Latest version of the Cosmic Chatter - Tara Anglican School for Girls

Cosmic Chatter 2012
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Table of Contents
Article Page Number
Welcome to Cosmic Chatter
by Katrina Woodforde
Team Viewing Night and Kapler 20-F
by Robbie Quinn
Solar Observing and Shooting Stars
by Ahshvini Cenan
Our First Supernova and Leadership Workshop
by Joanne Lim
The Great Day Out and Professor Fred Watson
by Bronwyn Walters
Close Encounter with Astronomy
by Caitlin Williams
Observatory Update
by Anneliese Cooper
The Transit of Venus
by Cenan, Griffiths, and Mikhael
Professor Katherine Blundell
by Joanne Lim
International Space Station Contact
by Adithya Rajendran
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Page 3
Pages 4 & 5
Pages 6 & 7
Pages 8 & 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Pages 13 & 14
Page 15 & 16
Pages 17 & 18
Edited by Joanne Lim (Tara)

Welcome to Cosmic Chatter
Welcome to the first column of Cosmic Chatter . This column will be written by members of the
Space Odyssey Team (SPOT) every fortnight to give you a small insight into events in the sky as well
as updates about what’s happening in the team and the astronomical community.
SPOT is a group of 52 students from different schools who operate a 20” research grade optical
telescope located on the grounds of Tara Anglican School. The telescope is one of the largest
privately operated telescopes in Australia and was provided by Oxford University as part of the
Global Jet Watch program.
Logo for the Global Jet Watch Program
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In this program, four telescopes built at girls’
boarding schools around the world will be used
by students to collect and analyse data from an
astronomical phenomenon- the nano-quasar
SS433 (the Cosmic Corkscrew). You can read
about nano-quasars and what they are at
http://www.globaljetwatch.net/
By participating in the Global Jet Watch program, students will be able to collect new scientific data
on a phenomenon of which little is known. In addition to this, they are able to use the telescope for
our own research projects.
As well as the telescope, SPOT also uses a variety of other equipment including two 8” and one 10”
optical telescopes, Sky Scouts and specialist astrophotography equipment. Additionally, we are very
excited to be acquiring a solar telescope this year which will allow us to closely observe the Sun and
the transit of Venus in June.
We encourage you to join us in the Globe at Night Project from February 12 - 21, a citizen science
project to monitor global light pollution. It is a fun and educational project. Instructions can be
found at http://www.globeatnight.org/
By Katrina Woodforde (SPOT Member, Roseville College)

Team Viewing Night & Kepler 20-F
From the Observatory
Observing for 2012 began with the Space Odyssey students honing their astronomy skills by
participating is team viewing nights run by the Team Leaders and CEO’s- Jessica Hough, Brittany
Fossey and Matt Jacob.
SPOT CEO’s Matt Jacob (The King’s School) and Jessica Hough (Tara)
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Luckily the skies cleared and we had excellent
views of Venus, Jupiter, the Tarantula nebula and
the Christmas tree star cluster while using the 8
inch Dobsonian telescopes and the Oxford 20
inch telescope. Jupiter and Venus can currently
be seen with the naked eye as bright objects in
the western sky just after dark.
In what is just another example of the cutting edge technology in use at the Tara Observatory, a
minor problem with the optical telescope's focus was fixed last week all the way from Oxford
through use of a program called Team Viewer, which lets the scientists in England access the
telescope remotely via the dome computer in Australia. The telescope and dome were manned by
SPOT students who, guided by Dr Andrew Gosling from Oxford, resolved the problem with the result
that telescope is fully operational again.
We congratulate Brittany Fossey for winning of the Astronomical Society of NSW Young Writer
Competition 2011 for her article on her study of Saturn’s moons and Rebecca Newman and Fleur
Combridge for being Runners Up. They were all published in the ASNSW Universe Magazine and
received prizes from the ASNSW and the Binocular and Telescope.
SPOT Members Anneliese Cooper,
Rebecca Newman, and Fleur
Combridge, all from Tara, with Karen
Wittingham

