Newbury Astronomical Society
Pegasus
The September edition of Pegasus, NAS's monthly newsletter, and the latest edition of What's Up, can both be found at the link below:
Forthcoming Meetings
For the 2024-2025 season, our Beginners Meetings will have a slightly different structure. After an Introduction and then Nicky Fleet's highly informative "What's Up", our chairman Paul Gibson will give an overview of the birth and early life of stars - the first of a three talks he will give in the coming months about the lifecycle of stars. After a break, we will then have an observing-focussed session that will include a demonstration of how to clean the mirrors of a reflecting telescope, and a look at how to get the best views of Saturn, which will have just passed opposition by the time of the meeting. If it's clear, of course, we will try and get the telescopes out and Saturn will I'm sure be a key target.
Beginners Meetings start at 7pm and are held at Stockcross Village Hall (Sutton Hall), RG20 8LN. (click here for a map and further details of the session's meetings).
For our next speaker meeting of the 2024-2025 season, we are delighted to welcome Sarah Watson, PhD student at the University of Reading and a member of the UKSEDS (UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) outreach team, who will be talking about Using a Solar Wind Model to Predict Comet Tail Disconnections. With all the interest in comets this autumn, if (of course) C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS survives its perilous perihelion passage later this month, this could make for a fascinating talk.
After the break with the all-important doughnuts, we will have our usual second half talks from members including tales of observing Down Under and a Great Window into the Life of Stars. If you might have something additional that could be of interest for this or future meetings, let the Communications Lead know on communications@newburyastro.org.uk and we can see if it might work!
The speaker meeting will start at 7.30pm and be held at the usual location of The Fair Close Centre, Newtown Road, Newbury: RG14 7BH. (click here for a map and further details of the session's meetings).
If you wish to be a member of the society for this season and haven't completed your membership form yet, please complete a copy and bring it with you to the meeting.
We also offer an ICS Calendar file of all the meetings (main & beginners) of the session to add to your phone or email client:
Recent meetings:
For slides and other details from recent meetings, head to the Meeting Presentations page. Latest additions are details from Dr Tim Haymes about forthcoming occultations including one scheduled to pass over western Newbury, and the slide deck from Stephen Mullaly's recent second-half talk on Radio Astronomy.
Headlines.....
BAA Autumn Meeting 2024
NewburyAstro along with RAL Space are thrilled to be hosting the British Astronomical Association's Autumn Meeting this September at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at Harwell in South Oxfordshire. As expected, the event (including an additional allocation of tickets secured in August) is all sold out but we will let members know if any additional spaces become available.
Outreach - call for volunteers
NAS has a thriving outreach programme as anyone who looks at the Outreach page on the website will know. Earlier this summer saw multiple events including the Tadley Treacle Fair, RAL Open Week and Thatcham Family Fun Day. The events have all been busy, but the long queues of eager visitors keen to view the sun, plus dozens of contacts gathered, invitations received to visit schools, and hopefully new members recruited shows how hugely valuable these events can be in bringing the joy of astronomy to audiences young and old. As we head into the autumn, and another packed programme, the critical need is for volunteers - many hands make light work, and you don't need loads of astronomical knowledge to help out. If you can spare any time for any events on the schedule, please do let George know at Outreach@newburyastro.org.uk
Some of the society members who helped out at the RAL Open Week
Observing Evenings
Often the nicest way to enjoy astronomy under a dark sky is with the company of like-minded friends. They can provide reassurance in an unfamiliar dark environment, give you the encouragement to keep going if you are tiring, help you if your kit misbehaves or you are struggling to find an object, or rib you mercilessly if you turn up and forgot your eyepieces (before potentially lending you one of theirs for the evening).
One key finding of the survey NAS conducted last year was that members wanted more opportunities to observe as a group, so as a result, NAS are proposing a series of observing nights in the coming months. Tentative dates have been identified that coincide with key meteor showers, so even if you don't want to lug a telescope with you, you may just want to sit and enjoy the spectacle of dust grains vaporising in the upper atmosphere. The dates are:
Orionids peak - 21st and 22nd October
Leonids peak - 18th November
Geminids peak - 15th December
Quadrantids peak - 4th January
Lyrids peak - 22nd April
Aquarids peak - 5th May
Obviously this is the UK, and so we may have to contend with clouds. As a result, we will be using the society WhatsApp group to co-ordinate whether we'll proceed, who will be there, and where we will hold the event (hopefully a nearby relatively dark sky location). So if you're a NAS member and are interested, but not yet on the WhatsApp group, please reach out to me at Communications@newburyastro.org.uk and we'll get you enrolled.
Telescope for Sale
Telescopes for Sale are not an unusual phenomenon and as such, we would not usually give it prominence on the front page of the NAS website, but this is not a usual telescope. The Hampshire Astronomical Group (HAG) are replacing a 16" (40cm aperture) Newtonian at their well-known Clanfield Observatory with a new 16" OTA, mount and dome. They have removed the older telescope and mount and are preparing the new dome for the receipt of the new mount having already obtained the OTA. The current 16" has been a workhouse of the Group's activities and has been in constant use since it's installation in 1993, particularly with the detection and observation of Near Earth Objects (NEO's).
HAG are keen for this well-loved and well-used workhorse to be sold to a group who could continue to enjoy its astronomical capabilities. Please note, this is a serious telescope for serious bidders only, but if you are interested or know a group who may be up to the challenge of taking it on, please contact the Communications Lead at communications@newburyastro.org.uk and we'll put you in touch with HAG.
Image of 16" taken from the HAG website