Oi! I’m Going to Australia! Soon!

Iâm very pleased to announce that Iâll be in Australia from Aug. 8 â 14, 2013! Yup: In two weeks Iâll be in a land down under. Iâm really excited about this trip, and Iâve wanted to announce it for a while but havenât had all details nailed down until pretty recently.

But nailed down they are. Iâll be in Gold Coast, Canberra, Sydney, and Adelaide to give talks, schmooze, and generally just hugely enjoy being surrounded by Australians. I visited Oz back in 2003, and had an immense time. I canât wait to go back! [Update (July 31 at 03:30 UTC): I had originally written that my first talk was in Brisbane, but have been informed (and checked on a map) that Gold Coast is actually an hour south of Brisbane. Sorry for any confusion!]

The big reason Iâm going is due to the work of Chris Cassella and Science Alert, a group in Australia promoting science, science news, and science outreach. The main event is a celebration of science in Sydney on Monday, Aug. 12, called âIFLS Live!â, where IFLS stands for I Love Science, and the F is for exactly what you think itâs for; this is the immensely popular Facebook group maintained by Elise Andrew. Iâm sorry to say that particular event is already sold out, but thereâs room left at most of the other venues Iâm visiting.

My itinerary is below; if you have specific questions about location, timing, what gifts to shower me with, and so on, please contact the specific venue (links are provided). Iâve only listed public events, too. Iâm doing some other talks to schools and such but theyâre not open to the public. I also get a day off here or there which will be spent carousing with friends and, hopefully, soaking up some of the fantastic southern skies I canât see from home because of this 13,000-kilometer-wide opaque planet in the way.

My schedule:

August 8, 2013: GOLD COAST â Griffith University

At 6:00 p.m. Iâll be at the Griffith University Gold Coast campus (in the Griffith Health Institute Lecture Theater) to give my Bad Astronomy talk. This talk is free, but you have to register to attend.

August 9, 2013: CANBERRA â Australian National University

Next up is Canberra, where at 6:00 p.m. Iâll be at the Finkel Lecture Theatre in the John Curtain Medical Centre, Australian National University to be a part of a panel about science and social media. The other folks there are Henry Reich from MinutePhysics and MinuteEarth, Elise Andrew from IFLS, Michael Moffit from ASAPScience, and the creator of the SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel. Again, this is free, but you have to register (note: this event is listed as sold out, but if I hear of any seats becoming available Iâll tweet it).

August 10, 2013: SYDNEY â Powerhouse Museum/Sydney Observatory at the Fort Street Primary School Hall

Iâll be the guest of the Powerhouse Museum and Sydney Observatory to give my âDeath form the Skies!â talk, which will be at the Fort Street Primary School Hall (Upper Fort Street, Millers Point NSW 2000) at 5:00 p.m., with viewing at the observatory afterward (Iâm really excited about that part). There is a charge for tickets; go to the registration site to sign up.

August 12, 2013: Sydney â IFLS Live at the Powerhouse Museum

This event is sold out. But a) it will be live-streamed (Iâll add a link when I get it, and Iâll be sure to tweet it, so follow me on Twitter!), and 2) itâs possible more tickets will become available. If I hear of that Iâll tweet it as well. Note this event is for folks 18+ only. Thereâs an F in there, so maybe this isnât too surprising.

August 14, 2013: ADELAIDE â The Gov/Royal Institute Australia/National Science Week

Iâll be giving my âBad Astronomyâ talk at 7:00 p.m. at The Gov (59 Port Rd Hindmarsh SA 5007) as part of their âScience in the Pubâ series. Itâs free, but you have to book your seat.

After that Iâll be winging my way back to the northern hemisphere and home. Iâm truly honored and excited to be heading down to Australia again, and I hope I see a lot of my southern hemisphere BABloggees there!