A Second Earth?
Kepler 20-F is a planet orbiting the star Keplar-20, of the Lyra constellation. It was discovered just
last year by the space telescope Kepler. Planets are regularly discovered- what made this one
especially interesting to all astronomers, however, was the fact that it had a very similar size to that
of Earth. This similarity led to the planet being coined “a second Earth.”
Comparison between Earth and Kepler-20f
Unfortunately for anyone envisioning a space colony being set up on this planet, there are two
reasons why this could never happen. First and foremost, the planet has a temperature of some
427 ° Celsius, due to the fact that it orbits its star far closer. Secondly, the solar system in which this
planet resides, Kepler 20, is some 950 light years away, which means, even if humanity were to
devise some form of Speed of Light travel, it would take 950 years to get there.
However, even if these two planets might not have life, and aren’t viable for human existence, it
means that the Kepler telescope has made positive steps in finding out the answer to the age old
question, “Are we alone?”
By Robbie Quinn (SPOT Member, The Kings School)
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Solar Observing & Shooting Stars
From the Observatory
The Space Odyssey Team is thrilled to announce that we now have a new, exquisite piece of
technology in our hands –a state of the art solar telescope. With this highly advanced piece of
equipment, the team can now easily explore one of our most intriguing stars –the Sun –and
continuously track its fascinating activities, such as sun spots and solar flares, during the day.
SPOT Members Alisha Kinkade, Grace Dugdale, and Joanne Lim, with the Solar Telescope
If you are interested in astronomy, go to
http://skymaps.com/ for Star charts. Star
charts are astronomical maps to identify
stars and constellations and useful for
navigating your way across the night sky.
The site provides your own
downloadable monthly star chart.
CEO Jess Hough with the Solar Telescope
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As part of their
partnership with Tara,
the Astronomical
Society of NSW is
currently running a
four week
‘Introduction to
Astronomy’ course at
Tara. Be sure to watch
this column to learn
more about upcoming
courses.

What is a Shooting Star?
CEO Brittany Fossey with the Solar Telescope
The streaks of light we see that soar across the night sky are commonly mistaken for “shooting
stars,” however most people do not realise that shooting stars are not stars at all. They are
meteoroids- pieces of rock and dust from outer space, some the size of sand.
Once a meteoroid eventually reaches the Earth’s atmosphere it “officially” becomes a meteor,
igniting from the increasing amounts of friction and burning up. Rarely do they stand a chance of
hitting our planet. Some meteors, however, are large enough to survive against the fiery voyage
through the atmosphere and actually land on the earth. Another change of name and these are
called meteorites. Most meteorites are small and cause very little damage as most of them land in
the sea. The largest meteorite found was in Namibia and weighed 60 tons!
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By Ahshvini Cenan (SPOT Member, Tara)

Our First Supernova & Leadership Workshop
Congratulations to Emma Hayman and Fleur Combridge who have managed to find SPOT’s first
supernova whilst imaging the spiral galaxy M95 on Tuesday 20 th March! With the entire Universe out
there to look at they just happened to be looking at the right place at the right time. The image
shown below clearly shows the supernova, despite being taken through some cloud.
Image of the Supernova
A supernova is a rare explosion of a star and can outshine entire galaxies over several weeks or
months before fading out. During this period, a supernova can radiate as much energy as the Sun is
expected to emit in its lifespan! SPOT members are looking forward to monitoring the course of the
supernova over the coming weeks.
The exploded star has been named SN 2012aw, and is 37 million light-years away. It is currently
shining with the light of 500 million suns and is expected to become brighter! It was first spotted on
16 th March 2012 but actually exploded approximately 38 million years ago! The time it has taken for
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the light from the explosion to reach our telescopes on Earth has been tremendously long, showing
us just how vast is space.
This supernova is capable of teaching astronomers about the earlier moments of the star’s death
which may result in some insight as to how these stars operate. People have spent lifetimes chasing
supernovae and we are unbelievably lucky to have this telescope which allows us to experience
once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like capturing an image of this supernova.
On Saturday 10 th March SPOT Leaders attended a leadership workshop which was conducted by Dr
Karen Whittingham, Director at Impact Psychology. The skills gained in goal setting and teamwork
will well employed as they move Space Odyssey forward in 2012. We are most grateful to Dr
Whittingham for donating her time and expertise.
Anneliese Cooper - Promotions Leader (left) and Grace Dugdale- IT Leader, Brittany Fossey –CEO, and
Joanne Lim – Promotions Leaver (right) and the Leadership Workshop
Our new solar telescope saw its “first light” this week and the images of the Sun were truly amazing.
To see the Sun for yourself, make sure you find the Space Odyssey stall at the Great Day Out on May
5!
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By Joanne Lim (SPOT Member, Tara)

