Paul Curnow
University of South Australia
Abstract: Some 900-years ago the Hopi & Zuni people of the United States were to witness a huge volcanic eruption. In some Hopi cultural beliefs, the Qa’na Katsina caused Palatsmo (Sunset Crater) to erupt after people engaged koyaanisqatsi, a life out of balance. From a scientific perspective, Sunset Crater is a volcanic cinder cone located 24km north of Flagstaff in the U.S. state of Arizona. The associated incredible Bonito A'ā lava flow, which rolled down from Sunset crater only 900-years ago is a sight to be seen!
In this talk, I will explain why I was in Arizona, as part of my teaching Australian astronomical perspectives, and I will show you a few of the incredibly large telescopes they use. Moreover, I will introduce you to the Sunset Crater: Volcanic National Monument and some of the volcanics of the region. Lastly, I will introduce you to the Wupatki National Monument nestled between the Painted Desert and ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona, and the Puebloan communities that once lived in this region in larger numbers.
Bio: Paul Curnow is a world-renowned astronomer, and after 33-years is South Australia’s longest serving planetarium lecturer. He has been a member of the Field Geology Club of South Australia since 1992. In 2002, he served as a southern sky specialist for visiting U.S. and British astronomers who were in Australia for the total solar eclipse. After three decades of research, he is regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on Australian Aboriginal night sky knowledge; and in 2004, he worked in conjunction with the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center Planetarium in Ohio, on the creation of a show that features Indigenous Australian stories of the night sky. Moreover, from 2018-2025, he has served as a consultant on Indigenous Astronomy for the Australian Space Agency.
In addition, Paul runs several popular courses for the public that focus on the constellations, planetary astronomy, meteoritics, historical astronomy and ethnoastronomy, which primarily deals with how the night sky is seen by non-western cultures. He appeared as the keynote speaker at the inaugural 2010 Lake Tyrrell Star Party in Sea Lake, Victoria and in 2011 was a special guest speaker at the Carter Observatory in Wellington, New Zealand. Since 2012 Paul has taken the role of Lecturer for the ‘Astronomy & the Universe’ course (EDUC2066); and between 2019-2021 for ‘Science’ (EDUC 2030) for the School of Education at the University of South Australia.
Moreover, since 2021 he has been a member of the Andy Thomas Space Foundation Education Advisory Committee; and in 2023 completed a U.S. lecture tour, where he was a special invited guest speaker at several planetariums, colleges, and universities. Paul appears regularly in the media and has authored over 50 articles on astronomy.
Members and visitors are warmly invited to attend.
For further information visit: www.fieldgeologyclubsa.org.au
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