By Jenel Hunt
Telescopes of the Southern Downs, unite. Burst out of your cupboards and take your rightful place in the after-twilight zone of the great outdoors.
That might be a little tongue in cheek, but the message is quite serious, according to Brisbane Astronomical Society president Peter Allison, who was in Warwick last week (26 May) to host a public viewing session at Victoria Park.
“I love running public sessions because the people who come to them usually haven’t looked through a telescope before. You see their reactions when they see the moon up close for the first time or as they try to wrap their mind around the idea that they’re looking at something that has taken 17,000 light years to travel through space to their eyeballs. We relish sharing the night sky with members of the public who have never seen galaxies and nebulas. They’re standing in a park in the middle of Warwick and looking at galaxies 57 million light years away.”
He said the event had attracted a small cluster of about 20 people and the weather had been cold but fine. A particularly uncomfortable wind that had made its presence felt all day eased just after sunset.
In many ways, the public viewing sessions are just for fun. What the society really wants is to make contact with people who are already trying their hand at stargazing,“ Peter said.
“We’re wanting to pull people out of the woodwork – the ones who might have a telescope but they don’t get it out much because they don’t have a place to take it to.
“You’d be surprised how many people have a $3000 – or even a $10,000 – telescope in a cupboard at home.”
Peter said that when people were starting out, amateur astronomy wasn’t particularly easy to do alone.
“There is a steep learning curve in amateur astronomy. The technology is difficult. There’s a lot to learn, and having others around sharing their knowledge is much more helpful than stumbling around in the dark on your own,” he said.
He said the plan was to start a group in the region that could piggyback off the Brisbane Astronomical Society.
“We have the website, the Facebook page, the email system, the $20 million public liability insurance. Seven or eight years ago a Sunshine Coast group approached us to do the same thing. It allows a group to use all the administration system we have set up. Then they can lobby the council or apply for government grants or whatever – all from a $35 membership with the Society.”
As someone who has been coming to Warwick for years with a telescope and camping overnight in a farmer’s paddock, he is no stranger to the area.
“We’d love to set up a facility based in Warwick. I’ve been talking to a sporting association that might like to partner with us. They would use the facilities during the daytime, we could use them at night.
“To do that, we think it would be good to have about 25 local members who would get together regularly, and the Brisbane Astronomical Society would dip into its funds to make the facilities better. We want to have a facility that Brisbane members could come to. We could end up with a great tourist drawcard for the Southern Downs.
“It might even branch into overnight accommodation where people can throw a sleeping bag on a bunk.
“It’s baby steps at the moment. We’re trying to build awareness within the local astronomy community.“
He said keen local astronomer Mike Geisel had offered his place for the next public viewing.
“He will have two telescopes set up for astrophotography. Visitors should get a buzz out of that.“
Peter will pack his 50kg telescope into his little hatchback and make the trip up the range for the viewing event, which will start around 5pm on Friday 23 June at 48 Jackie Howe Drive.
Anyone from the Southern Downs region who is interested in astronomy can contact Peter Allison by email at President@bas.asn.au or by phone on 0488 140 755.
