Astronomical Society of New South Wales
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| Abbreviation | ASNSW |
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| Formation | 1954 |
| Legal status | Incorporated association |
| Location |
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Membership
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Over 400 |
| Publication | Universe Magazine |
| Website | www |
The Astronomical Society of New South Wales (ASNSW) is an amateur astronomy club in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1954 and it has over 400 members.
The Society's objectives are stated in its constitution as follows: "The ASNSW exists to bring together people interested in Astronomy and related sciences, and to promote public interest and education in Astronomy. The ASNSW provides members and the general public access to Astronomical observing facilities, educational lectures, and assistance in selecting, using and even building telescopes and related instruments."
The Society has sections dedicated to providing support for members interested in specific aspects of astronomy, including astrophotography, computing, solar observing, the Solar System, double and variable star observing, deep sky observing and telescope making. It also runs two dedicated observing sites, one at Mount Bowen near Sydney and the other near the country town of Ilford, far from the city lights.
The Society was founded in 1954 as the "Sydney Amateur Astronomers" by Gordon Patston, an aerospace engineer lecturing at Sydney Technical College. The club started with about fifteen members, and Patston was the president. The first meetings were held in the garage behind Patston's house in the suburb of Belfield.
As the group attracted new members, it soon out-grew the garage, and the Patston family allowed their backyard to be used to build a permanent clubhouse. Nearly all the work was done by club volunteers, and on 18 September 1959 the new facility was officially opened by the astronomer Bart Bok, then Director of Mount Stromlo Observatory.
The club was very active through the late 1950s and 1960s, with general-interest events such as public open nights, and sections for special purposes such as a very active junior section. It also worked with professional observers on a number of research projects, including a flare star observing program at the request of the CSIRO, and measuring transits of artificial satellites across the moon as part of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's "Project Moonwatch". After the first Sputnik launch on 4 October 1957, a program for observing artificial satellites was set up at very short notice, and it succeeded in being the first group in the world to see the first satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957 and they went on to record three of the first four Sputnik observations.
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