Astronomy Courses for Adults in Sydney, Australia

Abstract

The University of Sydney has been associated with adult education courses for the general public for at least 70 years and astronomy has often been a part of this activity. Since 1976, these courses have been conducted by a succession of graduate students from the Astronomy and Astrophysics departments within the university. The courses were a part-time activity conducted with limited resources, but served as useful teaching experience. This arrangement continued until the end of 1987 when I left the university. I am pleased to report that this activity is considered sufficiently important to be continued by the permanent academic staff.Here I seek to briefly report on these astronomy courses by describing those that I conducted at the university over the last five years. I should firstly acknowledge the work of Dr. Graeme White in particular, for his earlier courses and continuing interest. Also, this discussion should be placed in context by recognizing that other astronomy courses are run in Sydney by professional and amateur astronomers through local evening colleges and other organizations. These vary in format, with many of the amateur-run courses emphasizing the practical aspects of sky observing. The displays and facilities provided by the Sydney Observatory also play an important role. Each activity helps to meet the demand in the Sydney region for astronomical education and thereby undoubtedly serves the interests of Australian astronomy.