Deep Impact Probe - Brian Thomas
Brian showed some of the latest images from the internet of the impact on Tempel-1 on the 4th July 2005. Images from 83 million miles away revealed a cratered surface. Images of the impact indicated a very porous nature of the comet and a narrow plume of debris from the impact crater. This new, man-made, impact crater grew in size with time. More information is available on the official Deep Impact website.

The Modern New Zealand Stonehenge - Lesley Milner
Again images from the internet were shared with the members. A modern Stonehenge has been constructed at Aotearoa near to Wellington. Stonehenge Aotearoa, a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge, is intended to inspire New Zealanders to explore and experience for themselves how technologies of ancient times were used, and still can be used, to give practical and detailed information on the seasons, time and navigation. A central obelisk identifies the position of the south celestial pole, the altitude of the Sun, the meridian (noon), true north and south. The structure also includes a zodiacal causeway, so that the shadow thrown by the obelisk shows the date, seasonal changes, and the constellation the Sun is moving through. Plaques name important stones and provide information on how to use the henge and obelisk.

Hayabusa - Lesley Milner
Lesley reported on the Japanese probe Hayabusa. It is currently speeding towards Itokawa. It is scheduled to reach its destination and collect samples in the summer of 2005, returning to Earth a year and a half later, in 2007, with the first-ever samples collected from an asteroid.

The CLEA Website - Lesley Milner
In her third input of the evening Lesley recommended members to visit the CLEA website. Project CLEA (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy) develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and colour images. They are suitable for high- school and college classes at all levels, but come with defaults set for use in introductory astronomy classes for non-science majors. Each CLEA laboratory exercise includes a dedicated computer program, a student manual, and a technical guide for the instructor. The technical guides describe file formats, user-settable options, and algorithms used in the programs. The most advanced CLEA labs run under Windows on PC's, or on color-capable Macintosh computers. Members were able to view the Jupiter Laboratory exploring the movement of the Jovian moons.

Society Observing Time on The Faulkes Telescope - Robin Hughes
This is a really exciting opportunity for our society. Robin Hughes and Brian Thomas are heading up our planning for the use of observation time on the Faulkes Telescope. The intention is to book a 30 minutes observation slot early in September 2005. Robin Hughes discussed a range of observation schedules; likely objects to be viewed. It was agreed that it would be a good idea to image a range of nebulae. Robin used our planetarium program to view the night sky from the telescope's Hawaiian position. There was much lively debate. Society members will be able to be present during the observing session. During this presentation Robin also showed members a simulation based upon the Blue Peter asteroid.