The Great Day Out & Professor Fred Watson
From the Observatory
Close Encounter with Astronomy 2012
We are very privileged to have Professor Fred Watson to speak at this year’s astronomy night on
26 th May. There will also be the new Macquarie Planetarium and telescope viewing if it is clear.
Great Day Out
Visit Space Odyssey at the flagpole to look at the Sun through our
new Solar Telescope.
Astronomical Society of NSW Public Course at Tara
Parents are invited to the second instalment of the ASNSW’s
Introduction to Astronomy Course (I2A) which will commence on the
15 th May and run till 5 June. The course will be held in the Tara
Professor Fred Watson
Science Lecture Theatre and run from 7:30 – 9:30. There is no need to have attended any previous
I2A courses as each one runs independently.
The course topics will be:
• Telescopes,
• Stellar Evolution,
• the Electromagnetic Spectrum and
• Cosmology
You will look at great telescopes of the world and learn how telescopes work, including a hands-on
session to demonstrate different types of telescopes and mounts suitable for amateur observing.
Gain an understanding of the life cycles of different types of stars and how to make a black hole.
Find out about light and how astronomers use the entire electromagnetic spectrum to learn
everything we know about stars. Our final venture will be into the wider universe to see how it has
evolved since the beginning of time.
The presenter is Lesa Moore (BSc, MPhil) (aka Starry Lady), who is a life member of the ASNSW, a
Macquarie University astronomy graduate and a specialist in public outreach
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By Bronwyn Walters (SPOT Teacher)

Close Encounter with Astronomy
The past few weeks have been filled with a flurry of activity for the Space Odyssey Team,
both on the ground and in the sky. We successfully ran a stall at Tara’s Great Day Out,
displaying and allowing people to use our brand new Hydrogen Alpha Telescope. It was a hit
among the young and old alike.
Also, this year’s Close Encounter with Astronomy on May 26
has had a huge response. The event will feature a talk by
Professor Fred Watson AM who is Astronomer in Charge of
the Anglo Australia Telescope, a new planetarium from
Macquarie University and telescope viewing by SPOT and the
Astronomical Society of NSW (ASNSW). Bookings can be made
on the Tara website and we hope to see you there under clear
skies!
Meanwhile, up in the night sky, Venus has been highly visible
in the western twilight sky, but will begin to become difficult
to see as it moves closer to the Sun, where it will cross the
face of the Sun on June 6 in a rare transit. SPOT is teaming
with ASNSW in the aim of showing most Tara students the Transit of Venus, which won’t
occur again until 2117.
You may have noticed a spectacular “Super
Moon” on the May 6. The moon reached the
point in its orbit where it is the closest to the
earth, called perigee by astronomers. This
happened to correspond with a full Moon,
making the Moon as much as 14% bigger and
30% brighter than other full moons of 2012.
SPOT Members using a Dobsonian at Close Encounters
All of us here at SPOT are rugging up and getting ready for what will surely be a spectacular
Winter night sky.
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By Caitlin Williams (SPOT Member, Tara)

