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

Latest News

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, Jodrell Bank and last year Bletchley Park - home of Britain's codebreakers in the Second World War.

So now what for 2026 and beyond?

Don't forget the very good partial eclipse of the Sun starting 6pm 12th August - usual warning about never looking directly at the Sun!!!  A site has been picked for HAS members and invited friends & family for a picnic and use of various scopes etc along with a number of special Solar glasses for safe viewing. Fingers crossed the weather holds

And for 2027 - well where to go to next? Any ideas or suggestion please contact the Chair: Keith Maslin with ideas 😉

Telescope House (Bresser UK) Sky Guide: August 2026

Meetings

We have a mix of 'virtual'  (Zoom) talks  direct to 'the comfort of your own home' (as they say) and in person presentations at the Kindle Centre.  

For more details see our Meetings page.

Next Meeting:

HAS Zoom Talk Thursday 3rd September 2026

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 a HAS YouTube channel here where you can visit or subscribe to and watch these talks.

You can also watch recordings of previous talks  on the 'Recorded Meetings' page  of this website here.

Observing

Our observing sessions take place once a month between October and March inclusive,  at around the time between last quater and full Moon,  to optimise darkness. 

As always, look out for emails from the Observing Secretary giving proposed date and details and look out for any last minute alterations. We will endeavour to stick to these dates unless weather intervenes, 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.

Remember that there are some great online observing guides - a good one is run by Telescope House. 

Useful Observing  & Weather Links

Observing highlights for this month:

• Royal Museums Greenwich - Night Sky Highlights

• BBC Sky at Night Magazine

• Bresser Telescope House Sky Guides 

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 Observatorynear Banbury.  Last year we visited Bletchley Park - home of Britain's codebreakers in the Second World War, and most recently (July 2026) we toured the National Space Centre in Leicester.

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 - Ideas wanted for 2027.

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.

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