more about this exciting project or to donate to this incredible cause, please visit: Pathways to the Planet

Interviews with ASV Sections

ASV Member Elise Bianchi has started a series of podcasts as an assignment for postgraduate studies.

Episode 4  - Elise speaks with Ken Le Marquand, past president of the ASV and section director of the New Astronomers Group. We talk about how the New Astronomers Group has changed over the years, what it has to offer for new members, and how to get involved.
Episode 5 -  Elisa speaks with Jim Pollock, Director of the Great Melbourne Telescope restoration section. Jim tells us about the history and origins of the Great Melbourne Telescope, which was once the largest fully steerable telescope in the world, and the long road to restoring it.

Click here for the interview

ASV Monthly Meetings

The ASV Monthly Meetings (held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month) are now being streamed through our public Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Our Monthly Meeting for November 2020 starts at 8:00pm and the topics will be: New Astronomers Group (NAG) and Astrophotography section talk for beginners.

The presentation will be followed by Perry’s Sky for the Month.

Crux Magazine for October-November 2020

The October-November edition of Crux is now available for downloading by Members.

Crux Extra!

Crux Extra comes out weekly with articles on Astronomy and related areas.

Visit the Members Area and go to Downloads.

ASV 2020 Yearbook Online

The ASV 2020 Yearbook is now available in PDF for downloading by Members.

ASV Items For Sale

A section in the ASV Forum has been created for members wanting to buy or sell Astronomical Items.

Please log in to the Members Only section and visit the Forum or click on the 'Chat' icon.

The Great Melbourne Telescope Restoration Project

Here's a link to a story by Liz Clarkson with a number of images of ASV members hard at work in restoring the Great Melbourne Telescope. It gives a little bit of history and outlines the aims and current status of the project to bring this telescope back to Melbourne Observatory, in a working condition for members of the public to look through. It was once the largest steerable telescope in the world back in the late 1880s.

The Great Melbourne Telescope Restoration on Ch 9 News

Many people are not aware that Melbourne Observatory was the home of the largest steerable telescope in the world during the second half of the 1800s. There is magnificent volunteer effort from ASV members to restore the Great Melbourne Telescope and have it reinstalled in its original roll-off roof observatory not far from The Shrine. Channel 9 News presented a report on it recently and if you missed it on air, here's a link to it: https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/1058993849224163328