Lifeguard call for high risk hotspots

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Picture: Casey McHale Smiths Beach, Yallingup

Two Capes beaches have been revealed as hotspots for lifeguard rescues.

Surf Life Saving WA statistics show 153 people were rescued at Yallingup beach last summer, the second highest number of rescues in the State.

Smiths Beach also made the top ten beaches for rescues, with 40 people being pulled from the water.

The high rescue numbers come despite Yallingup and Smiths Beach clocking up some of the lowest patrol hours in WA. The beaches are not patrolled by volunteer surf life savers and the City of Busselton funds two professional lifeguards from late December to early February only.

Nine deaths have been recorded in the South West in the past decade, one third of those at Smiths Beach.

Surf Life Saving WA community safety manager Chris Peck said Yallingup and Smiths Beach were extremely popular surf beaches with inherent hazards and risks.

With the combination of warm weather, surf, rips and high beach usage, it is foreseeable that a number of rescues occur, he said.

Yallingup particularly is a high risk beach in regards to its large shore dump, flash rips and large surf.

Mr Peck said most rescues were caused by people getting caught in rips and not seeking advice or following advice of life guards. He urged beachgoers to read safety signs, swim between the flags, ask lifeguards for advice, swim with a friend, and if in difficulty, call for assistance by raising your hand.

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Lifeguard call for high risk hotspots

STARS: Llandrillo astronomy buff Brian Woosnam's September guide to the night sky

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ASTRONOMY buff Brian Woosnam has been writing his monthly stars column in the North Wales Pioneer's print edition for years.

We are bringing his guide to astronomy in North Wales online for the first time this month, which includes tips and details for events until the end of September.

Autumns advance gathers pace as the Sun heads southwards and after the Autumnal Equinox, when the Sun crosses the equator from North to South, which occurs at 03.29am on the 23rd, dark skies will set in from mid-evening. The Summer Triangle stars Deneb, Vega and Altair are still high a little west of south. The stars of summer slip towards the west throughout the month as the nights draw in and the sky darkens. They are replaced by the stars of autumn.

The planets Mars will to found low in the southwest evening twilight along with the planet Saturn in Libra. Jupiter will be in the eastern pre-dawn sky in Cancer.

The Moon First quarter Tuesday 2 Full moon Tuesday 9 Last quarter Tuesday 16

The full moon that occurs closest to the equinox is known as Harvest moon and this year its the full moon of the 9th September.

Events during September Monday 1st - look out for the waxing crescent moon, Mars and Saturn low down in the southwest around 9pm BST.

Llandrillo Astronomy Society Observation Night Tuesday 9 -We meet at the Llanelian community centre from 7.30pm anyone can come along and join in.

Entrance is 1, which covers the cost of hiring the hall and a cup of tea or coffee.

Anyone can ask advise on telescopes and any questions they might have about astronomy. Also tonight see the full moon this month is Harvest Moon see above notes.

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STARS: Llandrillo astronomy buff Brian Woosnam's September guide to the night sky

Students given astro insight

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Kimberley students were taught valuable lessons about the night sky during a visit from University of WA experts.

Boffins helped uncover the universe to promote awareness and study opportunities at UWA during a week-long trip to Derby, 2390km from Perth.

The Aspire UWA team, together with the UWA School of Indigenous Studies, partnered with the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and Rick Tonello from Astronomy Educational Services to deliver educational programs, including intensive sessions on AstroPhotoArt for selected students at Derby Senior High School.

Working in pairs sharing state-of-art equipment, six students had the opportunity to delve into the world of astronomy through photography.

Through daily two-hour lessons and two nighttime photo sessions, they learnt to use cameras and software, enabling them to produce high-quality images of the night sky.

The program aims to inspire students to explore and develop a passion for education, science and astronomy that could lead them to a university education pathway.

By the end of the week, the students' achievements were captured through the production and framing of their best images, which will be presented to the school.

Aspire UWA has run the AstroPhotoArt sessions successfully at Lockridge Senior High School in Perth.

ICRAR hopes to improve students' awareness and understanding of astronomy through AstroPhotoArt and inspire participation in large-scale science projects such as the Square Kilometre Array in the Mid-West.

Aspire UWA is an ongoing program to encourage students from communities under-represented in higher education to aspire to university study.

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Students given astro insight

Future of Artificial Intelligence (6) | CNBC 25 Innovations | CNBC International – Video

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Future of Artificial Intelligence (6) | CNBC 25 Innovations | CNBC International
Future of Artificial Intelligence is at number 6 in CNBC #39;s top 25 Innovations to look forward to in the next 25 years. Will machines work in harmony with hum...

By: CNBC International

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Future of Artificial Intelligence (6) | CNBC 25 Innovations | CNBC International - Video

The Hubble Story | NASA

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This photograph of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was takenon the second servicing mission to the observatory in 1997.Credit:NASA Larger image

From the dawn of humankind to a mere 400 years ago, all that we knew about our universe came through observations with the naked eye. Then Galileo turned his telescope toward the heavens in 1610. The world was in for an awakening.

Saturn, we learned, had rings. Jupiter had moons. That nebulous patch across the center of the sky called the Milky Way was not a cloud but a collection of countless stars. Within but a few years, our notion of the natural world would be forever changed. A scientific and societal revolution quickly ensued.

In the centuries that followed, telescopes grew in size and complexity and, of course, power. They were placed far from city lights and as far above the haze of the atmosphere as possible. Edwin Hubble, for whom the Hubble Telescope is named, used the largest telescope of his day in the 1920s at the Mt. Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, Calif., to discover galaxies beyond our own.

Hubble, the observatory, is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space, the ultimate mountaintop. Above the distortion of the atmosphere, far far above rain clouds and light pollution, Hubble has an unobstructed view of the universe. Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system.

Hubble's launch and deployment in April 1990 marked the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo's telescope. Our view of the universe and our place within it has never been the same.

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The Hubble Story | NASA

UK: ‘NATO to outline partnership with Ukraine’ – Secretary General Rasmussen – Video

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UK: #39;NATO to outline partnership with Ukraine #39; - Secretary General Rasmussen
Video ID: 20140904-004 M/S Convoy of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arriving M/S NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen exiting vehicle M/S NATO Secretary General Anders...

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UK: 'NATO to outline partnership with Ukraine' - Secretary General Rasmussen - Video