Eleventh ASSA Symposium 2018

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The Eleventh ASSA Symposium was held on the 7th to 11th May 2018 on the premises of the South African Astronomical Observatory (S.A.A.O.) in Cape Town. This symposium consisted of two separate symposia – the “Astronomical History Symposium” and the Societies “Eleventh Symposium”

Astronomical History Symposium  / ASSA Eleventh Symposium

A

Astronomical History Symposium

The History Symposium was held on the 7th and 8th of May 2018

Theme:
In preparation for the 200th Anniversary of South African Astronomical Observatory.

Symposium Organising Committee:

  • Ian S. Glass (SAAO)
  • Petri Vaisanen (SAAO)
  • Case Rijsdijk (ASSA)
  • Auke Slotegraaf (ASSA / CfAH)
  • Daniel Cunnama (SAAO)
  • Christian Hettlage (SAAO)

The contact e-mail was: history2018@saao.ac.za.
The website was hosted at: https://history2018.saao.ac.za/programme/

Summary of the symposium and programme:
Announcement
Call for papers:
Welcome
Provisional Programme
Report Back on Symposium:
Partisipants
Presentations
Titles and Abstracts

Talks given at the Symposium:

Original Website hosted by Auke Slotegraaf listing the talks at the Symposium:  http://www.psychohistorian.org/display_article.php?id=201210290905_assa_symposium2012

 

Welcome by Clifford Nxomani, Deputy CEO of the NRF, and Petri Vaisanen, Director of the SAAO

Session 1: Beyond visual-region observing

Bernard Fanaroff: “History of the Square Kilometer Array South Africa”
Presentation:  Fanaroff – The SKA SA
Video:

Christo Venter: “The History of Gamma-Ray Astronomy in South Africa”
Presentation:  Venter – History of Gamma-ray Astronomy in South Africa
Video:

George Ellis: “ Cosmology in South Africa”
Presentation:  Ellis – Cosmology in SA
Video:

Session 2: Outreach and education

Case Rijsdijk: “Outreach and publicity – history and current”
Presentation:  Rijsdijk – Education, Outreach and Communication
Video:

Lucia Marchetti: “Hemelliggaam / The attempt to be here now”
Presentation:  Marchetti – Hemelliggaam
Video:

Kurt Van Der Heyden: “The NASSP and HCD in South Africa”
Presentation:  vd Heyden – The NASSP and HCD in South Africa
Video:

Session 3: Outreach, practical history

Matie Hoffmann: “Planetariums in South Africa”
Presentation:  Hoffman – South African Planitariums-a  <!– Hoffman – South African Planitariums-b  Hoffman – South African Planitariums-c –>
Video:

Theo Ferreira: “Planetariums”
Presentation:  Ferreira – Planetarium-a     Ferreira – Planetarium-b     Ferreira – Planetarium-c     Ferreira – Planetarium-d      Ferreira – Planetarium-e    Ferreira – Planetarium-f
Video:

Auke Slotegraaf: “Archival Rescue: Lessons learnt at the Royal Observatory/SAAO”
Presentation:  Slotegraaf – Archival Rescue-a      Slotegraaf – Archival Rescue-b      Slotegraaf – Archival Rescue-c
Video:

Lerothodi Leeuw and Jarita Holbrook: “Oral histories of individuals involved in astronomy in South Africa – progress and future plans”
Presentation:  Leeuw – Oral Histories SA
Video:

Tour of the SAAO Cape Town buildings and domes
tour Royal Obs

 Session 4: Particular Observatories

Mike Feast: “The Radcliffe Observatory Pretoria, from Start to Finish”
Presentation:  Feast – Radcliffe Pretoria
Video:

Ian Glass: “History of the Royal Observatory Cape”
Presentation:  Glass – History RO
Video:

Dawid van Jaarsveld: “One dream ignites another:  A short history of the transformation of Lamont-Hussey Observatory”
Presentation:  van Jaarsveldt – LamontHussey
Video:

Session 5: Present and Future / 2020 events

David Buckley: “ A History of SALT”
Presentation:  Buckley – History SALT-a     Buckley – History SALT-b     Buckley – History SALT-c
Video:

Daniel Cunnama: “Celebrating 200 years of the Cape Town Observatory”
Presentation:  Cunnama – Celebrating 200 years Cape Obs
Video:

Kechil Kirkham: “Engaging the general public in astronomical heritage – the bicentenary celebrations and a public exhibition”
Presentation:  Kirkham – Engaging Public in Astr Heritage
Video:

Session 6

Keith Gottschalk: “Astronomy, Space and Politics”
Presentation:  Gottschalk – Astr, Space Politics
Video:

