Welcome to the Astronomical Society of South Australia

In this session, we will take a look at the formation and evolution of the Solar System from a cold molecular cloud of dust and gas through to its ultimate end. We will discuss some common terminology and takes a peek at solar systems beyond our own.

Prior to the 20th Century, astronomy was only possible through the use of visible light. In the past century there has been a revolution in the use of “light” at other wavelengths – radio, x-rays, gamma-rays. The study of other “particles”, cosmic rays, as “messengers” began 50 years ago but progress was difficult and slow. However, in the past 5 years new particle “messengers” have become accessible in the form of gravitational waves and neutrinos. In the past year, there have also been breakthroughs in the study of cosmic rays. These new windows on the Universe are not yet well understood but astronomy is now very different to what it was a decade ago. The puzzles being currently addressed will be discussed in this talk.

Looks at the Hertzsprung Russell (HR) Diagram which explains the relationship between luminosity, mass and temperature in stars during their various phases of evolution from a protostar and the main sequence through to red giants and white dwarfs.

Scientists previously thought that the moon's volcanic activity died down a billion years ago. But data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, hints that lunar lava flowed much more recently, perhaps less than 100 million years ago. In this talk Joe Grida will explore the conditions that led to volcanism on the Moon in the past.