History of Australian astronomy seminar
Powerhouse Museum
Sunday 15 June 2008
2pm session in Coles Theatre; all other sessions in Target Theatre

Professor Ray Norris
Aboriginal Australians: the world's first astronomers?
Abstract: Many Aboriginal cultures in Australia have a strong astronomical component, linking their stories and ceremonies intimately to the sky in beautiful and fascinating ways, such as the 'emu in the sky' constellation of dark clouds, and stories about the Sun, Moon, Orion, and the Seven Sisters. As their culture predates Stonehenge and the Pyramids by tens of thousands of years, they have been called the world's first astronomers. Is this claim true? We are trying to answer this question, using information both from the thriving Indigenous cultures in the Top End of Australia, and from the historical artefacts and rock engravings of the Aboriginal people of South East Australia.
Biography: Ray Norris is an astrophysicist at the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), where he was Head of Astrophysics, and then Deputy Director, before leaving management to research the formation of the first galaxies in the Universe, and also the astronomy of Aboriginal Australians. He has about 200 academic publications and many media appearances

Dr Alan Vaughan
Modern research with historic plates from the
Sydney zone of the Astrographic Catalogue
Abstract: About 700 plates from the Sydney Observatory collection have been scanned at the APM in Cambridge (UK) and the star positions used to derive proper motions by comparison with modern epoch observations. The plates covered the Southern Coalsack region of the sky. The proper motions have been used to obtain estimates of the mass of the Coalsack cloud. A further study of radial velocities of the stars has led to the derivation of the 3D space velocities of a large number of stars. Present work is aimed at producing a set of images of the plates suitable for inclusion in the Virtual Observatory.
Biography: Alan Vaughan obtained his PhD at the University of Sydney in 1975. His thesis work detailed the early searches for pulsars and the subsequent measurement of their positions. The then joined Macquarie University where he undertook research into transient events, active stars, and then the extraction of data from historic plates. He also started a substantial outreach program in astronomy at Macquarie, which continues to this day. He initiated teaching in astronomy at Macquarie leading to the formation of a BSc in Astronomy and Astrophysics program. Vaughan retired from full-time work in 2007 but continues research outreach and teaching as an Honorary at Macquarie.

Dr Nick Lomb
Early years of Sydney Observatory
Abstract: Sydney Observatory is Australia's oldest extant Observatory. It is built on a hill housing an unused fort and a derelict windmill though with a functioning signal station communicating with South Head. The first Government Astronomer Reverend William Scott dropped the time ball for the first time at 12 noon on 5 June 1858. As well as providing a time service for Sydney, Scott began systematic weather observations in the Colony and also made regular astronomical observations.
In this talk we will look at the reasons for the establishment of the Observatory, the work of Scott and his immediate successors and the building up of the Observatory's instruments and the staff.
Biography: Nick Lomb is curator of astronomy at Sydney Observatory, which is part of the Powerhouse Museum, where he has been for over 28 years. He is closely involved in the planning and mounting of exhibitions at the Observatory such as the new weather exhibition and the By the light of the Southern Stars exhibition. He is the author of the annual 'Australian Sky Guide' and of 'Transit of Venus: the scientific event that led Captain Cook to Australia' as well as being the co-author of two other books.

Dr Fred Watson
More than a big white dome - the past, present and future of the AAO
Abstract: When, in October 1974, Prince Charles launched the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) with his classic one-liner "I declare this aperture open", few could have imagined the illustrious career that would be carved out by this iconic bi-national instrument. From the outset, the telescope made an impact in the world of astronomy by virtue of its computer control system (the first to be used on a large telescope) and the enthusiasm and dedication of its staff. Today, it is still clever instrumentation and clever people that keep the AAT at the cutting edge of astronomy, despite the advent of telescopes with mirrors twice as big. In this talk, Fred Watson looks at the history and achievements of the AAT, together with those of its smaller sibling, the 1.2-metre UK Schmidt Telescope, and asks what lies ahead for the AAO in a new era of Australian-only operation.
Biography: Born and raised in Bradford, UK, educated at St Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland, trained at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, measuring a million stars in the RAVE project, working as Astronomer in Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory, playing folk guitar along with good friends, combining his talents with composer Ross Edwards on 'Star chant', contributing articles to Astronomy yearbooks and 'Australian Geographic', writing 'Stargazer – the life and times of the telescope' and 'Why is Uranus upside down?', appearing as a regular guest on ABC radio and television, maintaining a busy public speaking schedule.

