Newsletter 2                          September 1998

Yes, the Man Who Colours Stars, world-renowned Australian astro-photographer Dr David Malin
and his wife Phillipa spent the morning of Monday 14^th September at the Museum. Dr Malin checked his E-mail from KwaZuzulwazi while Mrs Malin went shopping, after which they enjoyed a guided tour of the Museum followed by coffee at The Waterhole.

IMPRESSED WITH OUR MUSEUM

Dr Malin was very complimentary of our museum, and said he feared that by moving to larger premises we might lose some of the vibrancy and busy-ness that these premises now enjoy. His solution: stay where we are, and ask for an additional building! He was astounded to hear that last year the Museum came close to being closed down, despite having the highest visitor figures in South Africa.

Of course he was delighted to hear about the newly-established Astronomy Interest Group and was pleased to see our telescope. Dr Malin offered his assistance wherever possible and asked to be kept informed of our activities. At its next meeting, the committee of the Friends Society will consider making Dr Malin an Honorary Member of the Museum Friends Society - a real privilege and inspiration for our fledgling Astronomy Interest Group!

SIMULATED PLANETARIUM

Our Simulated Planetarium struck him as a darn good idea, and he noted that talks and demonstrations make the whole experience more personal for the audience - something lacking in many real Planetarium shows.

YEAR OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Dr Malin's visit to South Africa, which included the delivery of free public lectures and teaching workshops, was sponsored by the Friends With The Universe project of the Year of Science & Technology. On Sunday 13^th September he gave a wonderful illustrated public lecture at the University of Natal, which was attended by over 250 people. His big-screen images of immense galaxies, exploding suns, colourful nebulae and innumerable clusters of stars were absolutely breathtaking! Dr Malin also explained the technique he is famous for: that of taking three photographs, in red, blue and green light, and then combining the images to bring out the rich, true colours of celestial bodies.

Earlier this year we recall being delighted to hear that the British Council exhibition of Dr Malin=s photographs was to be displayed at the Museum - yet never did we imagine that five months later we would actually be meeting him in person!

David Malin's breathtaking images of the Universe can be seen at the Website of the Anglo-Australian Observatory: www.aao.gov.au/images.html

Mario Di Maggio

General enquiries:
Mario Di Maggio    Tel: 3006228 (w)