CONASTA science conference keynote address features astrophotography presentation

Dr John Goldsmith has presented a keynote conference address at the 2015 CONASTA national science teachers conference, hosted in Perth, Western Australia, on 8th July 2015.  The keynote presentation focused on the Astrofest astrophotography exhibition, and the dynamic and innovative ways in which astrophotography is being used to raise awareness about astronomy.  

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LUMINOUSnight, LUMINOUShall
and CELESTIALvisions celebrate
UWA's centenary

The University of Western Australia has celebrated it's centenary in spectacular fashion, with thousands of guests enjoying a multitude of events, as part of the LUMINOUSnight celebration.  The centre piece of the event was a giant outdoor projection, onto the University's Winthrop Hall.  The projection, called LUMINOUShall presented a quirky, humorous and informative view of the development and history of the University, which was created by Illuminart (www.illuminart.com.au).


A collaboration with  Celestial Visions brought a celestial theme to the spectacular production.  The famous Road  to the Centre of the Universe image, and the popular Multicoloured Pinnacles and Celestial Star Trails featured in a  beautiful  combination of art and science, in which an ancient and inspired message was  revealed by the Greek Philosopher Plato;   "Finally the vision may be  revealed, of a single science which is the science of beauty everywhere". 

LUMINOUS night also featured CELESTIAL visions, featuring iconic Western Australian landscapes  filmed at night, in timelapse.   The production, created by John Goldsmith, showcases the splendours of our  natural and urban environments, together with superb astronomical scenes.   

Having achieved this wonderful milestone of UWA's centenary,  here's to looking forward to the next century of achievement !

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Lake Ballard astro-photography captures Aurora

Western Australia's Lake Ballard, located some 800km north east of Perth, in the northern Goldfields, is the site of Antony Gormley's "Inside Australia" art project.  Metal statues extend across the vast, flat landscape, at Lake Ballard.  A prominent feature is the Pyramid Hill, with the Milky Way arching overhead.  Above the southern horizon is a reddish glow, the Southern Aurora, which we later learnt was due to a solar emission event which occurred in mid July 2012.  

Lake Ballard provides a superb location for astronomical photography.  The aurora was an unexpected astronomical event, photographed 29.4 degrees south. 

The 'Inside Australia" statues by Antony Gormley provide a surreal and other-worldly experience at Lake Ballard.  For some of the astrophoto images, the statues were illuminated in soft red light.  

Preview images of the stars, planets, moon, statues and the Lake Ballard landscape are provided to the right:  

 

The panoramic mosaic image (above) won first place in the open catgeory of the Australian Institute of Physics (WA Branch) 2012 photo competition, and also featured at the OZ Viz 2012 conference www.ozviz2012.org (advanced visualisation) at The University of Western Australia, December 2012. 

Celestial Visions features at HIVE Data Visualisation launch, Curtin University

The new Data Visualisation centre at Curtin University, called HIVE, has launched with a spectacle of digital imagery.  Using four different projection and imaging systems, HIVE offers innovative ways of viewing and experiencing big screen digital imagery.

Images from Celestial Visions featured at the launch, including 360 degree images of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope project, Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, a spectacular view of the Milky Way galaxy over Lake Ballard and the Mulka's Cave heritage site.  These images have been derived from John Goldsmith's PhD research "Cosmos Culture and Landscape", which investigated the communication and sharing of Australian Aboriginal astronomical knowledge.
 

For further information about HIVE, see:
www.curtin.edu.au/hive

Photos:  © John Goldsmith / www.celestialvisions.com.au.   Base images are copyright by the respective copyright owners. 
    X rays of marine fauna:    Miles Parsons, Centre for Marine Science and Technology; and Curtis Ng, Curtin Medical Imaging
    Lunar craters:                    Will Featherstone and Christian Hirt, Curtin Spatial Sciences.
    Fireballs in the Sky:          Phil Bland, Curtin Planetary Science
    GoGoFish Fossil:             Tim Senden, Aja Limaye, ANU
    Acknowledgements:         Thanks to HIVE, Curtin University for technical and management support.  

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Comet ISON in pre-dawn sky;  Western Australia

Above:  Comet ISON has been photographed from Western Australia, in the pre-dawn skies, on 27 & 31 October, & 9 November 2013.  Preview images are shown  (above).  Photographed with a Canon 300 mm lens.  Location:  appproximately 70 km east  of Perth, Western Australia.   The comet has brightened and the tail lengthened significantly during these dates. 

Below:  A scene from a timelapse sequence during the astrophotography, 9 November 2013.

Below:  Comet ISON deep in morning twilight, 22 November 2013, above the Darling Scarp, Perth, Western Autralia.

Canon 300mm F2.8 FD at F4, 2.5 sec at 2000 ISO. 

Comet and Southern Cross meet
in a prelude to comets of 2013

Southern skywatchers have been treated to a comet display, in the centre of the iconic Southern Cross. 

