Newbury Astronomical Society
Pegasus
The January edition of Pegasus, NAS's monthly newsletter, can be found at the link below:
What's Up and the Beginners Magazine
Steve Harris's last What's Up magazine was the December 2024 edition, but all the indespensible information he published every month is contained within the Beginners Magazine that we're thrilled to say is continuing on. The latest edition of the Beginners Magazine can be found at the link below:
Forthcoming Meetings
For the first meeting in January, we will be welcoming David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University, who will be speaking on the fascinating topic of Mercury and the BepiColumbo Mission. Dave is lead scientist for MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) on that intrepid spacecraft, as well as leading ESA's Mercury Surface and Composition Working Group for the mission. As such, I'm sure he'll have amazing insights into both the mission and that simultaneously baked and frozen planet.
After the break, we'll have our usual second half short talks including, we hope, one on T Coronae Borealis - that eagerly awaited nova.
Speaker meetings 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).
Our First Beginners Meeting of 2025 will have plenty of variety to keep everyone interested and motivated for a new year of astronomy. After the usual highly informative "What's Up" covering all manner of phenomena in the skies in the coming weeks, we'll first have the latest instalment in the series "Life of a Star", looking at how (and why) White Dwarf stars go BANG! Then, after a break, we will have a mixture of theory and practice - a primer on the size of the universe, and (especially useful for those who have recently got their first scope, maybe for Christmas) a session on how to set them up! If it's clear, of course, we will get the telescopes out for some observing, so do bring warm clothes in case we do get the chance to get out there under the stars!
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).
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. The latest addition is Chris Lloyd's excellent presentation on Astronomy Apps from a beginners meeting a few months ago.
Headlines.....
Comet 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) puts on a display
Despite challenging weather conditions, many members managed to image Comet 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) after it emerged from its closest approach to the Sun and started to appear in the evening sky. To the left is an image from George Sallit using a Seestar S50 from here in Berkshire, below one by Steve Knight taken from the summit of La Palma.
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 trialling a series of observing nights in the coming months - the first being held last month (October) - that take place at a convenient, relatively dark site near Hampstead Marshall west of Newbury. Dates have been set 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:
Geminids peak - 15th December
Lyrids peak - 22nd April
Aquarids peak - 5th May
Obviously this is the UK, and so we have to contend with the ever-present risk of clouds. As a result, we are using the society WhatsApp group to co-ordinate. So if you're a NAS member and are interested, but not yet on the WhatsApp group, please reach out to Victoria at secretary@newburyastro.org.uk and we'll get you enrolled.
We have also now added a dedicated page on the website so for more information on when and where these sessions may be held, and what to do, head over to click here
NAS chair Paul Gibson and BAA Pres David Arditti
Solar observing in the car park
BAA Autumn Meeting 2024
By all accounts, the joint BAA/RAL/NAS Autumn weekend was a great success, with a sell-out crowd enjoying informative talks, and even the chance of solar observing during the breaks. We will have a full write-up in the next edition of Pegasus, but for now our thanks to the NAS volunteers who worked so hard to pull it off.
Rapt attention from the capacity crowd
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 winter, 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