1. GALAXY FORUM 2014
Amateur Astronomy in
Singapore
(through the eyes of an amateur, me)
1st Mar 2014
by Albert Lim – VP TASOS

2. Outline of Talk
• Amateur Astronomy in Singapore
• ~1970 to 1979
• ~1980 to 1991
• TASOS 1992 onwards
• Astronomical Facilities in Singapore
• Recent TASOS Amateur Activities
• The End

3. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Prior to 1970, very little amateur
astronomy except for The Stars in
the Trpoics. It is a Starbook for
Scouts published by J.C. Cook who
was Professor of Applied Maths at
the University of Malaya after the
war in Singapore. This star book
was possibly based on articles
which first came out in Straits Times
in 1948. He was Dean of the Faculty
of Science from 1954 - 1956 and
was 49 when he left the university to
join Air Transport Auxiliary in Britain.

4. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Moon photo taken on 11 Jul 1970 at 7.07pm
with 30mm refractor and handheld Rolleiflex
SLR on Neopan SSS B&W Film developed
with Pandol 8163 on Grade 3 photo paper.
1/30 sec exposure through thin clouds.
Jupiter and Europa through same scope.

5. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
1971 – Built 4 inch refractor
from magnifier lenses.
Instructions and inspiration
came from “The Amateur
Astronomer’s Telescope” by
Patrick Moore. Told him so
in 1989 when he came.

6. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
My first total lunar eclipse of 29
Nov1974 recorded in Singapore.
Photos were taken via a Seagull
SLR camera with B&W Fuji film
handheld to the 3 inch telescope
eyepiece which was quite difficult.

7. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Formation of Singapore Amateur Astronomical Society (SAAS in 1975)
Multiple small notes placed in between every Astronomy books in every
Library in Singapore calling for an amateur astronomy meeting at the
then Nanyang University (now NTU).
About 30 people gathered for this amateur astronomical meeting and
we eventually form an unofficial group called “Singapore Amateur
Astronomical Society” or SAAS.
SAAS run for a number of years and even published a newsletter for a
while. Star parties and observing sessions were organised and this
small group of amateurs gathered throughout 1975 – 1979.
Unfortunately, SAAS begin to slowly disperse when I had to go to Officer
Cadet School in 1979 for NS. A number of more active members were
also drafted into National Service about that time.

8. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
SAAS Star Party in 1976 – Holy Innocent lane off Upper Serangoon

9. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
SAS Star Party in 1976 – Holy Innocent lane off Upper Serangoon
At dawn, observed Himalaya
of Venus and followed Saturn
till noon with 68mm.

10. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
GEM Mount designed
and built in 1977.

11. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
On 16th Sep 1978 – Total Eclipse across East in Europe, Parts of Asia, East in
Australia, East in Africa, East in North America, East in South America, Indian
Ocean. It was a bright eclipse at L = 2.5 on the Danjon Luminosity scale.

12. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Total lunar eclipse sequence photograph on B&W film on 17 Sep 1978
The maximum for this Total Lunar
Eclipse is on 16th Sep 1978 at UT
19:05:01. This translates to our
Singapore local time at 3:05:01am
on the 17th Sep 1978.

13. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Total lunar eclipse sequence taken on B&W film on 17 Sep 1978

14. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
8 inch F8 Primary Mirror ground and polished in 1978
school project. The telescope was completely built from
scratch including diagonal, focuser, spider, primary cell,
finderscope and holder as well as complete GEM mount.

15. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
Primary mirror was tested using a Couder and a Ronchi screen
with a knife edge focault tester of Mackintosh design.

16. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
The completed 8 inch Newtonian with GEM in 1978 as school project

17. Early Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1970 – 1979)
In 1979, save up enough money over 3 years to buy an 80mm refractor
made by GOTO Japan. This is a very nice telescope with excellent optics
and a solid GEM. Even though it is an achromatic refractor, it perform very
well because it is F15. Takahashi has yet to introduce their Semi-
Apochrmat and their Apo revolution only came very much latter.

18. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
The Goto 80mm refractor opened up a wide
range of possibilities in observations and it
produced much better results in photography
leading into the 80s. Up to this point, only a
handful of amateur in the group has telescopes
and almost all are very basic instruments.

19. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
80s astronomy begins with a partial solar eclipse on 16 Feb 1980

20. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Between 1979 to 1981, pace of amateur astronomy slowed
down due to National Service. The early small group from
SAAS also begin to disperse as people move.
From about 1982, onwards, after National Service, another
amateur group begin to form meet regularly at the Science
Centre rear entrance car park (no longer in existence).
This was the beginning of association with Dr. KK Cheong
from the Singapore Science Centre and the group this time
comprise more working professionals and less students.
In the early 80s, the gearing was always towards the highly
anticipated arrival of Halley’s Comet in 1986. Although
there’s a lot of activity leading up to Halley’s, there
was unfortunately very limited photo records.

21. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Many talks and observational activities between 1983 and 1984 .
Observation at Raffles Junior College Astronomy Talk – Raffles Institution
Astronomy Talk – National JC Star Observation – Science Centre

22. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Star Party in 1985 at Island Country Club – More amateur are
looking for telecopes to purchase but there is no local supplier.

23. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
The arrival of a famous Comet like Halley’s
stirred the public’s curiosity and soon every
body wants to know about this once in a
lifetime visitor. A lot of questions were asked
and so we decided to give talks to educate
the public where to look for it and also
how they can photograph the Comet.

24. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Halley Comet watch event was organised in Mar and April of 1986 at
various venues like Jurong Country Club, Kranji, Changi, Marina as
well as Singapore Science Centre with 12,000+ people over 2 nights.

25. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Halley’s Nucleus – 45 mins exposure Prime
Halley’s Comet beside Omega Globular Cluster in mid April 1986
Halley’s in Mar of 1986
The most significant
Astro event of the 80s

26. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
13 Nov 1986
Mercury Transit
Public education
event organised
by the Singapore
Science Centre.
Astronomical instruments are scare during this period so few of
us amateur who have instruments always provide it for the public.

27. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
In 1987, the Omni Theatre which is part of the Singapore Science Centre
was established after being under construction for about 2 years.

28. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Practical
Astronomy
class 1987
at NUS
with
Prof . TT
Chia and
Chong HY.
SN1987A.

29. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Telescope making class at NUS 1987
6 inch Primary mirror blanks from the
Glass tanks of Van Kleef Aquarium.

30. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Singapore Science Centre acquire numerous astronomical instruments
by about 1988 in order to support growing public interest in astronomy

31. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
5.0m Dome with 16 inch Cassegrain Observatory open at SSC in 1989

32. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Sir Patrick Moore
gave a few talks at
Singapore Science
Centre during his
visit of Dec 1989.
Although he passed
away 9th Dec 2012,
he is remembered
by all amateurs who
are inspired by him.

33. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore (1980 – 1991)
Original logo from Nov 1941 Cursive logo - Jan 1980 Current logo - Jan 1991

34. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore - TASOS 1992
onwards
In 1991, a group of dozen founding members registered
“The Astronomical Society of Singapore” as an official
Society.
The name “TASOS” and the registration of the Society
was officially approved by the Registrar of Societies on
Valentine’s Day - 14 Feb 1992.
Since then, TASOS have been active in the promotion of
astronomy and education in Singapore till this day.

35. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore - TASOS 1992
The Astronomical Society Of Singapore (TASOS) was
formed with the following objectives:
The promotion of an interest in astronomy for beginners as well
as the advanced.
The encouragement of all aspects of observational astronomy
and the association of observers at all levels for mutual benefit.
The circulation of current astronomical information and
observational materials.
The support of regional and international cooperation among
astronomical organisations.

36. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards
Since its formation, TASOS have contributed to the amateur
astronomical scene in Singapore having reach out to tens of
thousands through its astronomy promotion activities till today.
“Various programmes and activities are organized by the Society
for its members. Many more are conducted for members of the
public. They include expeditions, talks, courses and sidewalk
star-gazing parties. Semakau Island Stargazing Trips are organized
regularly for members and interested non-members.
More information can be obtained from the official website of
The Astronomical Society of Singapore at http://tasos.org.sg.”
Above is an extract from Astronomy Education in Singapore article by Dr. KK
Cheong updated as of 15 May 2013.
Dr. Cheong also publishes a Facebook Page known as “Singapore-Sky” at
URL: https://www.facebook.com/SingaporeSky. and a corresponding Blog
for amateur astronomers at URL: http://singapore-sky.blogspot.com/.

37. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards

38. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards
Partial Solar Eclipse 24 Oct 1995
activity at Jurong East Library

39. TASOS Solar Eclipse Expedition
Total Solar Eclipse - October 24th, 1995
Lop Buri Province - Chai Badarn, Thailand,

40. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards
TASOS eclipse public exhibition and talk in 1996. The exhibits were on
loan for exhibition display throughout 1996 to Jurong East Library, NTU,
Bukit Marah Library, Ngee Ann and Nanyang Poly, NUS and many others.

41. TASOS Comet Hale Bopp Expedition – Hawaii, Mar 1997

42. TASOS Comet Hale Bopp Exhibition – Hawaii, Mar 1997
Exhibits for libraries,
Schools and public.

43. Between 1998 and 1999, 3 TASOS
Committee members Prof SM Chong,
Albert Lim and PS Ang took 10,000+
slides and wrote up a book originally
titled “The Realm of the Lunatics”.
The publishers Cambridge University
Press however sought to change the
title and the book was eventually
published as “The Photographic Atlas
of the Moon” in 2002.
In 2003, Cambridge University went
on to translate and publish this same
book in Spanish with the approval of
the authors.
A version of ebook is also now online.
Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards

44. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore – TASOS 1992 onwards
From 2000 onwards till present, there have been a lot more
growth in interest in astronomy among the public and schools.
According the Dr. Cheong’s article on Astronomy Education in
Singapore, there are now some 30 astronomy societies and
Clubs in Singapore – a far cry from a few since early 90s.
In 2000, other astronomical forums and groups etc also
catch on. They join TASOS and the Science Centre to
further astronomy education in Singapore.
TASOS however, remain the only official registered society
in Singapore. Please visit www.tasos.org for more infor.

45. Amateur Astronomy in Singapore - TASOS 1992
Some members of TASOS include
(from left) Dr KK Cheong, May, PS
Ang, Thomas Ang, Albert Lim, Albert
Ho, Prof SM Chong, Albert Tan,
Kapilan and Jeffrey Lim above. Most
in this photo are current office
bearers in TASOS committee.
President: Mr Albert Ho
Vice President: Mr Albert Lim
Hon. Secretary: Ms Ong Geok May
Asst. Hon. Secretary: Ms Teo Poh Kheam
Treasurer: Mr Ang Poon Seng
4 Committee Members:
Prof Chong Siew Meng
Mr Albert Tan Boon Wah
Mr Soh Kim Mun
Dr. Dave Lommen
2 Auditors:
Dr. Cheong Kam Khow
Mr Kalaimani s/o Retnasamy
2013 TASOS Management Committee

46. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore
Nisshin 5.5m Dome w Pentax 16 inch Cass at Science Centre - 1989

47. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore
Shibuya Makuhari Japanese Senior School (now known as the Waseda
Shibuya Senior High School) built their 15cm refractor 5.0m Dome 1992
Optics and mount repaired and serviced by Astro Scientific in 2004.

48. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Nisshin 3.0m Dome w Showa & Takahashi 10 inch Cass at NYP - 1999

49. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Nisshin 2.4m ROR w Celestron C14 & Tak NJP at ACS (Indpt) - 2000

50. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Nisshin 3.0m Dome w C11 and Questar 7 at Science Centre - 2003

51. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Nisshin 3.0m Dome with Showa 25E and 14 inch DK at NUSHS - 2005

52. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Pod 3.0m Dome w Celestron C14 at Maris Stellar High School - 2009

53. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientifc
Astro Custom 4.5 m ROR w CDK17 on Showa 25E at NUS - 2011

54. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Astro 4.0m ROR w Celestron C14 Edge HD on EM500 at NJC - 2011

55. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Nisshin 3.0m Dome w Mewlon 300 on Showa 25EL at AGCC - 2012

56. Astronomical Facilities in Singapore – by Astro Scientific
Astro Observatory RC16 on Paramount ME in 4.5m ROR – Albert Lim
With David Malin - AAO

57. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation of Pluto
TASOS recorded an occultation of Star 13R when occulted by Pluto for approx
130s (0.8 mag drop). Time of occultation is at UT14h 17m 15s (+/-16s) on 27th
June 2011. A second occultation of Pluto’s moon Hydra also occurs on the
same night 33 mins later at UT14h 50m 23s (+/-16s) for a duration of about 4s.
Pluto Vm = 14.0 and Hydra = 23. The Pluto starfield was confirmed with the 16”
RC via platesolve and Pluto first captured through a QSI 583 CCD camera.
A smaller target field was then recorded of the event using a Flea 3 camera
operating at 2x2 bin, 0.5s at 2 fps from UT14h 05m through 15h 10m covering
both occultation events. 300 dark frames were taken with the Flea3 and the raw
data was Fedex by to NASA as originally requested.

58. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Asteriod 2005YU55
TASOS captured a series of photo sequence of Asteroid 2005YU55 as it races
past the Earth on the night of the of 9th Nov 2011 Wednesday from 2100hrs LT
to 2330hrs LT. The Asteroid was moving East from the constellation of Pegasus
from near the bright star Algenib into the constellation of Pisces. Photo above
show 2005YU55 as at 10.30pm local time when it was located at RA 00h 59m
16.27s and Dec +19d 21m 57.1s (J2000). This 12th magnitude asteroid was
captured with a Nikon D700 MLU at 15s exposure, ISO1600 using the 16 RC.
Sky condition was partially cloudy and the asteriod was blinded In the glow of
the bright full Moon nearby. The asteroid was moving at very high velocity thus
producing a trail even in this short 15s exposure. It was moving rapidly towards
East passing North of the 10.45 magnitude bright star GSC1192:1259.

59. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Lunar Eclipse Webcast
Astro Observatory was used to capture and uploaded the Total Lunar Eclipse of
10th Dec 2011 for live feed to the world. Paul Cox from Slooh had requested one
week earlier for live images on this event from SINGAPORE. Lunar images were
captured on a Nikon D700 via the Takahashi FSQ106ED with TeleVue 4x PM.
The entire eclipse was captured from beginning to end entirely and images were
uploaded onto slooh’s server. The software utilised was Watch Directory with
Image Magick. All files were loaded onto watch directory and then batch process
for crop, resize and conversion before finally being uploaded onto slooh server.
Overall, the event was a complete success and people around the world got to
watch the live feed and hear Bob Berman talk about the eclipse. Live feeds were
also simultaneously streamed from Mauna Kea, Dubai and Australia for this event.

60. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation Daphne
Paul Maley made a request to time the occultation of Asteriod Daphne
which was designated as the highest science priority event for 2013 by
professional astronomers. TASOS recorded and timed this event via a
GPS time inserter accurate to 0.001 sec with complete success. Target
star SAO142838 was occulted by Asteriod Daphne at 2.29am on 31st
March 2013 Singapore time. Because the asteroid shadow is located
along an east-west orientation, the best placement of observers is NS
perpendicular to it. TASOS collaborated with Paul (NASA ) who flew in to
Singapore and travel to Nikoi island to time this event at a different point.
Observers in JB and NUS Observatory was also co-ordinated to join in
but unfortunately all other observers failed except for Paul and TASOS.

61. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation Daphne
Brad Timerson first analyse Paul’s and my data which were both good.

62. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation Daphne

63. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation Daphne
Data reanalysed by John Talbot (NZ) – it appears the 210km size
Asteriod Daphne may have a 2 km dia moon in orbit 443 km away.
Also Brad Timerson had also overlooked I use PAL (0.04s BF).

64. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Occultation Daphne

65. Recent TASOS Amateur Activities – Visit to NARIT 2013
TASOS visited NARIT facility in Chiang Mai on 26th of November 2013

66. The End