Home (2018/2019)

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Image credit: NASA Hubble Heritage

Welcome to Astronomy in Herefordshire.

Latest News (Archive):

News and new items of interest to Herefordshire Astronomical Society members

September 2018:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 6th September 2018

• Welcome to the 2018/2019 Season at the Herefordshire Astronomical Society.

• Our first talk is to be given by Mark Robinson on the life of George Henry With, the famous Victorian mirror maker from Hereford.

• Mark is a local author who, with his wife Janet, has also published a book on the Reverend Thomas Webb of Hardwicke (The Stargazer of Hardwicke - (2006, Gracewing: Chester)).

• Observing Highlights

• Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide

October 2018:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 4th October 2018

• We started the 2018/2019 Season with a marvellous talk by Mark Robinson about the life of George Henry With, the famous Victorian mirror maker from Hereford. Lots of references to local places - particularly tickled by George With, as Headmaster of Bluecoat School, getting his school children to do the hard work of grinding the mirrors for him.

• Our next talk is given by Dr Richard McKim, BAA Director of the Mars Section. The BAA Mars Section is the oldest body in the world for the collection and analysis of observations of the Red Planet. Dr McKim has been responsible for all the Mars analysis since the apparition of 1979-80 - so who better to talk to us about the red planet. If you want to find out more about the BAA Mars Section, see here.

• SGL 2018

• The Stargazers Lounge is holding their 10th Star Party over the weekend of 12th October to 14th October. It is being held at Lucksall Caravan and Camping Park - on our doorstep here.

• There's more information on the Stargazers Lounge site and the schedule for the weekend is here.

• SGL welcome visitors - but remember if visiting at night do not drive in with headlights on or go searching for SGL members with a white torch. If there are gaps in the clouds they will be keenly peering at the skies with dark adapted eyes ... park at the entrance to Lucksall and walk down with a red torch

• International Astronomy Show

• On the same weekend as SGL2018, the International Astronomy Show will be held at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire (CV8 2LZ) - the old site of the Royal Agricultural Show. Information about the show and talks can be found here.

November 2018:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 6th September 2018

• Our next talk is given by John Harris from the Cotswold Astronomical Society. John gives our 11th Annual Webb Lecture and will tell us about the lives of William and Caroline Herschel.

• This talk follows on from the Herefordshire Astronomical Society's trip in March last year when we visited the Herschel Museum in Bath. Have a scan down the Archive page hereand you'll see the proof - HAS members stood in the garden where Sir William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781 !

• John Harris is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and is a member of the Society for the History of Astronomy, William Herschel Society and the Cotswold Astronomical Society.

December 2018:

• Observing night CANCELLED

• Please note, Mark has cancelled the planned observing session on Tuesday as all the weather channels are forecasting rain.

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 6th December 2018

• Our next society activity is the monthly talk on Thursday 6th December.

• Dr Keith Moseley joins us to explore the solar system "Beyond Neptune".

• Keith is a FRAS, long time member and Chair of the Monmouth Astronomical Research Society and Physics teacher at Monmouth School. So it's good to welcome back the man from MARS.

• Observing Highlights

• Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide

• Patterns in the Stars - a talk by Chris Millington - Saturday 17th November

• Our very own HAS member Chris Millington is giving a talk at Grange Court, Leominster, this Saturday afternoon - 17th November, 2pm - 4pm.

• Members may remember enjoying this entertaining tale looking for patterns in the sky and star lore across times and cultures at previous HAS events.

• The talk is part of a Project-Link event - if you are interested in attending please contact Christianne here.

• There is a charge of £5 for the session or free if you are unwaged.

January 2019:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 3rd January 2019

• Our next society activity is the AGM followed by talks given by members of Herefordshire Astronomical Society.

• The AGM shouldn't take too long and will cover:

• 1) Chairman's Report

• 2) Treasurers Report

• 3) Election of Officers

• This will be followed by three (much more interesting!) talks given by HAS members:

• 1) Viewing the Aurora from Iceland

• 2) The Milky Way

• 3) Observing in California

March 2019:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 7th March 2019

• Our next activity is the monthly talk at the Kindle Centre.

• This month we have Bob Marriott returning to give a talk on William Dawes and William Rutter Dawes, a father and son who supported and contributed to early 19th Century astronomy.

• Bob is a long standing member of the BAA and was, until a couple of years ago, the BAA Instruments and Imaging Section Director (2003 - 2017). Bob has stepped down from that role and is now a consultant on Astronomical Instruments.

• While Bob was in the I&I role he published "News and Technical Tips" articles for the BAA. Since stepping down, Bob now publishes "Occasional Notes" on many aspects of astronomy. He has a web site here with a marvelous back catalogue of articles published over the years, including the I&I News and Technical Tips.

• Observing Highlights

• Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide

• The Practical Astronomy Show 2019 - Saturday 9th March 2019

• After the December talk by Keith Moseley, Paul told us about The Practical Astronomy Show next year.

