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By using a number of scale models of planets, moons and our galaxy this series of presentations will help students to appreciate just how big space really is! Starting with a 400mm globe of the Earth and a scaled 100mm globe of the Moon, students give their estimate of the distance to the Moon before revealing the real distance (almost 12 metres).
As we move out into interplanetary space, we see just how big the Sun is compared to our 400mm Earth globe (45 metres). We have found students and teachers are always amazed during these size comparisons, which we perfom in the classroom, and include these in most of our astronomical talks described below.
The comparative sizes of other planets, distances and number of moons is also discussed. Eventually moving into intergalactic space, we scale up to a 300mm model of our galaxy and discover that even the nearest neighbouring galaxies are several metres away! Because of the scope of the subject, a number of presentations have been created that cover different aspects of astronomy.
I have tried to create a large selecton of astronomy related talks as I present many of these regularly at the public viewing nights run by the Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society (MPAS) at their dark site at The Briars. So even if you come regularly, you are quite likely to see a different topic each time. Please checkout the MPAS page on this site for details of upcoming talks etc. Note: some of these talks are under development (as indicated) and may not be ready for presentation yet, check back later or send us an email for an update of their status.
Night Sky
This presentation is a general overview of astronomy and concentrates mainly on the planets, and finishes with the distances to some stars and galaxies. It is most suitable for primary and secondary school students who need a general overview of the whole subject. In keeping with our "hands on" approach, we have endeavoured to use as many models as possible to introduce the planets, their distances and their appearance through a telescope. If any of the planets are currently visible, their locations will be pointed out to students so they may observe them for themselves that night.
Our Solar System
Using a scale model of our solar system, we progress through each of the planets, using scale models for many of them, and place them onto the model at their relative distances. Their largest moons are also discussed and placed onto the model. By utilising several scales, we have been able to reduce the whole solar system to approximately two and a half metres long.
Planets
Most of the subject matter in this presentation is related just to the planets in our solar system and concludes with some of the methods used to detect planets around other stars. If any of the planets are currently visible, their locations will be pointed out to students so they may observe them for themselves that night.
Moons
The vast differences in types of moons around other planets is made evident during this talk. From the huge moons of Jupiter to the tiny moons of Mars, students will be introduced to their names and structure, many are illustrated with scale models to allow students get easily grasp their true sizes. We conclude with the moons orbiting the dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and others.
Astronomical phenomena
Eclipses, occultations, conjunctions and more. We discuss how solar and lunar eclipses work and the dates of any upcoming ones. Occultations are a means of allowing us to measure the sizes of asteroids and planets with incredible accuracy - we can measure the shape and size of a rock 100km across from a distance of more than 1 billion kilimetres with an accuracy of 1%. Conjunctions often catch the eye of people unfamiliar with the skies, an unusual grouping of bright planets or the Moon were once thought to be the bringers of good or bad luck. All of these and more are discussed in this talk.
The rocky planets (under development)
This talk concentrates on the four rocky planets closest to the Sun (Merucury, Venus, Earth and Mars). Using scale models of each planet allows their relative sizes to be seen. We discuss each one in relative detal, describing some of the major findings so far. Mars, of course, is the key subject and occupies about half of the talk as we discuss robotic missions from the early Mariner mission, Viking and concluding with the current Spirit and Opurtunity probes.
The gas giants (under development)
Concentrating on the four largest planets, we discuss the major findings about each one. From the discovery of moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610 to the Voyager and Cassini missions. We also discuss Jupiter's largest moons and Titan, the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere.
The "non" planets (under development)
We start with Ceres, the first "planet" to be demoted in status, followed by Pluto, the most controversial demotion in recent times. We talk about the major objects found in the last few years orbiting the Sun past Pluto's orbit, out to Sedna where the Sun shines as bright as a quarter Moon!
Hello, is anyone there? (under development)
We cover various missions to the planets in search of life, starting with the history of the search for life where it was believed that life had been seen bounding across the plains of the Moon, or the canals of Mars. The current SETI searches and current missions to Mars and the Moon. Finally we talk about some of the future missions to search for life on Io, Europa and Titan.
Stars
The size of our talk expands as we discuss the size of our Sun and move onto our nearest night time stellar neighbour. We look in detail at a few stars in the constellation of Orion, how to locate them and stellar formation in The Great Orion Nebula.
The life of stars
From stars not much larger than Jupiter to others large enough to swallow the Earth. White dwarfs to black holes, neutron stars and supernovae, we see some of the most exotic objects in the night skies.
Star clusters
After briefly discussing the formation of stars, we see a number of star clusters in the earliest stages of formation and travel forward in time to large clusters of stars still gravitationally bound to their siblings and finally clusters in the process of breaking up. We also talk about globular clusters and their orbits around our galaxy.
Galaxies
The largest scale of our series of talks, we concentrate on galaxies, the various types and what happens when they collide. We conclude with an overview of the overall structure of the universe and the number of galaxies in it. | 