Observatory Update
From the Observatory
May has been a busy month for the Space Odyssey Team! We manned our Hydrogen alpha
solar telescope at Tara’s Great Day Out, hosted our second successful Close Encounter with
Astronomy night and planned for the Transit of Venus on June 6 th . These whole school
events were on top of our regular viewing nights and the Astronomical Society of NSW
(ASNSW) Introduction to Astronomy Course on Tuesday nights. We thank Professor Fred
Watson for his talk on the Transit of Venus at Close Encounter with Astronomy, the ASNSW
for bringing along their telescopes and Macquarie University for the Planetarium
experience. SPOT has certainly been living up to our “No Limits” motto and touched over
1000 people with the magic of astronomy.
A record number of Year 10 students are
undertaking challenging astronomy research
projects this year. Spending nights in the
Observatory and days on the solar telescope their
topics include the life cycle of stars, planetary
nebula, impact craters on the Moon, supernova,
sunspots and solar flares. We look forward to
seeing their finished projects.
We have been enjoying our last views of the constellation Orion during May as it is setting
earlier each night. Orion, part of which is often called “the saucepan” in Australia, includes
the Great Orion Nebula, or M42, which is a star forming region in the handle of the
saucepan. The Orion Nebula is one of the most spectacular objects in the sky. In Greek
mythology Orion was a hunter who had a fight with Scorpius, the giant scorpion. After they
both died, they were put into the heavens but on opposite sides of the sky, with Orion
setting in the West as Scorpius rises in the East.
If you would like to learn more, you can hear a podcast on Orion at
http://www.astronomycast.com/2011/06/ep-224-orion/
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By Anneliese Cooper (SPOT Member, Tara)

The Transit of Venus
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It may seem strange that one little black spot
on the sun could cause so much fuss, but the
rare celestial event, the transit of Venus, was
a phenomenon not to be missed. On the 6th
of June, Venus passed in front of the sun in
what is called a planetary transit, something
that happens only twice every 100 hundred
years or so and unfortunately if you missed
Image of Transit of Venus, taken by Karen
Whittingham
this one, you will not have another chance to view it because the next one is in 2117.
Although Venus is always going around the Sun, it is rare that the Sun, Venus and Earth line
up directly. It has only been observed 6 times in history since the invention of the telescope.
The Tara Space Odyssey Team organised a program allowing each Tara student to use the
school’s solar telescope and telescopes brought in by the Astronomical Society of NSW, or
via live webcast if cloudy, to witness this rare
event. The Transit has been extremely
important for Science as it has allowed man to
measure the distance between the Earth and
the Sun. This transit lasted for 6 hours, from
8:16am to 2:44 pm.
Remember though that without the school’s
special telescopes you must NOT look at the
sun, not even through the use of sun glasses or
binoculars as you can damage your eyes and
might go blind.
Tanya Appleby (SPOT Teacher) at the Viewing, Tara

Projection method used at the King’s School
Students from the King’s School in SPOT, viewing the Transit
Venus was seen as a small, black dot moving over the face of the sun, its diameter 33 times
smaller than the sun’s disc. Although this may not seem spectacular in itself it is the rarity
and the history behind it that makes it so special. In fact, Captain Cook was returning from
the viewing of the 1769 Transit of Venus when he discovered the east coast of Australia.
More than a century ago, a scientist named Harkens witnessed the transit and asked himself
what the world would be like during the next transit. When you get your chance to observe
the transit, imagine what the world might be like in 100 year’s time…….
By Jordan Griffiths, Ahshvini Cenan and Natalie Mikhael (SPOT Members, Tara)
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Professor Katherine Blundell
From the Observatory
Last Saturday 4 th August 2012, the Space Odyssey Team had
the privilege of having Professor Katherine Blundell come
and speak to us. Professor Blundell is an astrophysicist at
the University of Oxford and initiated the Global Jet Watch
Program. During the meeting, Professor Blundell allowed us
to question her about astronomy and Tara’s involvement in
her program.
When asked why she went into astrophysics, Prof Blundell
answered that she had a love for maths and a love for
physics, the essential ingredients to becoming a keen
physicist. This prompted her to gain a degree in physics. She
then branched off into astrophysics. Professor Katherine Blundell
Currently mirror flaps are being installed on the telescope which can be controlled from the
computer. Computer connectivity infrastructure provided by Sophos allows for the computer in the
Tara dome to sync with Professor Blundell’s computer in Oxford. This will be extremely convenient
when data collection begins. Professor Blundell stated that the interface and all the software would
remain exactly the same.
When asked when we could anticipate the collection of Global Jet Watch data, Professor Blundell
answered that we could start collecting data as soon as we were ready to. Currently students in the
other countries where the telescopes are located – Chile, India, and South Africa – are also more or
less starting to make use of their telescopes, gaining knowledge, and taking images.
When we begin to collect data we will be taking images and making photometric measurements.
Professor Blundell explained that with all four telescopes in different parts of the world, it can be
ensured that there will always be at least one telescope in darkness allowing constant imaging and
data collection.
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Professor Blundell is a brilliant astrophysicist who is a currently a Research Fellow at St John’s
College, Oxford. She has written a book called “Concepts in Thermal Physics”, and edited a book
called “Energy”. Previously, she has been a Research Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal
Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and at Balliol College, Oxford.
SPOT Members with Professor Katherine Blundell
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By Joanne Lim (SPOT Member, Tara)