• The show is free to attend, has displays by many of the UKs astronomy shops and equipment makers and will offer five free talks. The talks cannot be booked in advance - you get tickets for the talks on the day (first come first served).

• There's lots more information on the show's website here.

• It is held at the Kettering Conference Centre. Paul is proposing an organised trip - so hiring a minibus or coach. This way you share the travel costs and the rest of the day is free !

• If you are interested please contact Paul (contact details here) or catch up with him at our January talk.

What's Next - Observing Session - Tuesday 28th March 2019

Our next activity is the monthly observing session at Fownhope - this will the last session before summer as the evenings are getting lighter and the clocks go forward at the end of the month.

Look out for emails from Mark and Chris to confirm arrangements - we may change the day if the weather looks better on another evening.

April 2019:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 4th April 2019

Our next talk is given by Peter Williamson FRAS (Shropshire Astronomical Society). In this 50th anniversary year of the first moon landing, Peter will take us "From Myth to Moon Landings".

Peter is a well known speaker on many astronomical topics, he runs workshops and festivals, and has a regular slot on BBC Radio Shropshire presenting "Eye On the Sky, a regular sky guide with features for the beginner plus other astronomical events. To find out more about Peter, have a look at his website here.

May 2019:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 2nd May 2019

Our next talk is given by Professor Alfonso Aragon-Salamanca from the University of Nottingham. Professor Aragón-Salamanca is Head of the Astronomy group at the University of Nottingham. He was an undergraduate at the University of Madrid and got his PhD from Durham University in 1991. He worked in Durham and Cambridge for a number of years and moved to Nottingham in 1999. His research is primarily in the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology. This work combines detailed studies of local galaxies with observations of the galaxy population at intermediate and high redshifts. There's more on Professor Aragón and his research at the university website here.

Professor Aragón-Salamanca's talk is titled "Galaxies in 3D". A new observational technique has enabled him to create 3D images of galaxies which helps him to understand how galaxies form and evolve. He'll tell us about this work, its applications, some of the most interesting results that he's obtained and how it answers key questions on the formation of the different regions and components of thousands of galaxies.

June 2019:

• What's Next - Monthly talk at the Kindle Centre - Thursday 6^th June 2019

Our next talk is given by Paul Haley. Paul is one of the founder members of the Society and is a regular contributor to the publications of the Society for the History of Astronomy (find out more about the society here) - so it's great to have Paul back to give this talk.

Henry Cooper Key (1819-79) began observing in Bishopsgate, London in 1837. A decade later he became rector of Stretton Sugwas, Hereford and married Ellen Arabella Whinfield (1823-1912) in 1855. Key was an early pioneer of silvered-glass technology and his pair of short-focus 18-inch specula were used in a Romsey observatory from 1867. The bicentenary of his birth is 2019 May 31 and this illustrated talk will cover his life based on 12 years of research by Paul. Paul will also include some of his current research on 19th century observatories.

July 2019:

• What's Next - Star Party - A Giant Leap - Saturday 13th July 2019

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, Project Link, in partnership with Herefordshire Astronomical Society, plans to run a family friendly public engagement astronomy and space science conference 'a Giant Leap' on 13th July 2019 at the Madley Environmental Study Centre.

The conference will run from 11am to 5pm and will have many speakers covering the Moon, Cosmology, Archeo Astronomy, Astro and Video astronomy, Apollo space programme, Observing DSOs, famous Herefordshire astronomers - Thomas Webb, 'With' mirrors and Rev Cooper Key and finally buying telescopes for beginners and what you can expect to see etc.

The event is free - refreshments and food can be purchased at the event if you wish.

The important bit - because this event is going out to the general public - if you want to attend you must register. Those members who have stated they will help must also register.

To register for the event, please go to to the eventbrite site here.

• Partial Lunar Eclipse - Tuesday night 16th July 2019

A partial eclipse of the Moon will be visible from across the UK on the evening of 16/17 July, with the Moon rising already partially immersed in Earth’s deep umbral shadow. You’ll need to find an observing site with an uninterrupted south-eastern outlook, but a humble pair of binoculars is the only piece of equipment necessary to enhance your enjoyment of the event. The eclipse will also be seen across a large part of Asia, the whole of Africa, the eastern part of South America, and the western part of Australia.

The Moon rises at around 9pm with greatest eclipse around 10:30pm. There's more information at Astronomy Now hereor Telescope House here.

• What's Next - Summer Holidays!

What a marvellous day we had at "A Giant Leap" with MESC. Several HAS members gave talks and many HAS members were able to join the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. The weather was most kind to us allowing all the indoor, under canvas and outdoor activities to be staged for over a hundred friends and families to enjoy.

That's the end of our planned events for the 2018/2019 season. Your committee will put the finishing touches to the exciting schedule of talks and activities planned for our next 2019/2020 season - join us at the first meeting in September to find out what's in store for you.

Have a great summer break - always a good time to service and clean your astronomical gear ready for the dark nights returning.