John Sarkissian
Dishing up the data: Parkes and space missions
Abstract: The recent Australian film, 'The dish', highlighted the role played by the Parkes Radio Telescope in tracking and communicating with the Apollo 11 mission. However, the events depicted in this film represent only a single snapshot of the role played by Parkes in the exploration of the Solar System by NASA.
As the fledgling Deep Space Network was being established in the early 1960s, one of the world's major radio telescope facilities was being built at Parkes, in western New South Wales, Australia. This 64-metre diameter dish, designed and operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), was well-suited for deep space tracking work: its design was in fact, the inspiration for the 64-metre dishes of the Deep Space Network. From Mariner 2 in 1962 to Huygens at Titan in 2005, the Parkes Radio Telescope has been contracted by NASA on many occasions to support interplanetary spacecraft. The highlight of the NASA support was its critical role in several of the Apollo lunar landing missions, especially Apollo's 11 and 13. This talk will outline the role played by Parkes in these historic missions and its relationship with the stations in the Deep Space Network.
Biography: John Sarkissian is an Operations Scientist at the CSIRO Parkes Radio Observatory. His main responsibilities are the operation and systems development at the radio telescope, and the support of visiting astronomers with their observations. In addition, he is involved in Pulsar research - an exciting field of radio astronomy.
John is a member of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array team which is endeavouring to use precision pulsar timing to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves. He is also a member of the small, informal team searching for the missing Apollo 11 slow-scan TV tapes.
From 1998-1999, John acted as a technical advisor for the feature film, 'The Dish'. He came to Parkes in 1996 to support the Galileo Mission to Jupiter. He managed the Galileo spacecraft tracking operations at the observatory and performed 1/3 of the daily tracking duties. From 1988 to 1996, John was a Guide Lecturer and Education Officer at Sydney Observatory.

Dr Phil Edwards
The Adelaide Observatory
Abstract: The Adelaide Observatory can be said to date from 1854, when Charles Todd arrived in Adelaide to take up the position of Astronomical Observer and Superintendent of Telegraphs. Todd retired in 1906 after a decorated career, with the position of Government Astronomer then being held by George Dodwell until 1952.
In this talk the wide range of activities undertaken by the Observatory, including meteorological observations and observations of comets, eclipses, the transits of Venus, and latitude variation, will be reviewed.
Biography: I was born in South Australia and graduated from the University of Adelaide. My interest in the Adelaide Observatory coincides with the centenary of the nova (now recognised to have been a supernova) in Andromeda in 1885! I am presently working at the Narrabri Observatory of the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility.

Dr Wayne Orchiston
A new perspective on the universe: early radio astronomy in Australia
Abstract: Radio astronomy burst onto the world stage immediately after World War II, and England and Australia quickly gained supremacy as this new approach began to throw a whole new perspective on our understanding of the cosmos.
Between 1945 and 1961 much of the Australian research in radio astronomy was carried out at field stations and remote sites in or near Sydney maintained by the CSIRO's Division of Radiophysics where a succession of new types of radio telescopes was invented and used by a band of young men and women to successfully probe the secrets of the Sun, our Galaxy and the distance Universe beyond.
Biography: Wayne Orchiston works in the Centre for Astronomy at James Cook University in Townsville. His research interests lie mainly in the history of astronomy, and many of his recent publications relate to the history of Australian, New Zealand and French radio astronomy. Wayne is Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, and is Chairman of the Working Group on Historic Radio Astronomy formed by the International Astronomical Union.