Our Inconstant Moon
Schedule
Thu Nov 20 2025 at 09:30 am to 11:30 am
UTC+10:30Location
Adelaide Planetarium | Adelaide, SA
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Martin LewickiAdelaide Planetarium
University of South Australia
Abstract: Isaac Newton once wrote to Edmond Halley that the theory of the motions of the Moon made his headache and kept him awake so often that he would think of it no more. What gave him such a great headache? We look at the motions of the Moon and the underlying perturbations that never exactly repeat. There is the familiar cycle of the Moon phases, the draconic cycle of repeating eclipses, the anomalistic cycle of super moons and the lunar libration that allow us to glimpse features on the far side of the Moon, the side that is turned away from us. We know the Moon "pulls" on the tides but why are the tides in the Southern Australian coast more governed by the Sun? In this one-night course we will explore these characteristics of the Moon in the classroom and with visualisations in the planetarium.
Bio: Martin Lewicki is an astronomy educator and lecturer at the Adelaide Planetarium. His early school days interest in rock collecting shifted to astronomy inspired by a library book on the stars in grade 7 primary. After which his cheeky fellow students quipped the “rocks fell on his head and now he sees stars!” Building several telescopes, he became an avid observer in particular fascinated by the development of celestial coordinate systems. A member of the ASSA since 1989 he served on the committee for several years.
Martin began running regular planetarium sessions in 2004 serving school groups, presenting public sessions, and recently the reintroduction of the planetarium teaching space running periodic lectures for UniSA geodesy and engineering students. Martin is also one of the founding members of the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve which was accredited by the Dark Sky International in 2019.
Moreover, his specialty is the workings of the celestial coordinate systems and how they are used for positional astronomy. He has given talks on astronomy as far away as in the Planetario de Bogota in Colombia. Also, Martin follows developments in astrophysics and optics, and he still uses his home-made 6-inch reflecting telescope, which he made in 1974 to observe the night sky and uses his camera to capture starry skyscapes at night. In addition to being an accomplished astrophotographer, he also a renowned astronomical observations artist.
REGISTRATION CANCELLATIONS
*Please note tickets are non-refundable*
ENQUIRIES OR FURTHER INFORMATION
Contact Name: Allison Price
Company Name: University of South Australia
Telephone: (08) 8302 3138
Email: [email protected]
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Where is it happening?
Adelaide Planetarium, Building P, Mawson Lakes SA,Adelaide,SA,AustraliaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
