Meetings (2014/2015)

7th Annual Webb Lecture: Who really invented the telescope?

Dr David Whitehouse (Former BBC Science Correspondent)

David was the BBC science correspondent and BBC science editor. He won lots of awards including European Internet Journalist of the Year. He has a PhD from Jodrell Bank and has worked for Nasa on space shuttle, space station design and advanced projects. David has written books on the Moon, Sun, Galileo and Spaceflight - his next book is due in February and is called “Journey to the Centre of the Earth.”. He is a former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy and a visiting professor at the Universities of New York and Chicago. He even has an asteroid named after himself.

The Big Bang and After

Christianne Wakeham (OU)

Setting up an Observatory

Brian Brookes (Astroparts UK) and John Timmins (Peak 2 Valley Instruments)

Members Papers Evening

A collection of short papers presented by three members of the Society presenting talks on:

• Graham Russell on using remote robotic telescopes to take astro images

• Martin Stratford on basic astro imaging

• Norman Pomfret - on the design of a Schumann Resonance Sensor to indicate Solar activity by Alfven waves - MagnetoHydroDynamics in solar chronosphere

Cosmology Today

Chris Baddiley

Cosmology in the Plank Era

Dr Chris North (University of Cardiff)

Titan - the large and mysterious moon of Saturn

Gerry Workman, Clacton & District Astronomical Society

Solar Eclipses 2015, 2016, 2017

Sheridan Williams (Director of the Computing Section at BAA)

Pluto, New Horizons and the Kuiper Belt

Dr Mike Leggett, Milton Keynes AS

Mike will talk about the New Horizons NASA space probe, launched to study the dwarf planet Pluto, its moons and one or two other Kuiper belt objects. On January 25 it began to capture long-range images of the Pluto system and with the closest approach coming up on 14th July, Mike will have the latest news and images from New Horizons.

A heretic's guide to modern cosmology

Dr Richard Tweedy will be talking on 'A heretic's guide to modern cosmology' - he used to be a professional astronomer but is now an ordained priest - as Paul Olver said at the last meeting he should have an interesting take on the subject!