International Space Station Contact
From the Observatory
We are in the middle of a new age after recently concluding a Cold War and a fully-fledged space
race only some 40 years ago; students from all around the world can now speak with crew aboard
the International Space Station (ISS), which is the largest international and scientific endeavour ever
undertaken, with 16 nations around the globe contributing in this joint venture. On the Sunday 9 th of
September 2012, history was made as the Space Odyssey Team contacted the ISS in a breathtaking
one and a quarter hour event.
The International Space Station
The talk with the Space Station only lasts for as long as it stays in range over our heads as it orbits at
27,000 kilometres per hour (in this case, 10 minutes)! The time beforehand, filled with presentations
and procedures, added to the thrill and excitement everyone in the room was feeling. A great variety
of guests were in attendance, along with students and their families. Joining us were esteemed
guests such as the Hon. Dr Geoff Lee (MP for Parramatta) and school principals, as well as several
media organisations.
Many of you might be curious about how we established the actual contact between the Space
Station and ourselves. Two methods exist for a contact like this:
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1. Direct Contact – Radio Transceivers are used to connect directly to the Space Station with
authorisation from NASA. A large antenna is used to transmit and receive the signals.
2. Tele-bridge Contact – Selected powerful Amateur Radio stations positioned at various
locations across the globe will pick up and relay the signals from the ISS to us as it passes
over their skies. In our case, a station in Belgium did the relaying for us, meaning people in
the local vicinity of that Belgian station were able to tune into our conversation and listen in.
A global audience… how exciting!
Anneliese Cooper (CEO 2012/2013), Stephanie Todd, and Fleur Combridge (CEO 2012/2013) at the
contact. (Taken from Sydney Morning Herald)
I hope everyone enjoyed this memorable occasion and I congratulate Mrs Walters, the SPOT team
and its members for delivering yet another exciting event.
By Adithya Rajendran (SPOT member, Baulkham Hills High).
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We would like to acknowledge the contribution and enthusiasm of
the following members of SPOT 2012
Alder, Sophie Huang, Christine Ravishankar, Aarani
Allington, Maddie Jacob, Matthew Russell, Katharine
Anderson, Nicole Johnstone, Libby Sakiris, Marissa
Bhatia, Pranav Khot, Sonja Sharma, Ankita
Campbell, Andrew Kinkade, Alisha Shi, Kevin
Cenan, Ahshvini Kosasih Arielle Suresh, Nakshathra
Choo, Sarah Kuhasri, Dev Todd, Stephanie
Combridge, Fleur Li, Angela Tong, Richard
Cooper, Anneliese Lim, Joanne Wainwright, Madeleine
Dugdale, Grace Liu, Amy Williams, Caitlin
Fernandes, Caroline Mahler, Bethany Woodford, Katrina
Fossey, Brittany Mikhael, Natalie Wright, Megan
Gill, Lilias Muralidaran, Saimurooban Yang, Rachel
Griffiths, Jordan Newman, Rebecca Zhang, Chriatine
Hayman, Emma Nye, Leah
Hodgkinson, Nicholas Oldman, Arie
Hough, Jessica Quinn, Robbie
Hu, Ellia Rajendran, Adithya
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We thank the following schools for their support of the Space
Odyssey Program during 2012:
Baulkham Hills High School
Girraween
James Ruse
The King’s School
Mt St Benedicts
Roseville College
Tara Anglican School for Girls
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