By John Sarkissian OAM
Central West Astronomical Society
This year’s 20th anniversary CWAS AstroFest was a resounding success.
Amateur astronomers from around Australia converged on Parkes to share and experience their joy of astronomy.
The two-day AstroFest conference was held over the weekend of 28-29 September and contained a full program of events.
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On Saturday, September 28, the AstroFest began with a series of lectures held in the Conference Centre of the Bushman’s Motor Inn, Parkes.
Talks were given by some of Australia’s foremost professional and amateur astronomers.
In a season of astronomical anniversaries, Prof. Fred Watson presented the keynote address, the John Bolton Lecture.
He gave an entertaining talk about last week’s Anglo-Australian Telescope’s 50th anniversary.
Other speakers included Dr Andrew Zic who presented the latest results of his groundbreaking research into detecting gravitational waves, and Dr Carole Jackson who gave an update on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, the next generation of radio telescopes being built in Western Australia.
Noted amateur astronomers, Trevor Barry of Broken Hill and Steve Quirk of Mudgee, described how amateur astronomers can become involved in significant observations that lead to important new discoveries and insights.
Their work is an inspiration to all amateur astronomers – an example of what “ordinary” people can do if they set their minds to it.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the 2024 CWAS “David Malin Awards”.
Amateur astronomers and photographers from around Australia were invited to take part in the exhibition and to submit their astrophotographs for consideration in the prestigious “David Malin Awards”.
The winners were presented with the awards by Dr David Malin himself, following a special civic reception held in the Bushman’s Motor Inn Conference Centre, in the presence of invited dignitaries.
Our hosts, Mayor Neil Westcott and Deputy Mayor Marg Applebee, warmly welcomed the AstroFest participants and guests to Parkes.
The winners of the competition came from every State and Territory of Australia (NSW, Vic, SA, WA, Qld, Tas, and the ACT).
The overall winner of this year’s competition was Jarrod Koh of SA, for his superb image of the Rho Ophiuchi Region in Scorpius.
To view all the “David Malin Awards” winning images, visit: https://davidmalinawards.com/
On the following day, Sunday, September 29, the activities of the AstroFest moved to the CSIRO’s Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre.
The “David Malin Awards” exhibition was officially opened in the Centre’s Bowen Room, where it will remain for the next year.
Come along and see the beautiful, award-winning images.
The conference concluded with daytime astronomy viewings by members of the CWAS, on the lawns of the Visitors Centre.
The Central West Astronomical Society expresses its gratitude and appreciation to CSIRO’s Parkes Observatory, and the Parkes Shire Council for their support of the festival.
It was a true celebration of astronomy, and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.
