The ANU College of Science has introduced a new Astronomy and Astrophysics major for Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Honours) students, available from 2019. The new Astronomy and Astrophysics major provides students with an overview of the application of physics to understanding the physical universe.

Liftoff for China's Chang'e 4 mission to the far side of the Moon.

We're a week out, now, from the maximum of the Geminids.

The peak of the Geminids falls at about 10:30 pm, Queensland time, on Friday 14th December (that's 12:30pm, i.e. lunchtime, for those in the UK).

For those of us in SE Queensland, the radiant of the shower rises at about 9pm - so no meteors from the Geminids will be visible before then (though, of course, you could still see sporadic meteors!). As the night progresses after this, and the radiant gets higher in the sky, you should see more and more meteors.

In the first hour or so after radiant-rise, rates will stay quite low, but the meteors you see could be really spectacular - known as 'Earthgrazers' - streaking all the way across the sky from one horizon to the other.

By 11:30pm, the Moon will set, which means the sky will get darker, allowing you to see the fainter meteors in the shower - so despite the maximum falling about an hour before that time, the best rates you see will likely be from 11:30pm onwards 🙂

Here's a bit more detail, in the form of the meteor shower calendar I wrote for the Conversation last year: https://theconversation.com/look-up-your-guide-to-some-of-t… ; and here's a more detailed piece on the shower I wrote back in 2015: https://theconversation.com/this-years-geminid-meteor-showe… . Most of the detail in that article is as valid this year as when I wrote it - just remember that the time of maximum has changed 🙂

Fingers crossed for clear skies and good weather!

Cheers @Jonti Horner

A glitch in the 2019 astronomy guide.

Check out this wonderful 60 Minutes story about this amateur astronomer from Broken Hill - it runs for 12 mins. So many great things in this story. Trevor had his first look through a telescope as a middle-aged man, and his life changed in that instant. He is now involved with NASA.