Welcome to HAS

*To  see more of our Members' wonderful Astrophotography, visit the  various  'Images'  and 'Messier Marathon' pages within our 'Members' section

Latest News

News and items of interest to Herefordshire Astronomical Society members

From The BBC Sky At  Night Magazine (on 27 March 2025):

'Today could be the day the Blaze Star ignites, and it could become as bright as the North Star

A star system 3,000 lightyears away is set to become visible to the naked eye, and one astronomer has predicted that today, 27 March 2025, could be the day it happens.

T Coronae Borealis, also known as T CrB or the 'Blaze Star', last brightened in 1946, and astronomers initially predicted it would brighten again by September 2024'.

We are still waiting! Watch this space...

Meetings

We have a mix of 'virtual' Zoom talks and in person talks at the Kindle Centre.  Fore more details see our Meetings page.

Next Meeting:

Recorded Talks

Many of our speakers at the Virtual Talks have allowed us to record and share their talks for society members to view if they missed the meeting. We've started an HAS YouTube channel here where you can visit or subscribe to and watch these talks.

To watch recordings of previous talks, they are on the 'Recordings' page  here.

Observing

That's it for our 2024/2025 season - the clocks have gone back and the evenings are lighter. Our next observing session will be the first one of the 2025/2026 season in October.

As always, look out for emails from Chris giving proposed date and details and look out for any last minute alterations. We will endeavour to stick to these dates unless weather means 'sliding' it, in which case it will likely be a few days earlier or later (usually later) and members will of course be advised. Each date is centred on the first Thursday after Third Quarter.

If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Chris for the latest news - contact details here.

Remember that there are some great online observing guides - a good one is run by Telescope House. Look out for the monthly night sky emails from Chris.

Star Parties

We've held Star Parties in the past, most recently at the Madley Environmental Study Centre (MESC). Let us know if his is something you'd be interested in or would be happy to help with. Our Star Party page is here

MESC is right next door to the Madley Satellite Earth Station - a well known Herefordshire landmark. There are some location maps and directions to the MESC web site here.

Useful Observing  & Weather Links

Observing highlights for this month:

• Royal Museums Greenwich - Night Sky Highlights

• BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Links for weather and observing forecasts:

• Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light

• Clear Outside (FLO)

• Glendale Aurora Alerts UK 

Society Visits and Trips

Once or twice a year, members like to jump in cars or climb in a mini-bus and make their way to go and see something interesting outside of Herefordshire (passports not required - so far).  Members pay for shared transport and any entrance fees as appropriate.

Previous trips have been to the Spaceguard Centre, the International Astronomy Show, the National Space Centre, Jodrell Bank, the Norman Lockyer Observatory outside Sidmouth, the Herschel Museum in Bath and the Hanwell Community Observatory just outside Banbury.

Look out for emails from Keith explaining more about the proposed visits and asking members to register for the trips.

Further information is on our Visits page

Next Visit - Bletchley Park

At our AGM, Keith outlined our plans for trips and visits this year.

Top of the list is a proposed trip to  Bletchley Park. Although not directly associated with astronomy, the place it holds in British history and the development of technology tickled the interest of HAS members. 

There's also The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) in Block H at Bletchley Park - home to the world's largest collection of working historic computers. 

There's so much to see that we plan a two day visit and will find somewhere to stay overnight nearby. 

If you haven't already signed up for this trip, please contact Keith (here) to find out more.

Membership

How to join

If you are looking to join HAS, visit the Membership page here for all you need to know about subscriptions and how to become a member.

What we get up to

Visits and Trips

Visit the Members Page here for all planned and past activities.

Latest Members' Photos 

Taken any astronomy photos over the last few months? Share them here with HAS members! 

Take a look at what HAS members have managed to do over the years on our Images pages: (Latest Images,  Further Images, More Images). 

HAS members have also risen to the challenge of imaging all 110 Messier objects! Check out how we're doing on our Messier Marathon page.

Members' Discussion Group

We've set up an online community for HAS members where you can raise questions, share your experience and suggest topics for talks or visits. We've created a discussion group on the Groups.io platform. Visit the Members' Page here for more information.

FAS News

Look out for emails from Keith with the regular FAS Newsletter and news and information about other events and talks that you may be interested in attending at FAS and other Astronomical Societies