The Dunedin Astronomical Society Incorporated (DAS) is an amateur astronomical group operating from the

Beverly-Begg Observatory The Beverly-Begg Observatory is a New Zealand astronomical observatory, situated in Robin Hood Park in the Belleknowes part of Dunedin's town belt. It was established in 1922 by the Dunedin Astronomical Society (DAS) and is the home of the gr ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. It is affiliated with the

Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) is the New Zealand national astronomical society. It is an association of professional and amateur astronomers with the prime objective of the "promotion and extension of knowledge of astr ...

and the Otago Institute. The objectives of the society are to: * Promote astronomy and telescope making * Maintain the Beverly-Begg Observatory and provide regular public viewing nights and astronomical instruction for privately arranged groups * Aid members by providing a regular programme of lectures and practical demonstrations on astronomical and telescope making topics * To provide access to astronomical equipment owned by the society to members and to upgrade such equipment as the society deems appropriate Membership of the society is open to anyone interested in astronomy.

History

The Society was established on Monday 27 September 1910 by a meeting in "The Chemistry Room" of the University of Otago as the "Otago Astronomical Society". R. Gilkison was elected president with Rev. P. W. Fairclough and J. M. Garrow elected as vice-presidents. Thompson Lamb was Hon. Secretary and W. S. Wilson Hon. Treasurer.Royal Society of New Zealand, Otago Branch - Historical Review In 1911 the Society affiliated with the Otago Institute to become the Astronomical Section of the institute. The following year a membership of 254 was reported in the transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand (of which the Otago Institute was the Otago branch).
Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand - Volume 45 For a short time around 1915 the society had a "Telescope House" on Tanna Hill in the grounds of the

Otago University The University of Otago () is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in Oceania. The university was created by ...

. However the university required the land for a building project and the society had to look elsewhere for a permanent home. A site near the

Dunedin Botanic Gardens The Dunedin Botanic Garden (often incorrectly referred to as the Botanic or Botanical Gardens) is located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. The garden is close to the University of Otago and one of the ci ...

was selected, but construction was delayed by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1920 the current site for the

Belleknowes City Rise is an inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. One of the city's older suburbs, it is, as its name suggests, centred on the slopes which lie close to the city centre, particularly those closest to the city's original heart of ...

was chosen instead and construction of the observatory was completed in 1922. In 1948 the Telescope Makers' Club asked to make use of the Society's facilities and subsequently joined with the Society. In the 1960s the society built an annex on to the observatory to provide a more convenient area for meetings, talks and telescope construction. The Dunedin Astronomical Society became an incorporated society in 2000 and was registered as a charitable society by the New Zealand Charities Commission in 2009. In 2002 the society gained access to a cottage near

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

for use as a dark sky site.

Centennial celebrations

In 2010 DAS celebrated its centennial year with range of activities. As a part of the celebrations through the year the RASNZ Conference was hosted by the Society at the

Otago Museum Otago (, ; ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government region. Its po ...

. The main centennial events however started on Monday 27 September 2010 when a public meeting was held by the Society in the same room that was used for the meeting that established the society 100 years to the day previously. The minutes of the original meeting were read and a motion was passed taking the minutes as a true and accurate record (although none of those present at the 2010 meeting had been present at the previous meeting). Motions honouring the past officers of the Society and the association the Society had enjoyed with the Otago Institute were passed with acclamation. A talk was then given by amateur astronomer Dr. Grant Christie of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Stardome Observatory Stardome Observatory & Planetarium (IAU observatory code 467, previously known as Auckland Observatory) is a public astronomical observatory and planetarium situated in Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill Domain in Auckland, New Zealand. Stardome has ...

concerning the changes in our understanding of astronomy and the universe during the last 100 years. During the following weekend a tour by bus of various sites of historical astronomical interest was conducted and culminated with the unveiling of a plaque on the University of Otago's Consumer and Applied Sciences (formally the Home Science building) near the site of the Society's first meeting and the site of the original "Telescope House".

Current activities

DAS meets twice a month through most of the year with meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month (except January). The first meeting of each month generally features an astronomy related talk presented by a society member or an invited speaker. The second meeting of each month focuses more on practical astronomy in the form of an observation session (if the weather is kind), or discussion and examination of astronomical equipment and techniques. During winter months (when

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

is not in force) the society opens the Beverly-Begg Observatory to the public on Sunday nights starting at 7:00pm. The society also makes access to the observatory available to education and private groups by arrangement. Society members make regular use of The Cottage, a farm cottage near Middlemarch that is available for use as a dark sky site. In 2013 piers were installed to facilitate the use of the society's and member's

Sky-Watcher Sky-Watcher is a commercial distribution company established in 1999 by the Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan (Synta Taiwan). It markets telescopes and astronomy equipment, such as mounts and eyepieces, aimed at the amateur astronomy mar ...

EQ6

telescope mount A telescope mount is a mechanical structure which supports a telescope. Telescope mounts are designed to support the mass of the telescope and allow for accurate pointing of the instrument. Many sorts of mounts have been developed over the year ...

Science program

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

and

data logger A data logger (also datalogger or data recorder) is an electronic device that records data over time or about location either with a built-in instrument or sensor or via external instruments and sensors. Increasingly, but not entirely, they a ...

are installed at The Cottage to collect data for Dr. Yuki Obana of the

Osaka Electro-Communication University , OECU is a private university in Japan. The main campus is located in Neyagawa-shi, Osaka Prefecture. History Source: The predecessor of the school was founded in 1924, and it was chartered as a university in 1961. *In 1924, was established ...

. The data is used for

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...

research. Society members are very active in occultation observation using the C14 telescope housed in the Beverly-Begg Observatory with a Watec astronomical video camera and IOTA-VTI video timing system. A SBIG ST8300M camera is used for

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

and

photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electr ...

in several observation programs. In 2015 members of the society recorded an important Pluto occultation on 29 June 2015 a couple of weeks before the

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

fly by of Pluto.

References

External links