Whakatane Astronomical Society
Encyclopedia
The Whakatane Astronomical Society is a voluntary, non-profit society for people interested in amateur astronomy in the Whakatane
region of New Zealand
. The society maintains a small observatory in Whakatane, which has been operating continuously since 1963. The society is affiliated with the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
.
The Society's main fund raising activity is the running of observing nights on Tuesday and Friday evenings, where members of the public pay a small fee to view the sky using one or more of the society's telescopes at the observatory, under the guidance of a society member. Similar evenings are can also be run for larger/school groups, with prior arrangement.
Whakatane
Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...
region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The society maintains a small observatory in Whakatane, which has been operating continuously since 1963. The society is affiliated with the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand is the New Zealand national astronomical society. It is an association of professional and amateur astronomers with the prime objective to the promotion and extension of knowledge of astronomy and related branches of science.- History :The society was...
.
The Society's main fund raising activity is the running of observing nights on Tuesday and Friday evenings, where members of the public pay a small fee to view the sky using one or more of the society's telescopes at the observatory, under the guidance of a society member. Similar evenings are can also be run for larger/school groups, with prior arrangement.
Equipment
The Society's observatory houses three main telescopes:- A 350mm CelestronCelestronCelestron is a company that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories for their products.-Origins and History:...
Schmidt-Cassegrain - A 250mm Meade Instruments Schmidt-Cassegrain with GoToGoTo (telescopes)In amateur astronomy, "GoTo" refers to a type of telescope mount and related software which can automatically point a telescope to astronomical objects that the user selects...
Control - A custom built 150mm refractorRefracting telescopeA refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
, equipped with a solar filter