Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed 3 June
19:30 - 21:00
All welcome. You will need to register at https://www.was.org.nz/2020/05/june-2020-monthly-meeting/
A email acknowledging the registration will be sent back to you with a link to a Zoom meeting. Follow the instructions in the email to gain access to the meeting.
This free online meeting will include
1. Night sky in June
2. Astronomy News
3. Main talk start at around 8:00 pm
Spying on the Universe – Jennie McCormick
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Astronomy is a diverse and exciting science and offers a number of opportunities for amateur astronomers to be part of important research discoveries. It can also produce some unexpected surprises from time to time.
This presentation is a lighthearted, pictorial look at Farm Cove Observatory, its beginnings and the work carried out there.
Jennie is an amateur astronomer who conducts astronomical research from her observatory in Farm Cove, Auckland. She has been involved in the collaborative discovery of more than 20 distant planets, including a new solar system and Binary Star Solar System. She takes regular data on Cataclysmic Variable stars for the Center for Backyard Astrophysics and measures the positions of comets and asteroids for the Minor Planet Center.
In September 2009, Jennie discovered her first asteroid and officially named it, New Zealand!
In the late 1980’s she joined the Auckland Astronomical Society and for 15 years worked as an educator at Auckland Observatory. Jennie is a Fellow of the Society of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ).
In 2008/2009 she coordinated the International Year of Astronomy 2009’s, 100 Hours of Astronomy event. This became the largest global science outreach event held to date and gave millions of people the chance to look through a telescope for the very first time while highlighting the wonders of astronomy to an extensive global audience.
When not ‘spying ‘on the Universe Jennie can be found growing vegetables, playing tennis, taking photos of native birds, sunrise and sunsets from her Pakuranga garden and spending as much time as possible with her two young grandchildren.