Lyrids Watch 2012

A bunch of us from the old and new committee went to Selesa Hillhomes, Bukit Tinggi for a leadership discussion and stargazing - hunting the Lyrids meteor shower! It was cloudy at first, but we persevered and at about 3a.m. the skies cleared up and we were up for some serious astronomy adventure!

In between discussions  of activities for the new semester (we promise that it'll be an exciting one!), we counted meteors and got a count of 15 in 3 hours! The sources says that Lyrids are 10 per hour, so in average we got 5, not bad.

The skies above are also gloriously filled with stars, we took the chance to do some astrophotography :-) and surprise, surprise - we pictured the Milky Way!

 In this picture... there is Sagittarius and Scorpio... and the Milky Way in between.

The white 'clouds' is the Milky Way! This picture is taken by our new publicity director Qin Ni!

We also docked our DSLRs to the Astroview 100mm (some of you remember him as 'Steve') and got some pictures of faint star clusters. It's not as spectacular as the Hubble images, but still amazing in its own right!

M4 Globular Star Cluster ->

<- M6 Butterfly Cluster - do you see a butterfly shape?

M7 Ptolemy's Cluster - legend has it that it was commonly called as the 'nebula on Scorpio's tail' until astronomers with telescopes zoomed in and found this pretty cosmopolis of stars.

This is all for our adventure. Cheers for the new 4th generation Stargazer Society - and potentially the best one yet! 

Lyrids and the Stargazer Society

It's time for the meteor showers of spring, the Lyrids! This year the Lyrids are good to see in a fully moonless night. Lyrids are moderate showers unlike the 'Grand Showcases' of the Perseids and the Geminids. However, just step out and look out for some meteors - maybe you can get a glimpse of a massive fireball!

YOU DO NOT NEED A TELESCOPE TO ENJOY AT A METEOR SHOWER. Much patience is needed though! The best way is to go out to the playground, find a spot with the least streetlights, open your sleeping bag and just lie down and soak in the nightly dew while waiting for a meteor to streak across the sky!

Lyrids Watch 2011 in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Our first collaboration event with another university! *nostalgia*
10 Stargazer Society members went all the way to Semenyih to bring the joy of stargazing to students in UNMC. (despite a few weeks from edexcel exams lol) It was an unforgettable experience, although the clouds set in for more than half of the nights but many people still had the chance to see Saturn and other astronomical objects through the 3 telescopes at the event - by Ms. Teoh and Ms Yap and Zhenyu Law. (the one in the picture below!)

 

Meteor showers are one of the best experiences in your life that you shouldn't miss! Go out and hunt them now! :)

HIMPUNAN TELESKOP 300

Himpunan Teleskop 300!!

This 26th May 2012, in Putrajaya..... Malaysian astronomy is going to have a revolution.
WE are going to break a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the largest telescope gathering in an event.

Our target is 300 TELESCOPES! Big or small, Mak or Dob, it doesn't matter!
Take this chance to connect with fellow enthusiasts! Spread our cosmic interest with all your friends and family! We are going to make a revolution in Malaysian astronomy!


If you want to join in this event! Join us “Himpunan Teleskop 300” on Facebook or just contact Chrono Fong, Pierre Chong or Nurul Fatini Jaafar on Facebook – we will get back to you quickly!


A professional poster is due! Anyone up to the challenge? =D

It is just the beginning to an awesome year of astronomy

Time flies when you're having fun and now it's time for a new batch of committee members to lead the stargazer club to skies full of wonder and surprise!

Here's the list of the new committees : -
President                                    : Daisuke Wong
Vice President                            : Yong Chen Ming

Secretary                                    : Theo Kaslyn

Vice Secretary                            : Kai Xin
Treasurer                                    : Ching Yaw Jin

Publicity                                      : Lee Qin Ni

Research and Development team : Kang Hyun Woo
                                                   : Yap Chien Shean

I am VERY sure with their enthusiasm in stargazing, there will be lots of outings and events being organised this year.
Aren't you excited as well? 

We would also like to express our warmest gratitude to the ex committees for their dedication and guidance throughout the semester. You guys are awesome!

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Oh, and don't forget to check out the Himpunan Teleskop 300 event! Look forward to meeting you guys there! 

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”  -Marcus Aurelius