Talks We Can Offer

Our Speaker fees range depending on what topics you would like the team to talk on. Please get in touch and we can customise a quote for you

Astrophotography	Astroimaging in NZ – an overview of people Astrophotography – Focusing and Guiding Astrophotography – an overview Astrophotography workshop talks Astrophotos – latest images Catching Faint Photons Cosmic Colours above your Head Get Primed on Astrophotography RASNZAPS seasonal comps
Comets and Meteors	Apophis – the Potential Killer Asteroid Asteroid Drummond Close Encounters of the Cometary Kind – C/2002T7 C/2001Q4 Comet and Meteor Observing Comet Holmes – the Erupting Comet Comet Lovejoy – and my confirmation Comet McNaught – the WOW comet! Comet Observing Down Under Comets – An Overview Fireballs and Craters Ghost of Halley Returns, The McNaught Finds His 50th Comet Meteor Observing in New Zealand Missiles from Outer Space
The Sun and Stars	Anatomy of the Sun, The Celestial Navigation (Astronomy Course) Eclipses – Who Hid the Sun? Matariki (Pleiades) Orion – the Mighty Hunter Who has Gathered Many-a-trophyHertzsprung Who? The Hertzsrung-Russell diagram – possibly THE most important diagram
Galaxies	Galaxies – a Basic Premise Galaxies and Edwin HubbleWhat Came First – the Spiral or the Elliptical?
People in Astronomy (both past and present)	Captain Cook and the 2012 Transit of Venus Carolyn Hershell – One Famous WomanGalaxies and Edwin Hubble McNaught Finds His 50th Comet Robert Burnham – Prince and Pauper
Solar System (for comets and meteors, see above)	Anatomy of the Sun, The Captain Cook and the 2012 Transit of Venus Eclipses – Who Hid the Sun? Solar Eclipse from a Cruise Ship (Fiji) Sun, The
Telescopes and Optics	Big Telescopes – Past, Present, and Future Possum Observatory – the Building of Possum Observatory / Astrophotography
Science and imaging	Asteroid Drummond Catching Faint Photons Exoplanet HuntingHertzsprung Who? The Hertzsrung-Russell diagram – possibly THE most important diagram
Miscellaneous	Celestial Navigation (Astronomy Course) Exoplanet Hunting Horsehead Nebula, The Matariki (Pleiades) Possum Observatory – the Building of Possum Observatory / Astrophotography RASNZAPS seasonal comps

Travel Wikipedia

The origin of the word "travel" is most likely lost to history. The term "travel" may originate from the Old French word travail, which means 'work'.[3] According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the first known use of the word travel was in the 14th century. It also states that the word comes from Middle English travailen, travelen (which means to torment, labor, strive, journey) and earlier from Old French travailler (which means to work strenuously, toil). In English we still occasionally use the words "travail", which means struggle. According to Simon Winchester in his book The Best Travelers' Tales (2004), the words "travel" and "travail" both share an even more ancient root: a Roman instrument of torture called the tripalium (in Latin it means "three stakes", as in to impale). This link may reflect the extreme difficulty of travel in ancient times. Today, travel may or may not be much easier depending upon the destination you choose (e.g. Mt. Everest, the Amazon rainforest), how you plan to get there (tour bus, cruise ship, or oxcart), and whether you decide to "rough it" (see extreme tourism and adventure travel). "There's a big difference between simply being a tourist and being a true world traveler", notes travel writer Michael Kasum. This is, however, a contested distinction as academic work on the cultures and sociology of travel has noted.[4] Purpose and motivation Train travel – Passengers on a train on a bridge of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, between Mettupalayam and Ootacamund, in Tamil Nadu, India Reasons for traveling include recreation,[5] tourism[5] or vacationing,[5] research travel,[5] the gathering of information, visiting people, volunteer travel for charity, migration to begin life somewhere else, religious pilgrimages[5] and mission trips, business travel,[5] trade,[5] commuting, and other reasons, such as to obtain health care[5] or waging or fleeing war or for the enjoyment of traveling. Travellers may use human-powered transport such as walking or bicycling; or vehicles, such as public transport, automobiles, trains and airplanes. Motives for travel include: Pleasure[6] Relaxation Discovery and exploration[5] Getting to know other cultures[5] Taking personal time for building interpersonal relationships. History of travel Travel dates back to antiquity where wealthy Greeks and Romans would travel for leisure to their summer homes and villas in cities such as Pompeii and Baiae.[7] While early travel tended to be slower, more dangerous, and more dominated by trade and migration, cultural and technological advances over many years have tended to mean that travel has become easier and more accessible.[8] Mankind has come a long way in transportation since Christopher Columbus sailed to the new world from Spain in 1492, an expedition which took over 10 weeks to arrive at the final destination; to the 21st century where aircraft allow travel from Spain to the United States overnight. Travel in the Middle Ages offered hardships and challenges, however, it was important to the economy and to society. The wholesale sector depended (for example) on merchants dealing with/through caravans or sea-voyagers, end-user retailing often demanded the services of many itinerant peddlers wandering from village to hamlet, gyrovagues (Wandering Monks) and wandering friars brought theology and pastoral support to neglected areas, travelling minstrels practiced the never-ending tour, and armies ranged far and wide in various crusades and in sundry other wars.[7] Pilgrimages were common in both the European and Islamic world and involved streams of travellers both locally (Canterbury Tales-style) and internationally.[9] In the late 16th century it became fashionable for young European aristocrats and wealthy upper class men to travel to significant European cities as part of their education in the arts and literature. This was known as the Grand Tour, it included cities such as London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. However, The French revolution brought with it the end of the Grand Tour.[7]