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Welcome to the Astronomical Society of Victoria

The Society is based in Melbourne, Australia and includes city and country members, as well some in other states and overseas. It attracts people with a wide range of astronomical interests, ages, abilities and experience. Originally founded in 1922, it is the largest such organisation in the southern hemisphere.

Membership is open to all with an interest in astronomy.

 

 

MONTHLY MEETING: FREE TALK AND CHANCE TO WIN TELESCOPE!

This coming Saturday 19th January at 8pm, see the first Monthly Meeting of the ASV for 2019. It will be held at the National Herbarium in Birdwood Ave, Melbourne. The evening will feature a presentation by Boris Goncharov (Monash University) on "Neutron Stars: Rock Stars of the Universe", they live fast and die young, leaving a good looking corpse!If this fascinating talk isn't enough, everyone attending the meeting will enter a draw to win a magnificent Saxon Dobsonian Telescope. Furthermore, there'll be a short talk, too, on the best things to see over the summer. There's also a delicious Free supper after the talk and the telescopes of Melbourne Observatory will be used for observing. It's FREE to get in, but be early to get a good seat.

GOT A NEW TELESCOPE AND WANT TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT?

Even if you have an old telescope and haven't mastered it yet, here's an afternoon and evening session where you can learn how to use it sucessfully. It will be held on Sunday 20th January from late afternoon into the evening in a suburb in Melbourne's east. There are only limited places in this course, so to make a booking send an e-mail ASAP to "perry@asv.org.au", include what type of telescope you have.

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

Crux Magazine for December-January Online

The Dec-Jan Crux is now available in PDF for downloading by Members.

ASV 2019 Yearbook Online

The ASV 2019 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.

Events iCal

The ASV runs a large number of events to cater for a broad range of astronomy related interests. Check the website on a regular basis for the latest updates. The next 14 events are listed below - view the calendar page for a full listing of planned events.

Sat 19 January

Instrument Making Section

2.00pm - 5.00pm

Location: ASV Lodge
For further information contact Section Director: Mark Justice

Sat 19 January

Library (Members Only)

6.30pm - 7.45pm

Location: Birdwood Ave, Melbourne

The Library is open at the following times:
+ Monthly Meeting - before 6.30 to 7.45pm and after from approx. 10:00 to 10:45pm
+ Members' Night - from 7pm to 7:50pm
+ Last Sunday of month - 2pm to 4pm

The Library is now in the old Government Astronomers’ Office which is in the north west corner of the main building at Melbourne Observatory.

There are currently a large number of books and magazines, surplus to the Library’s needs, for sale. The sale is on-going whenever the Library is open.

For further information contact Barry Cleland, 0418 356 832

Sat 19 January

ASV Monthly meeting

8.00pm - 10.00pm

Location: Mueller Auditorium, National Herbarium, Birdwood Ave., Melbourne

Topic: Neutron Stars
Speaker: Boris Goncharov, School of Physics, Monash University

Everybody is welcome and the night will end with a delicious supper and it is FREE
Looking forward to seeing you there.

Fri 25 January

Club Section meeting

8.00pm - 11.00pm

Club Section meetings are informal and take place on the first and last Friday of the month (public holidays excepted) between 8:00 – 11:00pm at the ASV Lodge.
Come along for a chat, all members welcome.

Sun 27 January

Historical Section meeting

1.00pm - 4.00pm

Location: ASV Lodge

For further information, contact Section Director: Rod Brown

Sun 27 January

ASV Library (Members Only)

2.00pm - 4.00pm

Location: Birdwood Ave., Melbourne

The Library is open at the following times:
+ Monthly Meeting - before 6.00 to 7.45pm and after from approx. 10:00 to 10:45pm
+ Members' Night - from 7pm to 7:50pm
+ Last Sunday of month - 2pm to 4pm

The Library is now in the old Government Astronomers’ Office which is in the north west corner of the main building at Melbourne Observatory.
There are currently a large number of books and magazines, surplus to the Library’s needs, for sale. The sale is on-going whenever the Library is open.

For further information contact Barry Cleland, 0418 356 832

Wed 30 January

Council

7.45pm - 10.15pm

ASV Council meeting
Location: ASV Lodge

Fri 1 February

Club Section

8.00pm - 11.00pm

Club Section meetings are informal and take place on the first and last Friday of the month (public holidays excepted) between 8:00 – 11:00pm at the ASV Lodge.
Come along for a chat, all members welcome.

Sat 2 February - Sun 3 February

Dark Sky Night

6.00pm Sat 2-Feb - 8.00am Sun 3-Feb

Location: LMDSS
Please note that Dark Sky Nights are not an organized event and the criteria for these nights are as follows:-
- is a Saturday night
- has at least two hours dark sky, (that is after Sunset and when twilight ends, and also prior to Sunrise and before twilight starts)
- dark sky is calculated from the times of Astronomical Twilight
- dark sky must start before midnight (or before 0100 Sunday during Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Remember to obtain the gate/clubhouse codes from the ASV webpage

Mon 4 February

Computing Section

8.00pm - 10.00pm

For further information contact Section Director: Craig Boyd
Location: ASV Lodge

Wed 6 February

Cosmology and Astro-Physics Section Meeting

8.00pm - 10.30pm

Discuss current news in Cosmology and Astro-Physics
Topic:

Location: ASV Lodge
“All Welcome – Bring an Open Mind”

Contact: Ross Berner
Mobile: 0403 167 004
Email: cosmology@asv.net.au

Fri 8 February

Junior Section

7.30pm - 9.30pm

Location: ASV Lodge

Meeting times:-
7:00pm - 9:00pm (EST)
7:30pm - 9:30pm (DST)

For further information contact Section Director: Chris Rudge

Sat 9 February - Sun 10 February

Deep Sky Section

6.00pm Sat 9-Feb - 8.00am Sun 10-Feb

Location: LMDSS

Bring a plate to share at supper.

For further information, contact Section Director: Paul Gardiner

Wed 13 February

Library (Members Only)

6.30pm - 7.45pm

Location: Birdwood Ave, Melbourne

The Library is open at the following times:
+ Monthly Meeting - before 6.30 to 7.45pm and after from approx. 10:00 to 10:45pm
+ Members' Night - from 7pm to 7:50pm
+ Last Sunday of month - 2pm to 4pm

The Library is now in the old Government Astronomers’ Office which is in the north west corner of the main building at Melbourne Observatory.

There are currently a large number of books and magazines, surplus to the Library’s needs, for sale. The sale is on-going whenever the Library is open.

For further information contact Barry Cleland, 0418 356 832

More events: Calendar