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