Past Headlines

RAL Stargazing 2026

The annual Stargazing at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory event will next be held on Friday 23 January 2026.

There will be plenty to do for the whole family, whatever the weather. There’ll be meteorites, rocket building, comet making, a series of fascinating talks, robots and of course stargazing. There will also be a telescope clinic run by Newbury Astronomy Society in partnership with RAL, so please do bring yours along if you need help setting it up. They’ll also have some experts on hand to explain how we’re using our particle accelerators, Diamond Light Source, the Central Laser Facility and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, to learn more about space. If you want to volunteer for this event, please send your details to outreach@newburyastro.org.uk. This must include your name, e-mail address and car number as RAL is a secure site.

We must have this information before the close of play on Monday, 19th January 2026. We are meeting at 16:30 at the main RAL gate on Friday, 23 January. If you can’t make that time, access will still be possible until 17:15.

RAL Image courtesy the STFC

2025 EU Conference on Amateur Radio Astronomy (EUCARA)

Also on the weekend of the 5th - 7th September saw the EUCARA conference, hosted by the BAA Radio Astronomy Section and RAL Space at RAL's Harwell campus in South Oxfordshire. This biannual conference has been running since 2014 but it was the first time it has taken place in the UK, presenting a great opportunity for the UK Amateur Radio Astronomy community to meet each other and our EU friends. The conference included presentations from academic researchers, amateurs, and students, and featured Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell (the discoverer of Pulsars) who was speaking straight after our very own Steve Mullaly.

A full article on the event can be found in the October edition of Pegasus.

Steve Mullaly with an admirer whose talk followed his - Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Photo credit: Steve Mullaly

Members of Newbury Astro and Thatcham Photographic Club set up and ready for the eclipse at Stockcross Recreation Ground - photo credit, Tony Hersh

Total Lunar Eclipse - Sunday 7th September

Sunday 7th September saw the Moon rise whilst in eclipse - and whilst lunar eclipses are never as stunning as a solar eclipse, they are still a wonderful sight to see.

Knowing this was something not to be missed, and with a rising eclipsed Moon potentially providing some great images, The Thatcham Photographic Club joined with Newbury Astronomical Society for a joint observing session from Stockcross Recreation Ground. Despite plenty of cloud around, it fortunately cleared just as the moon cleared the horizon affording those present a great view.

Once the event was over, many of those attending headed back to Stockcross Village Hall for refreshments, and overall a good time was had by all. Our thanks to Steve Harris for putting together a successful evening - our hope is he can arrange for the clouds to part for future observing events too!

Two NAS Stalwarts step down from the Committee

At the recent AGM, our chairman Paul Gibson announced that two of Newbury Astro's longest serving committee members - Ann Davies and David Boyd - were stepping down after many years of valuable service to the society. Given this is a such a significant milestone, Paul has penned a few words to mark the occasion:

"At our AGM on the 6th June I noted that Ann Davies and David Boyd would be stepping down from the NAS Committee. I did mention how long each had been involved at Committee level for the NAS (Ann as a founder for some 44 years and David for around 37 years!) However, while the length of their help, at various levels from Chair through many other Offices, is commendable, and surely a record, it is their continued enthusiasm for the NAS that enthuses me, and motivates many of our colleagues.

As a Founding Member, Ann has been a solid foundation around which the NAS has been built. Her work with the BAA has also “rubbed off” on the NAS, and she provides a superb link between the NAS and the BAA, for example at Winchester Weekend. Always ready to provide help and advice, Ann is a valuable friend of the Society.

Dr David Boyd (he rarely uses the title) is not only another Member who has held many Officer roles, including Chair, but also provides a close link with the BAA for our NAS. However, he is also a renowned expert in spectroscopic analysis and techniques. David works hard to bring such techniques to the “amateur” realm, both through lectures and mentoring and the development of new equipment, which has accelerated greatly.

That both of these wonderful people, who are excellent examples of collaboration and knowledge, will remain members of the NAS is great news. Their expertise and endless enthusiasm are a great benefit to us all."

I think we can all agree with those sentiments, and Ann and David have our deepest thanks for their contribution over so many years.

Images - Ann Davies receiving Honourary Membership of the society from Paul Gibson at the 2nd Feb 2024 meeting, and David Boyd giving the BAA's George Alcock Lecture earlier this year.

Helios art sculpture displayed at Bath Assembly Rooms, Somerset | © National Trust/James Dobson

Helios at Basildon Park

Another event taking place this summer that may be of interest to members is the Helios sun sculpture by Luke Jerram, that is touring a number of National Trust sites this year and that will be at Basildon Park (between Pangbourne and Streatley) from 15 - 18 August and 22 - 25 August. For those that remember the awe-inspiring Moon sculture that visited Newbury a year ago, this promises something similarly impressive. The sculpture is scaled so that each centimetre represents 2,000 kilometres of the real sun's surface, and along with its glowing light, Helios includes a soundscape featuring NASA recordings of the sun, by Duncan Speakman and Sarah Anderson. It is expected to be exhibited outside in the pleasure grounds.

