Sutherland Astronomical Society Incorporated (SASI) (previously known as the James Cook Astronomers Club) is an amateur

astronomical society A list of notable groups devoted to promoting astronomy research and education. International * Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E) * Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) *International Astronomical Union (IAU) *International Meteor Organization * Ne ...

based in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

, in the southern suburbs of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It operates the Green Point Observatory, it is one of the two founding organizations of the

National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers The National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers (NACAA) is a biennial national forum for amateur astronomy in Australia. In 1966 two enthusiastic amateur astronomical groups, the James Cook Astronomers Club (now called the Sutherland ...

, and its members have discovered two comets and two novae.

Activities

The society meets every Thursday night at the Green Point Observatory. These meetings can take different formats: some meetings have invited speakers who are professional astronomers or specialists in related fields, keeping members updated with the latest developments in research and technology. Other meetings are less formal, with members holding discussions among themselves, exchanging techniques, tips and experiences, capturing and processing images, or just observing through the society's telescopes which are kept on site. In 2016, the society will once again host the prestigious

(NACAA). This will be the sixth time the society has hosted or co-hosted NACAA. The society produces a regular official publication for members, named the ''Southern Observer Journal''. (OCLC Number: 222056167). They support the Public Education Foundation's ''Stellar Astronomy Scholarship for Girls'' by providing the winner with society membership and mentoring. The society is very active at promoting observational astronomy to the public, as well as for its own members at their Green Point Observatory, which is classified as a "designated" optical observatory by the

Astronomical Society of Australia The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) is the professional body representing astronomers in Australia. Established in 1966, it is incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory. Membership of the ASA is open to people "capable of contribut ...

on the basis that it is judged to be a valuable astronomical resource for research, education and community use. They conduct a number of public outreach events, including: * Public Star Viewing nights, usually in March and August. These events are well supported by the local community, especially for children. * Group bookings for observing and star parties * Each year, they run a Practical Astronomy Course called ''SASPAC''. To assist with these activities, the society is authorized by the police to use high-powered lasers for astronomical purposes.

History

The Society was formed in June 1961, and was then known as the ''James Cook Astronomers Club'' (JCAC), named after

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

, English explorer who first landed in

Kurnell Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla ...

(a suburb in the Sutherland Shire) after successfully observing a

transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...

from

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. The Society obtained Council land at Oyster Bay and commenced construction on the Green Point Observatory, the first stage of which, consisting of a dome and library, was completed in 1969. The observatory was extended in 1974 when a meeting hall was added, and further extended in 1997 when the roll-off roof observatory was added, and further in 2007 when the two buildings were merged, and the meeting hall extended, toilet added and kitchen improved. The JCAC merged with the Pacific Astronomical Society in 1972 and the name was changed to the ''James Cook Astronomical Society''. The name was further changed to ''Sutherland Astronomical Society'' in 1978 to further identify the society in the geographical area in which it is located. The Society was incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act and the word "Incorporated" was added to the name. In 1966, the James Cook Astronomers Club (as SASI was then known) and the Canberra Astronomical Society met to discuss holding a convention for amateur astronomers across Australia. These discussions resulted in the first

(NACAA) being held over Easter 1967 at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in Canberra, jointly hosted by the James Cook Astronomers Club and the Pacific Astronomical Society These two clubs merged to form SASI, which has since co-hosted conventions in

Katoomba Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Situated on the Great Western Highway and the Great Western Railway, Kato ...

(1966),

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

(1967),

(1988) and Penrith (2008) and sole hosts in 1998 at

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

. When the Astronomy celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2011, the famous astronomer

Fred Watson Frederick Garnett Watson AM (born 14 December 1944) is an English-born astronomer and popular scientist in Australia. He was appointed as Australia's First Astronomer at Large within the Commonwealth Government of Australia in 2018, relaying ...

addressed their commemorative dinner, which was also covered by the press.

Logo

The Society logo is the galaxy NGC2997 in

Antlia Antlia (; from Ancient Greek ''ἀντλία'') is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means "pump" in Latin and Greek language, Greek; it represents an air pump. Originally Antlia Pneumatica, the constellation was es ...

and was adopted in 1979 and updated in 2008.

Discoveries

Members of the Society have made the following discoveries: ;Comets * Comet 1998 P1/Williams discovered by life member Peter Williams on 10 August 1998. * Comet 1999 H1/Lee discovered by member Steven Lee in March 1999. Each of the two comet discoveries above brought Williams and Lee the

Edgar Wilson Award The Edgar Wilson Award is an annual international award established in 1998 consisting of a monetary award and a plaque allocated annually to amateur comet discoverers. It is administered by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) through t ...

for their discoveries. ;Novae * Nova V382 Velorum by life member Peter Williams on 23 May 1999 (independently co-discovered by P. Williams and A. Gilmore) * Nova Ophiuchi 2006 also by life member Peter Williams on 6 April 2006. Each of the two nova discoveries above brought Williams the Nova/Supernova Award of the

American Association of Variable Star Observers The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization. Founded in 1911, the organization focuses on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by ama ...

Past presidents

* 1961–1964: Keith Selby * 1965–1966: Frank Napier * 1967: Leo Klingen * 1968: Arthur Northwood * 1969: Keith Selby * 1970–1971: Elaine Polglase * 1972–1978: Mark Rea * 1979–1988: Greg Hayward * 1988–1990: Bill Witton * 1991–1993: Rolando De Michiel * 1994: Roger North * 1995–1996: Christopher Toohey * 1997: Bill Witton * 1998–1999: Les Dalrymple * 2000–2006: Brett McMillan * 2007–2008: Brett Parker * 2009: Loui Pagano

References

External links

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2019 Astronomy in Australia Amateur astronomy organizations Organisations based in New South Wales Organizations established in 1961