The comet, called Comet Lemmon, passed through the centre of the Southern Cross, early in the hours  of 20 January 2013.  Astrophotographer John Goldsmith recorded the event.  A strong feature of the comet is its bluish green colour and it appeared as a hazy ball of light, with a slight tail. 

Astronomers and skywatchers are widely anticipating the appearance of two comets in 2013, Comet Panstarr and Comet ISON, both of which may provide superb views later in 2013.

 
© John Goldsmith / www.celestialvisions.com.au

Comet PanSTARRS, March 2013

Comet PanSTARRS, photographed above Penguin Island, Western Australia, evening twiligtht, March 2013.  Comet LEMMON also appears faintly near the centre of the wide angle view, below, with a tail a few degrees long. 

Above:  Comet photography, on location at Point Peron, Western Australia.

Left:  Comet PanSTARRS appears above a brightly lit ship, moored in Gage Roads, between Fremantle and Rottnest Island, Western Australia.

Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope, Southern Stars and a Fireball Meteor

Superb new astrophotography and timelapse video records a fireball meteor and the spectacular southern skies, above the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope, in Western Australia. 

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at the Murchison Radio Observatory (MRO), consists of more than 2000 radio antennas spread across 3 square kilometres, in 128 groups.  The network of radio telescope antennas are formed by groups of dual-polarisation dipole antennas.   Unlike steerable radio telescope dishes, these antennas contain no moving parts.  Instead, advanced signal computer processing is used to focus the antennas on different parts of the sky.

The AU$51 million Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) project is located in the Shire of Murchison, some 800 km north east of Perth, Western Australia's capital city. 

In November 2012, TWAN astrophotographer John Goldsmith recorded a fireball meteor above the MWA radio antennas.  The fireball appeared low in the southeast sky, and created glowing dust that persisted for several minutes.  The fireball was recorded by two  cameras, during multi-hour timelapse sequences.  One camera used a fisheye lens (180° view), and the other used a 24mm wide angle lens, close to the MWA antennas.  

Comet Lovejoy Photo Gallery
December 2011

See our photo gallery of Comet Lovejoy, the spectacular comet gracing the southern skies, December 2011.

Images available for publication or purchase.  Contact us via our enquires form.

Digital Astrophoto Exhibits 
@ Astrofest 2012 

Two major digital astrophotography exhibitions featured at Astrofest, Western Australia's biggest annual astronomy festival.  The evening event, held on Saturday 31 March 2012 at Curtin Stadium, attracted 3,500 visitors.  The digital exhibitions featured The World At Night, and the Western Australian Astrophotography Exhibition.  

Celestial stars light up CHOGM 2011
October 2011

Timelapse from Celestial Visions has featured at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM 2011).

The Celestial Visions timelapse featured “The Pinnacles” Nambung National Park, in Western Australia. 

The unique timelapse vision was created by John Goldsmith.  The vision shows a superb view of the southern stars and setting moon, descending over the famous Pinnacle formations of Namung National Park, Western Australia. 

Leaders and delegates from 54 commonwealth countries attended the CHOGM event, which was held in Western Australia’s capital city, Perth, between 28-30 October 2011.

CHOGM 2011 was officially opened by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and speeches by the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma. 

Commonwealth leaders meet at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to agree on collective policies and initiatives.

Official CHOGM 2011 web site    www.chogm2011.org/CHOGM2011
The World At Night                      www.twanight.org

VENUS TRANSIT FROM PERTH

Despite very heavy cloud over Perth, Western Australia, superb images of the Venus transit have been photographed by John Goldsmith.  Amazingly, the transit was glimpsed and photographed through cloud.  


Preview photographs are shown to the right.  



The Astronomy WA network now features the Venus Transit article, by Chris Thorne, John Goldsmith and Divya Palaniswamy.  


(External link to the Astronomy WA web site provided below) 
http://www.astronomywa.net.au/General-news/venus-captured-from-behind-the-clouds.html 






MEDIA AND PUBLISHERS:  

Full resolution images are available, 
contact John Goldsmith 
on 0439904536 
or email [email protected]

Galaxy Centre directly overhead
Southern hemisphere 180 degree view

A superb view of the centre of our galaxy, directly overhead, photographed on 22nd June 2012, viewed from Western Australia (latuitude -31 degrees). 

Prominent is the central bulge of our Milky Way galaxy.  Many constellations are visible, including Scorpius, Sagittarius, and Crux (Sourthern Cross).

A brief period of cloud free winter weather provided a clear view of our Milky Way.

The lower left portion of the image shows high clouds illuminated by reflected city lights of Perth (approximately 150 km distant). 


Image specifications:
      Camera:    Canon 5DII
      Lens:         Canon 8-15mm F4 lens, full frame fisheye lens at 8mm. 
      Image:      3 minutes exposure, 2000ASA, F4

(Above)   Canon 5DII and 8-15mm lens, used for the full frame 180 degree image of the Galaxy

(Above)  The 180 degree image of the Milky way, directly overhead.  

(Above) John Goldsmith, preparing for a cold night of astrophotography

(Above) Dr Chris Thorne and John Goldsmith

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