Basildon Park will be open for the exhibition from midday to 10pm (last admission 9pm). Admission charges to Basildon Park apply as per normal. For more details, head to: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/basildon-park/events/fa9d0eca-101f-459c-b3e9-08348d0aa395

Dark Skies Event - 10th May

By all accounts, the Dark Sky event held on Saturday 10th May was a great success. Superby organised by Newbury Astro’s Light Pollution lead Val Russell, it ran all day and into the evening, featuring talks, demonstrations and a huge lineup of solar scopes taking advantage of some excellent weather. Our thanks to everyone who volunteered to help out.

Val is always on the lookout for help in spreading the word about the issues created by Light Pollution and the value of Dark Skies to human health, ecosystems and the climate (as well as our view of the splendours of the heavens) so if you are interested, please do get in touch with her on valrussell@newburyastro.org.uk and she’ll be thrilled to hear from you. Otherwise, for more information on light pollution and why it is such an issue, do check out https://www.darkskiesmatter.org.uk/ and https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-care-about/nature-and-landscapes/dark-skies/

Society visit to the Cody Observatory

On Tuesday 18th March more than a dozen of Newbury Astro's finest headed off to Cody Observatory in Farnborough, as guests of Cody Astronomical Society. The observatory was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough in 1966 as part of rocketry projects involving stellar navigation, and houses an unusual 6" (15cm) Carl Zeiss Coudé refractor telescope. It was a great evening, with clear skies allowing the use of the refractor that afforded fine views of Jupiter, but also of other scopes set up outside by members of the Cody society.

There was a full report in the April edition of Pegasus, and our thanks go both to Cody Astronomical Society for such a warm and friendly welcome but particularly to Val and Simon for organising such a great trip.

Images: Gareth Jarrett, Alan Dowdell

15 minute Seestar image of M51, taken by Steve Knight

Nice one, SiriL

(UPDATE! Due to the high levels of interest in the first session, a second session is now planned for Tuesday 30th April. All slots are now full, but if you are interested and have not yet booked, please contact George at outreach@newburyastro.org.uk in case there is a last minute space)

On the evening of Tuesday 2nd April, NAS Outreach Lead and expert astro-imager George Sallit will be conducting an image processing ‘teach-in’ using the SiriL software package. This software is powerful and can process images from the Seestar S50 telescope to help you get the best possible results. It can also process images taken with other astro CMOS cameras. With so many software packages around it is difficult to choose a good one but a lot are for terrestrial imaging as well as astro imaging. SiriL is designed for astro image processing and best of all it is free!

The plan is to process a simple image from the Seestar S50, process a high-resolution image from the Seestar S50 and then process an image taken with a larger dedicated astro-telescope. What attendees will learn will then allow them to process images from a wide range of telescopes. There will be a ‘cheat sheet’ so you do not have to remember the steps to get great images.

We have already had plenty of interest in the event, and may even end up holding a second session as a result, so if you are a NAS member, are interested, but have not yet signed up, please let the Communications Lead know at communications@newburyastro.org.uk

Ann Davies receives Honorary Membership at 2/2 NAS meeting

At the NAS meeting on 2nd February, NAS Chair Paul Gibson presented longstanding NAS (and BAA) member Ann Davies with an Honorary Membership in recognition of her many years of service to the society, and to Amateur Astronomy in the UK as a whole. Paul writes:

Since the Newbury Astronomical Society’s formation, some 43 years ago, Ann Davies has been a constant and major contributor to its development and organisation, both as a long standing Chair and a Committee member. Just as importantly, she has been, and remains, an extraordinary example of a friendly and most approachable source of knowledge for members to call on, be they beginners or experts. Her organisational work with and for the British Astronomical Association has also significantly enhanced the astronomical community in the UK, and reflected well on the NAS.

It is with great pleasure that the Society has awarded Ann the status of Honorary Member, in recognition of her contributions, at our February, 2024 Main Meeting

Stargazing 2024 at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Last month, intrepid members of Newbury AS turned out en masse to support the Stargazing event at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, Oxfordshire, providing views of Saturn, Jupiter, the Moon and (until cloud threw a spanner in the works) the Orion Nebula for attendees through a host of telescopes from small SCTs to homebuilt Dobsonians to the latest robotic scopes. Despite cold temperatures, large crowds kept the observers busy over a three hour stretch and it was great to hear so many gasps of amazement and delight from young and old alike.

Last week, members again turned out at The Earth Trust at Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire for a Stargazing event in support of the charity. Unfortunately, this time the clouds did not oblige, but members gave a series of talks and feedback suggested the event went really well - there is likely to be a follow-up later this year. Our thanks to all members who helped out at both events.

(RAL Image courtesy the STFC) )