Regular Monthly Members/Society night, first** Monday of each month.
**IMPORTANT: From 2023 the Regular Monthly Members/Society night will be the SECOND Monday of the Month.

This Month (November 7th):

Topic: Big Science in a Little Country
With guest speaker: Professor Richard Easther (Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland)

Doing astronomy is as easy as stepping out and looking up. However, ever since Stonehenge astronomy has been at the forefront of what is now called “big science” — branches of knowledge whose development relies on large, shared research facilities rather than individual laboratories. One example of this is the European Space Agency’s LISA mission which is slated for launch in the early 2030s. LISA will measure gravitational waves generated during collisions between the biggest black holes in the universe. New Zealand scientists (including me and my group) are contributing to LISA and I will explain what we hope this will tell us about the origin and evolution of the universe. And I’ll talk about how little countries like New Zealand can contribute to big projects, how we can get involved, and what we get out of it.

**Masks are no longer required, however you may wear a mask if you would like to. We respect anyone’s right to wear a mask if they wish to.