Community 
Member Reports
Member ReportsSearch Member Reports
Post a Member Report
Share your own activities, experiences, and thoughts about astronomy with the rest of the worldwide AWB community.
Member Reports from Johannes Stübler
Jun 19
Occultation of Venus by the Moon
4YINFO - today's Occultation of Venus by the Moon - attached my friend's picture (Herbert Raab - Kepler Observatory Linz - author of "Astrometrica" - http://www.astrometrica.at ) who used successfully a hole in the clouds :-) C-8 (f=2000mm) and Canon EOS 550D, 1/500 sec, ISO 100. Unfortunately during the exit it was cloudy. Klick on the picture for a higher resolution. Regards Joe Read More...
May 30
Another prominent place to spread AWB's slogan
Today I distributed the 100YearIAU-Report in Austria. Link 100Year-IAU-Info website: https://iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann20019/ Direct-document-download-link: https://www.iau.org/static/archives/announcements/pdf/iau100-final-report-ann20019.pdf I used this opportunity to introduce myself as the new IAU-NOC (IAU-National Outreach Coordinator Austria). Following link shows my profile picture and how I implemented our slogan "One People, One Sky" ;-) https://sites.google.com/oao.iau.org/iauoaonews/national-pages/Austria I have undertaken this position quite recently and I am trying now to recruit some more people to get involved in our local National-Outreach-Committee and trying to enliven and to coordinate our outreach activities in our country, but of course this will take some time ... so please "stay tuned!" ;-) Greetings from Austria... Read More...
May 26
PUBLIC OUTREACH WORK DURING COVID19 TIMES
Here in Linz we (Kepler Observatory Linz / Kepler Sternwarte Linz) have the great opportunity to use the technical features of Ars Electronica Center to do several kinds of astronomy outreach activities during Covid19-times. The Ars Electronica Center is a modern museum of future and at time delivering any kind of sciences and arts to the homes. The center is distributing live-streams, presentations and science talks via Internet under the title "Ars Electronica Home Delivery" . We can use the capabilities of UNIVIEW-LIVE, a software which generates the nightsky in realtime calculation. It's no video! Normally the software is used... Read More...
Apr 16
Virtual meeting in Brazil during "Corona-GAM2020"
I was invited, to participate in a virtual meeting in Brazil, by Marcelo Souza (AWB-NC of Brazil and founder of Louis Cruls Astronomy Club). Surprisingly I hat todo the "main programm" ;-) I thought we have just a little discussion meeting but, my friend Marcelo decided,shortly before running this event, it would be great if I will give nearly a one hour presentation .... so I had to improvise .... actually I had nothing prepared for this ;-) so I talked about our local activities in Corona-times and therefore I presented our astronomy associations website "Kepler Sternwarte Linz" (Johannes Kepler... Read More...
Apr 04
"Virtual cellphone star party"
Let's hear what my friend and astronomy club member, Erich Meyer, tells about his first experience running his first "virtual" star observing session using cellphones. Our local observatory ( Kepler Sternwarte ) is closed due to Covid19-pandemia, so there are no public viewing events using our big telescopes. Nevertheless, using modern technology, there is an opportunity to run simple guided public sky viewing events under the starry sky - even without telescope. Of cours, everything done without gathering people and in strict accordance with Covid19 restrictions. How can this work? I will explain it with following example: On the initiative... Read More...
Apr 02
GAM2020 opening with Balcony-City-Astronomy
Unfortunately I failed this wonderful GAM2020 AWBmeeting on Facebook LIVE :-( ..... Here is the link to the videorecord: https://bit.ly/3dNdM4c ..... but in the meantime I took the opportunity to observe our starry city-sky. Due to the environmental effects of Covid-19 we have now much better seeing conditions in our town. I started some CCD-observations from my balcony and shared some quick images with my friends. So you can see you don't necessarily have to gather to love the stars or be out of the city! I highly recommend to do this if you have a balcony. Show to the... Read More...
Mar 14
Covid-19 will affect GAM2020
Unfortunately the increasing Corona-pandemia will affect GAM2020 events. Here in Austria we have already canceled public GAM- events until April 12th 2020. Our schools are closed at time minimum until 12th April ... and all restrictions concerning puplic gatherings are lasting very likely weeks later. So no global Starparty on the road ... propably no Sunday .... :-( So however, make party friends, where it's possible and spread the word "One People, One Sky" I am happy to see reports from successful events :-) Best wishes Joe Read More...
Jan 29
Another kind of astronomy without borders
We started the new year, at our association "Johannes Kepler Linz", with a new key subject. Disabled people should be more in our focus. So we invited an amateurastronomer who is doing his hobby in a wheelchair and later followed by an even at our local observatory for blind people. Astronomy with a wheelchair (13 Jan 2020) Manfed Fischer from Germany, who gave a lecture in Linz, is a freelance journalist and a trainer for handicapped people and he is a dedicated Amateurastronomer. It's important to him to give this dedication to other people too - including handicapped people. To... Read More...
Nov 12
2019
No Transit of Mercury - event in Linz Austria, but ......
Unfortunately due to bad weather conditions and dense fog we had to cancel our planned public viewing event at our local Johannes Kepler observatory. So we could only offer some online- live-views from the Transit of Mercury to the few people who came despite fog to our observatory. So some people of our association decided to go outside of the city up to the hills and mountains in the surroundings of Linz to try to catch this event. And indeed above the fog there was a real chance to get some images of this rare event - following some pictures.... Read More...
Oct 20
2019
Restart of "Austrian-Amateur-Astronomer Meeting" at the biggest public observatory of Austria
This weekend we restarted an old Austrian tradition. The so called "Austrian Amateur Astronomer Meeting", which was running for decades and was stopped about 15 years ago, had it's revival. The location was well chosen. The biggest Austrian public observatory "VEGA" formed the framework for this event. This observatory was opened last year and is situated near the city of Salzburg. It is equipped with modern presentation and multimedia techniques. The centerpiece is a 1 meter reflector telescope from ASA -Astro Systeme Austria. The revival of this traditional meeting was initiated by ÖAV - Österreichischer Astronomischer Verein. The main topic... Read More...
Oct 06
2019
First InOMN-Event in Austria
I am happy to tell that we startet this year our first InOMN Event here in Linz at our little public observatory of our astronomy association - Kepler Sternwarte Linz . Following the appeal of Jessica Santascoy, our AWB-Community Engagement Manager, finally we registered this year an event to celebrate the moon together with many people around the globe. It was a great success despite we had mostly bad weather. Nevertheless we had some holes in the cloud cover and we could give some nice live-views from the moon to our visitors. Additionally to our main instrument for visual observations... Read More...
Jun 05
2019
Short flashback to GAM Sunday April 21. 2019
At global Starparty (April 13.)the weather was really bad in Linz and we had to skip our public event, so we have been happy that on Sunday April 21. the sun was really shining :-) Due to the fact that this day was Easter Sunday less people have been in the city, but however several people had the pleasure to glimpse some looks to the sun in h-alpha and white light and we could tell about AWB and it's mission "One People, One Sky" Thanks to my friends of our local astronomy association doing this event. I was absent at... Read More...
Apr 26
2019
10 years anniversary of Global Astronomy Month - long distant car trip - PART III
I got an invitation to "Thaqib Astronomy Association" and had the pleasure to meet this very active astronomy group in Rasht. Rasht is the center of Guilan province in the north of Iran, the southern of Caspian sea. The Association's building is situated in Mellat Park. It's a well equipped astronomycenter for teaching astronomy. Mrs. Javid is the founder and the head of this Association. In cooperation with Mrs. Jahandar she is doing public outreach events, for the people of Rusht and the whole province, they give astronomy courses for children and for teachers and do many more. For example... Read More...
Apr 14
2019
10 years anniversary of Global Astronomy Month - long distant car trip - PART II
10 years anniversary of Global Astronomy Month - long distant car trip - PART II My announced talk at Biruni Observatory as I mentioned in my last report, did unfortunately not happen. Prof. Moein Molesh cancelled the fixed event, due to internal university security problems, one day before. This was really annoying that the during many month prepared visit was cancelled due to bureaucratic innsufficiency. So my visit ended 8 km before the observatory in front of the university gate - "Astronomy With Borders" :-( So I started one day earlier to the active astronomy group in Bushehr at the... Read More...
Apr 06
2019
10 years anniversary of Global Astronomy Month - long distant car trip
To celebrate 10 years of GAM I am doing again a long distant trip with my car, similar to my first GAM-trip 2010 to Turkey, Syria and Jordan. My road trip during GAM2019 led me already from Austria to Iran. It's my personal attempt to point the way, to light a beacon of hope, to cherish unshakable on the idea of a world without borders, to keep alive the idea and message of “One People, One Sky“. Not only saying, but doing this message, crossing borders, breaking down frontiers, old ones and new ones. It's again a journey back to... Read More...
Dec 23
2018
“400 Year Anniversary of 3rd Kepler LAW“ - this year's last presentation
The Austrian Academy of Sciences invited to honour Johannes Kepler on 18 th Dezember 2018 during a symposium titled “Johannes Kepler and the Red Planet“. Left the programm-cover and right the wonderful old building, the home of The Austrian Academy of Sciences. So this was an officially good opportunity to close the “400 Year Anniversary of 3 rd Kepler LAW“ – from my point of view: the most overslept anniversary ever. More about this later *) Erich Meyer presented again, as so often during this year, the work and life of Johannes Kepler and the date of Kepler's great dedection... Read More...
Nov 01
2018
My visit to ASTROFEST 2018 in Targoviste/Romania
Crossing borders again and meeting friends from around the globe. Following some of my impressions Valentin Grigore the Romanian AWB- National Coordinator announced, due to late funding grants very short dated, ASTROFEST-2018 in Targoviste (18. - 20. October). Anyway, for me it was clear to join. I visited Valentin already during GAM2011 .... so it was high noon to do this again. This meant 2500 km -there and back- driving by car for Ulrike, my wife, and me. Just to get an idea of this, because there are not everywhere motorways, I needed for example from Sibiu to Targoviste, where... Read More...
