STAR BLOG

Like it had been scripted for high drama, the heavy cloud, rain and hail all magically cleared in time to reveal the Super Blue Moon in all it's glory. It rose majestically into the sky above the 100 strong crowd that had gathered at The Cauldron to witness the spectacle, to the strains of Blue Moon, sung by TMU Assoc. President and singer Deborah Sykes From the delicious BBQ to information about analemmas, the strong turnout literally ate it all up! We were proud to work with delicious produce from the Eagle Heights Bakery, Eagle Heights Butcher, Foodworks and Joseph the Greengrocer in Main Street. Graham Violett's presentation on what an analemma is, and how they work, was excellent and it was fascinating to learn more about these ancient sundials. Huge thanks also to local musician Dane Sharpe who gave up his time to provide entertainment as did Guy & Bernie with acoustic support later in the evening. As for the star of the show, there will be a fourth Supermoon this season with the last one appearing on 29 September. Thanks to The Cauldron for allowing us to use their venue, and to everyone for coming along on the night to support this wonderful Community project. With your patronage the Tamborine Mountain Universe will continue to aim for the Stars. Photos courtesy of Bjorn Schmal Film and Media www.bjornschmal.com

Tamborine Mountain Universe was excited to host its very first event on the land at 389 Long Road, Tamborine Mt on Easter Sunday. Everyone was invited and it seemed as though everyone turned out! The three hours of fun-filled activities included kite flying, Easter egg hunting, bonnet decorating and face painting. Consuelas Haus had their South American Fusion Food Truck on site as did Tamborine Mountain Gelato and it was a delicious combination.

Members show their support TM Universe held it's annual Christmas party so it could show it's thanks to its members but also the members could have a bit of fun. The night started with another presentation from DR Pascal LEE where he talked about what he did growing up. Then TM Universe did an electronic quiz with it's members and it was amazing seeing all the kind words the members had to say about the project. Once again TM Universe Thanks it's members for it's support and we all hope you have a great Christmas break and Happy New Year. TM Universe Board.

Reveled "Founding Members Board" TM Universe meet for it's AGM at St Bernards where there was a great turnout and we even had a special speaker DR Pascal LEE. There was an update to the progress of TM Universe and new Board members were voted in to help progress the project to the next stage.

Last night TM Universe members took part in NASA'S international Observe the Moon 🌙. It was a privilege to share the night with our members and we thank you for attending. We had multiple people come with their telescopes to allow our members to get an up close view of the moon but also Jupiter and other planets. Thanks to Cauldron Distillery for hosting us. Jaap also did a presentation showing the different parts of the moon. You can download a copy HERE

TM Universe organised a Members Event to watch the Total Lunar Eclipse. It was great to see Members out in numbers watching and enjoying the event as the Earth went between the Sun and the Moon. We started out with some cloud cover but it soon cleared to be a clear and amazing view as the moon turned red. A big thank you to the guys at the Cauldron Distillery for hosting TMU and we look forward to working with you again in the future.

The TM Universe Management Board presented an updated to the members on the progress that has happened over the last quarter. It was also a celebration as it was TM Universe's 4th Birthday since it's start back in 28th April 2017. We have managed to complete a survey of the land and are in the process of getting the DA application ready for submitting to council. Announced our Lunar Eclipse Event being held on the 26th May 2021. We updated the constitution to allow for Students and to have two Vice Presidents.

On Tue TM Universe finally had its Xmas/ welcome 2021 BBQ. It was great to catchup with our members and have a chat about what's been happening on the project over the last year. There is a lot of support from the local community and it was great to see you all here. Sorry for the members who couldn't attend but we hope you can attend the next event. The main focus of the night was to talk about our new product "Zenith" Its not to late to get involved in this project

The overall reaction of the members attending the TM Universe AGM was one of surprise. Surprise that this project has progressed much further than they had expected, with a solid organisation established, a knowledgeable and dedicated Board, and the plans for the future precinct more advanced than most of the members had expected. This 15 meter diameter sphere shaped planetarium will be the first in the Southern Hemisphere, and the biggest in the world. It will give visitors a sense of the universe and space research that cannot be achieved in any other way. One of the preliminary designs by architects, by Clark+Granger, showed a 3D presentation of a black and yellow, very contemporary building in a way that it looked like it had already been built. The focus of TM Universe will be threefold: Indigenous Astronomy, Life in the Universe and Australian Space Research. The precinct to be built will include an area for occasional stargazing, a Universe Experience and Education Centre, and the Cosmic Sphere. The visualisation of these concept was very informative. Last but not least. Only 90 blocks are left for sale in the main fundraiser called Buy a Block, which not only makes you one of 200 Founding Members of the project, but also a member of TM Universe till end of 2021. Donations are also happily accepted. At the end of the meeting the TM Universe Team predicted that the venue will be opened on the day that a little spacecraft, Osiris-Rex, returns to earth with 60grams of dust collected last week at an asteroid called Bennu. The date? 24 September 2023. We've got work to do... Join us for the ride of the century as we aim for the stars.