Joining TASOS

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 12:08 am

Hi,
I was just wondering,since Airconvent brought it up in another forum, anyone here also joins TASOS? I actually joined them when I was in sec sch but didn't manage to join them for any activities the whole year cos I was still too young to travel alone midnight and somehow missed their day activities too ...

Those who are in TASOS here, what are the activities they have nowadays? Lots of star parties? Lectures? Just generally, what do they do? Their website doesn't seem to have much info ...

Just curious, cos I might wanna re-join ... since they're based pretty near me anyway ...

Post by **Airconvent** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 12:31 am

As far as I know, TASOS has alot of members with deep pockets, hence the equipment level is also more extreme. Pity utilisation is not as high as here in singastro as far as I know.

And they are not as hardcore as many Singastroians who is more likely to ob weekly! They arrange obs in advance whereas we ob ad hoc whenever sky is clear.

The forum here is much more active.

But the main reason why I did not join is the membership fees.....which is also the main reason why Singastro has many students and beginners...its FREE!

But of course , if you don't mind, by all means join them..its always good for the astro community to mingle, interact and share their passion/hobby...

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 12:50 am

Yeah, membership is one reason I even have to ask whether to join - it's pretty steep.

One reason to join them would be to absorb all their knowledge and of course to try out all their high end equipment.

Post by **weixing** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:24 am

Hi,

Those who are in TASOS here, what are the activities they have nowadays? Lots of star parties? Lectures? Just generally, what do they do? Their website doesn't seem to have much info ...

I had attend quite a number of their activities.. quite a number of lectures ( most of their lectures are target on newbie ) and a Mersing trip... they were kind enough to help us book the hotel even we are not TASOS members...

As far as I know, TASOS has alot of members with deep pockets, hence the equipment level is also more extreme.

SingAstro also have quite a numbers of member with deep pocket too... hee hee hee

Anyway, there are alots of people who spend alots on their hobby... like those photography hobbyist, they can spend thousand of $$ on a single len or a single camera body. Also, I had also seen some TASOS member that own low budget equipment... What I'm trying to point out is that in every hobby, there are people who spend a lots on it and people who spend only what they can afford.

And they are not as hardcore as many Singastroians who is more likely to ob weekly! They arrange obs in advance whereas we ob ad hoc whenever sky is clear.

I think some of them do observe often, but on their own. Also, unlike us which can observe when and where as we like, as a register organization, I think they had to do some planing and obtain permit if they are observing outside science centre.

Anyway, I think it a good idea to join them if you don't mind paying for the member fee... Albert is a very experience observer and if you know him well, he'll be very helpful too... I learn a lots from him... I even brought my Sky-Watcher telescope to his shop to ask him question on collimation and he also kind enough to help me collimate my newtonian even I didn't buy from him and he didn't carry the Sky-Watcher brand telescope... ha ha ha

Have a nice day.

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:40 am

Weixing, I think some of this are special favour to you only ..

But I have to say, the few times I met Albert at Astro Sci, he's been very helpful and shared quite abit with me and I learnt quite abit just from visiting him once for 30mins before an Omnimax movie ...

Post by **Airconvent** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:48 am

jermng wrote:Weixing, I think some of this are special favour to you only ..

But I have to say, the few times I met Albert at Astro Sci, he's been very helpful and shared quite abit with me and I learnt quite abit just from visiting him once for 30mins before an Omnimax movie ...

yes...he is always very eager to share his knowledge whenever I chance upon him at the science centre...you can see he really has a passion for astronomy..

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:51 pm

Actually, there are many amatuer astronomers in TASOS besides Albert Lim who are also friendly and helpful. Many of the core members are very experienced and knowledgeable in this hobby, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to interact and learn from them over the years. I have been a TASOS member for many years before Singastro started, and the first scope I used was kindly lent to me from Albert Lim himself some time in 1986 (for the 10 years before that, I was only using binos). There are a few Singastro members who are also in TASOS.

I do know very well of some members from both TASOS & Singastro with deep pockets and expensive equipment, similarly I also know of passionate active members on both sides too, so I wouldn't find it easy to just generalise or compare in this way.

It is good that it is free to join this forum, which we all truly appreciate. Maybe what is harder to appreciate is the fact that TASOS is a registered society, and started at a time (1989?) when internet forums was probably not widely available here. A registered society needs to collect membership fees to cover for necessary overheads and expenses, such as booking of premises to hold astro talks etc. Take a look at other registered societies and clubs; the members have to pay their fees too. TASOS members have the previlege to attend monthly talks and observation sessions, use of the Society's various telescopes and numerous astronomy books, and of course there are intangible benefits in interacting and learning from the more experienced & senior members in the Society. All this for an annual fee of $48 (students pay less) is, in my personal opinion, quite reasonable and fair, and it has definitely been beneficial and worthwhile for me. So the best is to join both! Of course your views may differ, and the choice to join either or both is up to you.

Also, I feel that being a member of any group is not just about getting benefits, but also about participating, helping out and contributing back to the group and members, which I try to do in one way or another.

Post by **zong** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 2:30 pm

Is it that cheap now? I remember enquiring about joining TASOS in sec1 (1999), and i thought i remembered something like $30/mth.. and there was no "student plan" offered too.. It was what put me off astro for over 2 years before picking my passion back up in sec4..

I heard though that TASOS really makes ill use of their 16" scope in the observatory, preferring to let the public view thru it at amazingly low magnifications instead of maximising its potential with high mag views of planets to wow the public. One of my friends who went for MarsWatch at Science Centre in 2003 told me all they saw of mars was a 1-2mm diameter red ball, and they didn't even notice the ice caps..

But I note that TASOS has its advantages too. Being a registered society it'll receive more attention than impromptu clubs like our Singastro here, so when they organise events it'll be alot easier to garner attention from the public. Hope someday we can work with them to organise a major astronomy event, uniting all astronomers in Singapore to arouse attention of the public towards this yet-to-be-popular field of interest.

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:14 pm

Hi Zong,

I don't think it was $30/mth. I paid $70+ for a student membership in about 97/98 .... they calculate according to the number of months left in a year and then add the registration fee ...

I still remember bugging my dad to bring me to Mersing everytime they sent the flyers saying there was a trip ...

Now at least can drive up myself .... hee hee ...

I think Mars is like that - 1-2mm red ball is really all you should expect. many people expect an amazing view of Mars or other planets through the telescope but you really have to spend time picking out details by spending time at the eyepiece. It's not one of those things that jump out at you you just with a quick glance as is the case if there's a queue behind.

Haven't heard anything bout them only using Low mag for the public though - maybe rlow might wanna comment.

I'm seriously considering joining them and absorbing some of their knowledge - maybe for just a year then I'll see how I like it.

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:01 pm

The 16" scope belongs to the science centre, TASOS merely borrow some telescope time there. I occasionally help out in manning the 16" scope and the the other smaller scopes for public viewing. The magnification used to view Mars thru the 16" would be similar in power as on smaller scope, ie about 200x or so, depending on the seeing condition. Because the scope's focal length is longer at 5200mm, it uses EPs with longer focal length (eg 26mm) to achieve 200x. The other point is that bigger apertures are sometimes more susceptible to seeing conditions than smaller apertures, hence sometimes you can't push up the power too much.

For the first year, new TASOS members pay the admission fee of $48 plus the annual fee of $48. It is also pro-rated based on the months left in the year when you signed up.

Yes, it would be good for the local public and local amatuer astronomers if both groups can coordinate and organise a major public astronomical event.