Nov 01
2018
Late flashback - [email protected] in Vienna
Better late than never following some pictures and notes to remember the XXXth General Assembly, August 20-31, 2018. As part of a nice collaboration between professional and amateurastronomers I had the pleasure to assist at the ÖGAA-booth during the IAU -General Assmbly for some days. The ÖGAA booth was arranged by professional and amateurastronomers together - the 6m wide image of milkyway in the background was done by Erich Meyer an amateur of our astronomical association. There I had the pleasure to say welcome to many famous people and astronomers around the world ..... ... for example Mike Simmons who... Read More...
Jul 29
2018
Mars Opposition & Total Mooneclipse
On July 27 2018 we had a public viewing event at our local observatory. It was a thrilling event, because at the beginning many clouds in southeast blocked the view. But "hope dies last" and the sky cleared more and more. About 1000 people visited our small observatory. Of course we had some portable scopes to offer a view to the moon and the red planet. Before and in between we could offer Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Mars was not so pretty because at our latitude he is very low and the seeing is bad. However everybody was happy and... Read More...
May 15
2018
400-Year-Anniversary 3rd Kepler Law
Johannes Kepler - the man who opened the door to space. The 15. May 1618 – the day the famous Astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630), a German natural philosopher, mathematican, astronomer, astrologer, optican and evangelic theologian, wrote history. After decades of hard work he discovered the truth behind the motion of planets. “De motibus planetarum“, as it's called in the original Latin written title of Book V in Harmonices Mundi – published in 1619 in Linz Austria. Triumphing he declared his 3rd Law: “It's dead sure and is true, that the proportion existing between the period of revolution of... Read More...
May 05
2018
GAM2018 - Austria
We had fine weather here in Austria - not taken for granted in April ;-) - so the members of our local astronomy association " Linzer Astronomische Gemeinschaft " could start our "Global Starparty" on April 21. Even "Sunday" on April 22. was nice ....... ... and we could show to the visitors some sunspots :-) Our AWB-affiliate "Sternfreunde Steyr" had a successfull sun-observing-event at " Starpark Hohe Dirn - Observatory ". Many mountain hikers and children passed the observatory and catched a look to the sun. So GAM2018 was successfully again and we could spread to many people the... Read More...
Jan 15
2018
The first Austrian Space Ball
This weekend 13.01.2018 - 14.01.2018 the first Austrian Space Ball happened. This extraordinary ball – the first Austrian Space Ball, a glittering ball night as well as a close look into space, at the magnificent “Palais Niederoesterreich” in the heart of Vienna, was organized by the Austrian Space Forum , celebrating their 20th anniversary. This event offered a comfortable plattform for space science, where research facilities could meet space industry. I had the honor & pleasure to be one of the members of the honorary committee, where I represented the sector of astronomy. Honorary committee members Christian Brünner Space lawyer... Read More...
Dec 05
2017
"In Flight Call" to ISS at AEC-Linz
Following a short report and some images from yesterday's event at Ars Electronica Center (AEC) Linz / AUSTRIA AEC is collaborating directly with ESA (European Space Agency) and holds the role beeing an official european-space-education-ressource-office called ESERO. I reported about that already last year. On Monday 4 December, teachers and students from the Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, and Italy have been connected live by video connection with ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, currently living and working on the International Space Station (ISS). Teachers and students have been asking questions directly to Paolo Nespoli about the challenges and adventures of living in... Read More...
Apr 20
2017
Donating a minor planet during GAM2017
Yesterday, April 19th 2017, I had the pleasure to organize a very special event during GAM2017. Our local astronomical society (LAG) is running an observatory outpost in the northernwest countryside of Linz. This outpost is situated in the municipal area of Gramastetten. They host us for more than 20 years, so we decided to say officially thankyou to the local municipal and to all people there supporting us, especially our local landlord, an organic farmer who is supporing us in any matters for decades. How should we do this ? What's a convenient gift for this? ...... Right ! Naming... Read More...
Apr 14
2017
Yuri's Night 2017 - Vienna
On 12th of April 2017, as every year since 2009, the local Viennese-Association- "Der ORION" celebrated Yuri's Night. Together with the "Austrian Space Forum" (OEWF) and partners from space science & industry. The accompanying programm included top-class lectures and a visit from an femal Italian ISS astronaut - Samantha Cristoforetti - and the yearly awards show "Polarsternpreis" (Polarstarprize) given to people who enthuse people for space, space travel, space science & astronomy. Following some photographic impressions of this great evening in the NHM (Natur Historisches Museum): Andreas Weise (raumfahrer.net) telling about a forgetten Russian Cosmonaut Mag. Christa Bernert from the... Read More...
| Our Sponsors |  |
 |
Become a Sponsor |
| |
Copyright © 2009-2020 Astronomers Without Borders
Back to Top |
|