Hello visitor!

So here’s what’s happening. We’re very sorry to inform you that Astronomy.SG has ceased its operations for good in the way that we all know it. We don’t know if Astronomy.SG’s going to return, but it’ll be inactive for a while to come. We’re very sorry for this, but we’ve decided that it’s the best course of action.

After a year and a half online, Astronomy.SG has evolved from a very simple initiative to a full-fledged website that ran on pure passion and voluntary effort. It served a community we loved helping. With the onset of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the site grew and it became a source of information for the public.

We were doing great and the response was hugely positive. We were invited to give talks by random groups which stumbled upon our site. We had a Straits Times journalist approaching us for an article on Astronomy. And we were even quoted as an official source by a news website. It was wonderful doing things that we really loved.

But it wasn’t easy to maintain the site. The work of updating the website required immense labour. We found ourselves caught in the loop of mindlessly feeding new updates and information into the website to keep it relevant, without any incentive. Much of the local astronomy efforts are voluntary. And that makes it an incredible community with the truly passionate ones around. But something like Astronomy.SG wasn’t going to survive like that.

So, in the end, our decision to pull out from the site was largely based on our inability to continue serving the same cause. On a personal level, we’ve greater ventures to pursue in the meantime. Astronomy.SG has a been a wonderful journey for us, and we hope that every reader has enjoyed themselves as much as we did.

Thank you all and good bye!

Clear skies!
Derek & Rong’en

P.S. Yet, there is be one particular page that will be updated: http://astronomy.sg/olympiads. We strongly feel that participation in the Olympiads is a natural progression as the community’s standard rises, and will therefore make an effort to encourage students to participate in the Olympiads. The least we can do is to provide a convenient site where all relevant information about the Olympiads is gathered for easy reference.

The Anglo-Chinese Junior College Astronomy Society (ACAS) is organizing AstroFest 2010, a full day event on 15 May 2010, Saturday, on the college premises.

Schedule

Astronomy Games

Participants will be divided into teams from various schools and engage in astronomy related games that will enhance their knowledge and skills of astronomy.

Astronomy Fair

Each team is to set up a booth. The booth must display poster, and/or project set-ups. Flexibility and creativity are encouraged; therefore participants are allowed to showcase anything from educational posters to live demonstrations. Differing from last year, there will be Mini-Games during the fair to ensure that participants are totally engaged.

Star-gazing

Weather permitting, there will be a star-gazing at the Science Centre Singapore. One-way transport is provided.

For more information, you may email acjcastrofest @ gmail . com (without the spaces).

Dates: 10 April & 17 April 2010
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution & Raffles Institution (Junior College)
Time: 8am onwards

Schedule

Date: 10^th April 2010 (Day one)

Date: 17^th April 2010 (Finals)

Format

There will be 4 preliminary rounds, namely MCQ; data response/practical; special round and a project round. The MCQ round is pretty standard fare; for data response, only scientific calculators are allowed; for the special round, it’s special so you’ll have to be there to know what the round is about; and the project round task is as follows:

Construct a spaceship capable of mining resources available in space. Your model should demonstrate how the resource can be extracted, stored, and transported back to Earth for subsequent use.

Newcomer teams will be presenting their projects on 10 April, while the rest will be presenting theirs on 17 April. More reason to observe on both days.

There are only 4 spots in the finals, and no more than one team per school may enter. Preliminary scores will not be counted, so all the best to whoever they are! (The awards are really good.)

Awards

For more information, please refer to http://astrigue.netau.net/Astrigue2010/Home.html. If you have any queries, you may email astrigue2010 @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

Date: 3 April 2010, Saturday
Time: 8am – 10pm
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution

Schedule

0800-0900 Registration
0900-0950 Opening Ceremony
1000-1330 Activities
1330-1430 Lunch
1430-1800 Activities
1800-1900 Dinner and Exhibitions
1900-2000 Mass Lecture and Briefings
2000-2200 Mass Stargazing

Lecture Topics

History of Astronomy
Stellar Astronomy
The Sun
Celestial Mechanics and Telescopes
The Solar System
Water Rockets
Deep Sky Objects (Mass Lecture)

Observation

A mass stargazing event will be held after the Astrigue Convention. Supporting schools and institutions such as MPASTRO, AGASTRO, CJC, NJC and NYP will be bringing their telescopes to the Hwa Chong school field for a combined observation session.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend the observation, which promises to be a large-scale, fun-filled event with at least 29 telescopes, 300 participants, and a concurrent exhibition with movie screenings and other activities. This will be the perfect opportunity to admire the beautiful night sky and interact with other astronomy enthusiasts.

Dinner will be provided for secondary school participants.

The overnight star-gazing session will be at the High School field from 7pm (3rd April) to 7am (4th April). Participants have to be attired in school-related T-shirt.

*New info*
The stargazing is open to the public, but they will have to register. More information, including the link to sign up for the mass stargazing, will be forthcoming. Please note that dinner will not be provided for members of the public unless they bring a telescope along.

The fee for attending the full-day convention is $10 per person, inclusive of meals and materials.For eligible students, it costs only $6 more to participate in the Astrigue Challenge as well. For the public, he overnight star-gazing is free, but dinner is only provided to those who arrive early to set up their telescopes.

For more information, please refer to http://astrigue.netau.net/Astrigue2010/Home.html. If you have any queries, you may email astrigue2010 @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

Duration: 12 May – 15 May 2010
Venue: Paya Beach Resort, Pulau Tioman
Price: $210 (Members / Ex-Astrobashers) | $220 (Non-members)
Note: Breakfast/transport/accommodation provided

NUSAS is organising the 25th Astrobash, 3 full nights of star-gazing at Pulau Tioman! Limited places available, so quickly register at http://www.kaos-theory.net/ab10/!

Update: Due to overwhelming response, all who register from now on will be put on the waiting list.

Every Wednesday (unless otherwise stated), AGASTRO is organising a star-gazing session at Woodlands CC. So there’s no excuse for not being able to star-gaze if you stay nearby!

Note: Previously, this weekly star-gazing was held on every Friday. It has since been changed to every Wednesday.

Astrigue is an annual Astronomy outreach programme, comprising a convention and a competition, hosted by Raffles Institution (Junior College) and Hwa Chong Institution. This programme is targeted at lower and upper secondary school students, and is aimed at spreading an appreciation and passion for Astronomy in Singapore. This event has been enjoying success and enthusiasm since its nascence in 2006.

Astrigue 2010 comprises two separate events:

1. Astrigue Convention 2010: A one-day Astronomy camp held in the Hwa Chong Institution campus on Saturday, the 3rd of April 2010.

2. Astrigue Challenge 2010: An Astronomy competition held in both the Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles Institution (Junior College) campuses over two Saturdays: 10th and 17th of April 2010.

There are two categories for the Astrigue Challenge: Normal and Newcomer. The Newcomer category is for students who have just been introduced to Astronomy and/or Astrigue. Lower secondary students and/or schools that have never taken part in Astrigue before are encouraged to sign up for this category.

Each school is allowed to send a maximum of 20 people for the Astrigue Convention and 2 teams of 4+1 reserve for each category (Newcomer and Normal) of the Astrigue Challenge.

For more information, please visit http://astrigue.netau.net/Astrigue2010/Home.html

After years at the helm, Kwan Jin Peng has stepped down from from his position as Chairman of MPASTRO. Siu Yung has been appointed as the new Chairman, while Jin Peng will stay on as an advisor to the society.

Here’s wishing them the best of luck in their new positions!

PS. Do take note that Jin Peng will remain as Chairman of AGASTRO.