Maciej Soltynski: “Gill and the RTC”
Presentation:  Soltynski – Gill and RTC
Video:

Chris de Coning: “Prominent amateur astronomers of the early ASSA”
Presentation:  de Coning – ASSA Amateurs
Video:

Session 7

Willie Koorts: “The 1882 Transit of Venus and its relics”
Presentation:  Koorts – The Transits of Venus-a     Koorts – The Transits of Venus-b     Koorts – The Transits of Venus-c
Video:

Jarita Holbrook and Lerothodi Leeuw: “Workshop on Oral History Interviews”
Presentation:  Holbrook
Video:

 

B

ASSA Eleventh Symposium

The Eleventh Symposium was held on the 9th to 11th of May 2018.

Theme:
Amateur Astronomy in the DIgital Age

Symposium Organising Committee:

Summary of the symposium and programme:
Announcement:
Call for papers:
Provisional Programme:
Report Back on Symposium:
Curriculum Vitae of the Speakers:

Talks given at the Symposium:

Original Website hosted by Auke Slotegraaf listing the talks at the Symposium:  http://www.psychohistorian.org/display_article.php?id=201210290905_assa_symposium2012

 

Session 1

Case Rijsdijk – Welcome
Video:   https://youtu.be/Y3jojroTgWM
Patricia Whitelock (SAAO/UCT) – Official Opening
Video:   https://youtu.be/YCjOfczWIEs
Rob Adam, Managing Director, South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) – Opening Address
Presentation: Adam – History Status of Meerkat SKA
Video:   https://youtu.be/y-0IZodojBM

Session 2

Katherine Blundell: “Spectroscopy in the Rainbow Nation: a case study of SS433”
Presentation:
Video:   https://youtu.be/cMPy2rzUWXQ

Vanessa McBride: “Monitoring Be X-ray binaries”
Presentation:
Video:   https://youtu.be/2WrZNj2J7d4

Andre van Staden: “Monitoring Red-back ms Pulsars”
Presentation: Available on request
Video:   https://youtu.be/6wimFSFXAPk

Session 3

Stella Kafka: “The AAVSO for your research in the large surveys era”
Presentation:
Video:   https://youtu.be/NzbVEcTTAOY

Mattia Vaccari: “The radio galaxy zoo”
Presentation:
Video:   https://youtu.be/Wqrf3vGNums

Jose da SIlva: “Explanets”
Presentation:  da Silva – Transiting Exoplanets
Video:   https://youtu.be/ZLqxuDVBFtg

Berto Monard: “Finding Supernova’s
Presentation:  Monard – Amateur Astronomy Today
Video:   https://youtu.be/eLZn4J2pttI

Session 4

N Erasmus: “The SAAO’s Asteroid Programme”
Presentation:
Video:

Tim Cooper: “Meteors, Bolides and Comets”
Presentation:  Cooper – Detection Meteors Comets using CAMS
Video:

Chris Kyba: “Light pollution”
Presentation:
Video:

Session 5

Sarah Blyth: “LADUMA survey/Education”
Presentation:
Video:

Auke Slotegraaf, Centre for Astronomical Heritage: “Citizen Science in the Archive”
Presentation:  Slotegraaf – Citizen Science in Archive
Video:

Katherine Blundell: “Engaging the Amateurs”
Presentation:
Video:   https://youtu.be/cMPy2rzUWXQ

Session 6

Magda Streicher: “Sketching at the eyepiece”
Presentation:  Streicher – Sketching
Video:

Allen Versfeld: “Modern Media as an Outreach Tool”
Presentation:
Video:

Percy Jacobs: “Spectroscopy”
Presentation:  Jacobs – Amateur Spectroscopy
Video:

Maciej Soltynski: “The Cosmic Web”
Presentation:  Soltymski – Cosmic Web
Video:

Session 7

Stella Kafka: “Citizen Science and Citizen Astronomy”
Presentation:
Video:

Session 8

Clyde Foster: “Stacking and resolution”
Presentation:
Video:

Johann Moolman: “Astrophotography Adventure”
Presentation:
Video:

Doug Bullis: “Emission Streaming from the LMC into Cha and TrA”
Presentation:
Video:

Daniel Cunnama: “Celebrating 200 years of the Cape Town Observatory”
Presentation:  Cunnama
Video:

Session 9

Chris Kyba: Workshop on light pollution, discussing tools related to understanding light pollution, measurement techniques, strategies for light pollution measurement campaigns, and strategies for minimizing the growth of light pollution.
Information:  Kyba_session_9
Video: