Home (2022/2023)
2022/2023 Archive pages:
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Image credit: NASA Hubble Heritage
Welcome to Astronomy in Herefordshire
Latest News:
News and items of interest to Herefordshire Astronomical Society members
September 2022:
What's Next - Kindle Centre Meeting - Thursday 1st September 2022
Bill Barton's marvellous talk in July is but a distant memory, we've had glorious sunshine for weeks (OK, maybe it was a bit too hot at times?), HAS has had it's annual holiday and so now we're looking forward to the new season.
We return to the Kindle Centre for our first talk on the 1st September.
We're delighted to invite Roger Pickard back to tell us some more about stellar evolution. This follows on from his previous talk and will include a short recap of part one and then goes on to introduce the evolution of higher-mass stars.
Roger has been studying the sky for over 50 years with a main interest in Variable Stars – stars that vary in brightness over time-scales of a few hours to many years. Until recently he had been the Director of the British Astronomical Association’s Variable Star Section, a post he held for almost 20 years. He has his own remote controlled telescope in his garden which he operates from the comfort of his study. Something he highly recommends as you get older and like the cold less and less!
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 1st September 2022
7 pm - Kindle Centre
Stellar Evolution - Part II (Kindle Centre)
Roger Pickard, past President of British Astronomical Association, 20 years as BAA Director of Variable Star Section. Roger talks about how stars are born, live and die and in this talk focuses on higher mass stars.
Observing Highlights
Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
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
Member's Photos
Have a look at the Images page (here) - we've archived members photos shown over the years on the Home pages to this Images page.
Meetings:
With meetings now allowed indoors, we are delighted to be able to have a mix of virtual Zoom talks and talks back at the Kindle Centre. Our next meeting will be at the Kindle Centre - we look forward to seeing you!
Thursday 1st September 2022
7 pm - Kindle Centre
Stellar Evolution - Part II (Kindle Centre)
Roger Pickard, past President of British Astronomical Association, 20 years as BAA Director of Variable Star Section. Roger talks about how stars are born, live and die and in this talk focuses on higher mass stars.
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.
To watch recordings of previous talks, they are on the "Recordings" page here.
The last recorded meeting was in June - here's the recording:
Thursday 7th July 2022
A talk given by Bill Barton on the 7th July 2022.
Bill is a FRAS, a member of the SHA and Deputy Director of the BAA Historical Section. Bill is a prolific researcher and writer on the history of astronomy - just take a look through the profiles of the many astronomers he's unearthed in East Anglia!
Bill's talk tells the intriguing tale of Mary Ward and her accidental death.
Observing Session:
We are pleased to announce that our observing sessions are resuming in the Autumn. As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and any last minute alterations.
If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and 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 Mark and Chris.
TBA October 2022
8 - 10 pm
Star Party:
We hope to hold Star Parties again this session - Covid-19 allowing. Maybe we'll be able to run one at the Madley Environmental Study Centre (MESC) again.
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.
TBC
Star Party with MESC
More information here.
Visit:
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). 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.
TBC
Where would you like to go?
More information here.
Members pay for shared transport and any entrance fees as appropriate..
October 2022:
What's Next - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 6th October 2022
It was great to get together again at the Kindle Centre for our opening talk of the season. Roger Pickard's follow-up talk on Stellar Evolution gave us a pretty comprehensive overview on how stars of all shapes and sizes (in multiple systems or alone!) are born, live and die. Great stuff and beautifully illustrated.
Our next meeting is a zoom talk by Steve Barrett.
Steve gave us a very entertaining talk last season on the "controversial" faked Apollo moon landings of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This time Steve takes a long term look at the Universe - "The End of Everything".
Dr Steve Barrett is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Liverpool. His research interests have centred around the applications of imaging and spectroscopy to fields such as nanoscience, geomaterials, biomedical imaging and infrared spectroscopy.
His interest in astronomy predates his professional career as a physicist. He has given hundreds of astronomy-related talks to astronomical societies, special interest groups and schools to an audience totalling over 20,000 people. As a result of giving these outreach talks he was awarded the Sir Patrick Moore Prize in 2019 by the British Astronomical Association.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 6th October 2022
7 pm - Virtual Talk
The End of Everything
Dr Steve Barrett (University of Liverpool)
Observing Highlights
At our last talk Chris mentioned some highlights to look out for this month:
Lunar Occultation of Uranus - Wednesday 14th September, beginning at approximately 22:28
Partial Solar Eclipse - Tuesday 25th. October, 1st contact approximately 10:08 (still BST, just) ending ca. 11:46. At our last talk, several members expressed interest in joining Mark to observe the partial eclipse using Mark's h-alpha scopes. Look out for emails from Mark giving details.
Lunar Occultation of Mars - Thursday 8th December, Lunar Occultation of Mars at approximately 04:57 (GMT). Note: Moon is full for this one but, this same night, Mars reaches opposition. Nowhere near the greatest angular size we have seen but at approximately -1,6 mag. bright enough not to be 'drowned out' - maybe even to the naked eye
Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
What's Next - Observing Session - TBA October 2022 - CANCELLED
We have our first observing session in October - just before the clocks go back. We will meet at our Lugg Meadows site - more information about our site and location here.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Latest update from Mark and Chris:
I am afraid with the low interest these days which our observing nights seem to provoke, I am only prepared to call it if a pretty clear night (< 25% cloud, say) is predicted. The next few nights offer nothing better than 50-50 and it is not much fun 'dancing through gaps in the cloud!
We have therefore decided to cancel October's evening session and look forward to November (see all provisional dates on our website under 'Observing')
In the meantime, by way of compensation, those of you that are free might content yourselves with the partial eclipse of the Sun this coming Tuesday morning (25th.) October, starting (1st. contact) at ca. 10.08 BST. A little bit of cloud is not necessarily a spoiler in this case - but please avoid looking directly at the sun!
Project or use suitable approved filters (mylar specs/ lens covers etc.).
TBA October 2022
6:30 - 9 pm
CANCELLED
November 2022:
What's Next - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 3rd November 2022
We are delighted to welcome Owen Brazell back to HAS to give us his talk on Observing Planetary Nebulae.
Owen is President, Director of the Galaxies Section, Joint Meetings Organiser and DSO Editor for The Webb Society. He is also assistant director of the British Astronomical Association's Deep Sky Section and a regular contributor to Astronomy Now. When observing, his primary interests are in the observation of planetary and diffuse nebulae - although since the acquisition of a 51cm telescope this has also moved to viewing galaxy clusters.
Have a look around The Webb Society website here and there's information about the Deep-Sky Observer (DSO) quarterly magazine here.
BTW, we have a particular soft spot for the Reverend Thomas William Webb here in Herefordshire. The Reverend Webb was born in Ross-on-Wye, educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, ordained and later assigned to the parish of Hardwicke, Hereford. Here he wrote his classic astronomical observing guide "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes" published in 1859 for which he is best known today. He is buried in the Holy Trinity Parish Church in Whitecross Road.
Some HAS members may even remember a talk given on 6th November 2008 (the 1st Annual Webb lecture!) where Janet and Mark Robinson described the life of the Revd Webb taken from their book (with a foreword by Sir Patrick Moore) called 'The Stargazer of Hardwicke'.
More recently, in February 2020, the society went on a visit to Hanwell Community Observatory and Oxford's History of Science Museum. Here Dr Lee Macdonald showed us an original first edition of the Revd Webb's book "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes". We have some photos of the trip here - scroll down on the link to have a look at us inspecting the book!
Thursday 3rdNovember 2022
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Observing Planetary Nebulae
Owen Brazell (The Webb Society, BAA)
What's Next - Observing Session - FRIDAY 18th November 2022 - CONFIRMED
After we had to cancel our first observing session in October - hopefully the weather will look more kindly on us in November. We will meet at our Lugg Meadows site - more information about our site and location here.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Latest update: Observing moved to FRIDAY starting at 6.30 pm.
Friday18th November 2022
6:30 - 9 pm
December 2022:
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 1st December 2022
We are delighted to welcome Mike Foulkes to HAS to give us our Annual Webb talk entitled "Heschel's Planet".
Mike gives us an overview of the Uranus system including the planet itself, its satellites and rings. He covers the planet's discovery by William Herschel and takes us up to modern day observations made by spacecraft, large professional telescopes and amateurs.
Mike is the director of the British Astronomical Association’s (BAA) Saturn, Uranus and Neptune Section.
He has been interested in astronomy since a young age. He's an active observer - particularly of the Moon and planets. He's also been to a number of Total Eclipses of the Sun.
He's been giving talks to amateur astronomical societies for years and also participates in the BAA Back to Basics courses, which are aimed at beginners in amateur astronomy.
He has worked in the spacecraft industry.
Observing Highlights
Here are some highlights to look out for this month:
Lunar Occultation of Mars - Thursday 8th December, Lunar Occultation of Mars at approximately 04:57 (GMT). Note: Moon is full for this one but, this same night, Mars reaches opposition. Nowhere near the greatest angular size we have seen but at approximately -1,6 mag. bright enough not to be 'drowned out' - maybe even to the naked eye
Observing highlights for this month: Telescope House - monthly night sky guide
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
What's Next - Observing Session - Thursday 15th December 2022
We managed to hold an observing session in November - lets hope the weather will look kindly on us in December. We will meet at our Lugg Meadows site - more information about our site and location here.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 15th December 2022
6:30 - 9 pm
January 2023:
Next Talk - Kindle Centre Meeting - Thursday 5th January 2023
Our next meeting is the Annual General Meeting followed by a members' talk.
We return to the Kindle Centre for our AGM and members' talk.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 5th January 2023
7 pm - Kindle Centre
AGM and member's talk
TBA
Next Activity - Observing Session - Wednesday 18th January 2023
We have our first observing session of 2023 around the 18th January. As Chris described at the AGM, we can be quite flexible with which day to meet - dependent on getting some clear skies. We will meet at our Lugg Meadows site - more information about our site and location here.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Latest update from Mark and Chris:
Can you all please park on the LEFT hand side of the track in single file and leave sufficient space between cars for your kit - if you have any..
Wednesday 18th January 2023
6:30 - 9 pm
Observing Highlights
We had a very successful observing session on Wednesday with a dozen members attending, some lovely fruit cake supplied by Nicky, a "brilliantly informative expert sky tour with laser pointer" by Chris and, most important of all, clear skies!
We were keen to see if Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) had made an appearance - unfortunately the low altitude meant we couldn't see it on Wednesday. However, as Chris described, it's continuing to get brighter and higer in the skies with a chance it may become a naked eye object. The Telescope House Part 1 guide below gives a good description and how to find it. Clear skies.
Observing highlights for this month - there's so much to see in the January night sky that the Telescope House guide is in two parts!:
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
February 2023:
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 2nd February 2023
Our next meeting is a talk given by Professor Brad Gibson - "Are we alone in the Universe?"
Have we been visited before? Are they out there watching… listening… studying us? And if they are out there, where might ‘there’ be? Our Milky Way Galaxy can be a nasty and inhospitable place for life to develop… but, all is not lost… there are some very unique and special places hidden amongst this hostile environment where the building blocks for life might just be right for extraterrestrial life to flourish. Brad examines the evidence for and against the existence of extraterrestrial life, and walks us through the associated good, bad, and ugly corners of our Galaxy.
An Aussie-Canadian transplant, Brad is the Head of Physics & Maths, and Director of the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, at the University of Hull. Brad was responsible for first defining the Milky Way’s Galactic Habitable Zone (named a Top 10 News Story of the Year by National Geographic), determining the expansion rate of the Universe (for which their team was awarded the Gruber Prize in Cosmology), and building the world’s first Liquid Mirror Telescope Observatory. His 1000+ outreach events over the past 7 years have reached two million people around the world, including 80 schools and colleges around the UK. His commitment to widening participation and diversity, and improving the career prospects of physics students, led to his “Changing Face of Physics” campaign being named Best Practice in the Country by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 2nd February 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Are we alone in the Universe?
Prof. Brad Gibson (University of Hull)
What's Next - Observing Session - MONDAY 13th February 2023:
Our next Observing session will be held at our Lugg Meadows observing site on or around Thursday 16th February 2023.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Latest update (12/02/2023):
Our observing evening for this month was planned around Thursday, 16th. However the only viable night this week now seems like TOMORROW, MONDAY 13TH.
This is very short notice, I know - but a clear night is paramount and it does look good for then.
As ever please respond with a POSITIVE (ie 'Yes I'll be there') - ONLY. No apologies/ regrets necessary (or wanted).
Need to know by mid-morning tomorrow latest in order to advise the landowner.
If we don't have the numbers there may still be an option into next week...
Monday 13th February 2023
6:30 - 9 pm
March 2023:
Observing Highlights
We had another successful observing sessions in February with clear skies!
We were keen to see if we could find Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - needless to say, Chris found it in his 12" Dobsonian and all were delighted to take a look. It's quite high in the sky now - just near Aldebran in Taurus. The Telescope House night sky guide below says it "is the undoubted highlight for February" - the guide gives a good description of the comet and how to find it. Clear skies.
Observing highlights for this month:
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 2nd March 2023
Our next meeting is a talk given by Gary Fildes - "Building and Managing an Observatory".
Gary Fildes MSc HC - is currently the lead Astronomer at the Grassholme Observatory in the UK. He is also the ex- CEO Founder of the Kielder Observatory and the person responsible for the instigating the Northumberland Dark sky park award.
Having observed the skies and studied astronomy since the age of 8 - he built a world renowned observatory however he had an unlikely beginning in science - Starting off life as a bricklayer. He says: “I dreamt of building an observatory where we could all share the universe and the night sky, so I built the Kielder Observatory.”
The success of this project relied heavily on Gary’s wealth of knowledge in astronomy as well as his ability to communicate complex concepts in an easy to understand format – engaging and exciting.
The Kielder Observatory had an initial funding requirement to host 240 people a year, and through word-of-mouth has grown to having 26,000 visitors per year. It is widely acknowledged that this success is due to Gary’s ability to communicate his passion, enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge of the night skies and astronomy.
In recognition of Gary’s rare achievements, he has been awarded an honorary MSc degree in astrophysics from the University of Durham.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 2nd March 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Building and Managing an Observatory
Gary Fildes - founder and ex-CEO of Kielder Observatory.
What's Next - Observing Session - Thursday 16th March 2023:
Our next Observing session will be held at our Lugg Meadows observing site on or around Thursday 16th March 2023.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 16th March 2023
6:30 - 9 pm
Observing Session:
We are pleased to announce that our observing sessions are resuming in the Autumn. As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris giving details and 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 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 Mark and 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 Mark and Chris.
We'll be holding our first observing session before the clocks go back - so look out for emails to confirm timings as we'll need to have a dark sky!
April 2023:
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 6th April 2023
Our next meeting is a talk given by Roy Gunson - "The Kuiper Belt".
Roy gives us a "Cooks Tour" of the bodies that lie in the outer regions of the Solar System, the different categories of objects and their formation and history.
Roy retired in 2011 after 32 years at Sheffield Hallam University and before that worked in various Research Associations. He's been an amateur astronomer since age 10 or so with interests in wargaming, genealogy and history.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 6th April 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
The Kuiper Belt
Roy Gunson - Vice-Chair Mexborough & Swinton AS.
May 2023:
Next Talk - Kindle Centre Meeting - Thursday 4th May 2023
Our next meeting is a face-to-face meeting at the Kindle Centre.
We thought this would be a great opportunity to have a more "hands on" session where members can bring their own equipment for advice and guidance on how to set it up and use it. Maybe you've had problems collimating your scope, not sure how best to do a polar alignment, need some advice on how to set up an imaging session, how to set up an observatory, what software to use, what star atlases to use. We won't have answers for everything, but your fellow HAS members have dabbled in all of these areas and may well be able to give you suggestions or pointers and at least be able to say how "not" to do something based on their own experience. Basically anything to do with the practical side of astronomy!
However, the best bit about meeting at the Kindle Centre is that you can meet and get to know other HAS members and swap stories. We'll have refreshments laid on for this meeting - so come and enjoy a cuppa and a biscuit with your fellow members.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 4th May 2023
7 pm - Kindle Centre
Practical Astronomy
Bring your equipment, problems and questions to share with other HAS members and you'll at least get commiserations. You may even get some help and advice!
June 2023:
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 1st June 2023 - CANCELLED
Melissa will tell us all about the large scale structure of the universe - "Galaxy Group Formations". Over 50% of galaxies in the Universe live in groups. This environment affects the galaxy properties and evolution. Despite being very common, groups are difficult to study because of their diversity and they remain a real challenge for modern Astrophysics. In this talk, Melissa will give an overview of current research in this field and of the results so far.
Melissa completed her Master degree in Astrophysics and Cosmic Physics at the University of Turin in Italy with a thesis on X-shaped radio galaxies. She joined the University of Birmingham for her PhD where she studied the evolution of galaxies in groups using multi-wavelength observations. Melissa has worked as a postdoctoral researcher and as Data Scientist in the private sector. After becoming a mum, she decided to spend time with her daughter and she now lives and works as a private teacher in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Her passion for Astrophysics is still very much alive and she continues to stay up to date with the latest scientific results and gives talks to local groups, Astronomical Societies and gave a talk at last year's International Astronomy Show at Stoneleigh Park.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 1st June 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Galaxy Group Formations
Melissa Gillone
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 1st June 2023
Unfortunately, we have received a last minute cancellation from our speaker for this event.
Rather than cancel this evening's meeting, we thought it would be a great opportunity for members to discuss recent events, last month's practical meeting and look at any Q&A's from members.
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 1st June 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Members' Evening
Y'all
July 2023:
Next Talk - Virtual Meeting - Thursday 6th July 2023
For our next talk, we are delighted to welcome James Fradgley (FRAS) to HAS.
James will take us on a tour of some strange patterns weaved by the planets and satellites of our Solar System. He'll introduce us to the Lagrange points where asteroids can orbit in tandem with a planet and spacecraft can be shepherded to hold their position. There are resonances that bring planets and their moons into step; and the patterns and rings seen in the planetary rings. He'll tell us about Horseshoe orbits, Rosettes and instabilities amongst the wonders of Orbital Oddities.
James Fradgley has a background in physics and astronomy. After an unrelated career he has returned to astronomy in his retirement. He is Chairman of the Southern Area Group of Astronomical Societies (SAGAS) as well as having roles in several other groups. James is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
As always, look out for emails from Mark and Chris with details of what HAS is doing next. If you are not on our emailing list, please contact Mark and Chris for the latest news - contact details here.
Thursday 6th July 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Orbital Oddities
James Fradgley (FRAS)
Supernova in M101 - SN 2023ixf
Francis and Keith have been busy capturing the latest supernova - SN-2023ixf. Francis' image is left below; Keith has produced a little video that has a "before and after" view of M101 - clearly shows the location of the Supernova.
Supernova in M101 - SN 2023ixf
On 19th May, Koichi Itagaki discovered a supernova in the nearby face on spiral galaxy M101, given the designation SN 2023ixf. The supernova was discovered at magnitude 14.9 and had brightened to 12th magnitude by the night of 20th/21st May.
SN 2023ixf is a type II supernova. These are the end of life of a massive star. The star runs out of fuel for nuclear fusion in its core, which leads to the rapid collapse of the core triggering a violent thermonuclear explosion that destroys the star.
(There's a before/after image on the BAA website to show the exact position of the Supernova: BAA)
New Members Discussion Group
It was great for us to be able to get together again at the Kindle Centre for our May meeting. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience held by different HAS members - hopefully we were able to answer some of your questions and puzzles.
Off the back of that meeting, it was suggested we create an online community for HAS members where you can raise questions, share your experience and suggest topics for talks or visits. We've had a rummage around and rather than use the Meta owned data harvesting platforms .... we've created a discussion group on the Groups.io platform. This is a "fremium" based platform and promotes itself as "We don't run advertising and your data is never submitted to any ad tracking networks.". There are a lot of other astronomy and expert groups using this platform - it looks like a safe place to be online.
We've set the permissions for the group to be listed publicly but content is private - only HAS members can see what you post.
We are moderating new members joining the group to manage spam bots and spurious content. This means new member requests have to be approved by an Admin before being admitted to the group. We'll check your email addresses against those we old for HAS members - if you want to use a different email address to the one we hold, please let the HAS website manage know (here).
Once admitted you can follow discussions and post entries. It's an email based platform by default - you'll receive new posts by email from other members. However, if you don't want individual emails you can go online and change your "Subscription" to turn off emails and receive digests etc.
Keith emailed out the link to join the group. If you've mislaid his email, you can subscribe following the link below.
Have fun!
Observing Highlights
Observing highlights for this month:
Click link below for view of UK sky: Met Office Satellite image. UK Visible Light.
Meetings:
With meetings now allowed indoors, we are delighted to be able to have a mix of virtual Zoom talks and talks back at the Kindle Centre. Our next meeting is:
Thursday 6th July 2023
7 pm - Virtual Talk
Orbital Oddities
James Fradgley (FRAS)
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.
To watch recordings of previous talks, they are on the "Recordings" page here.
We were able to record our last talk given by Roy Gunson:
Thursday 6th April 2023
A talk given by Roy Gunson to the Herefordshire Astronomical Society on the 6th April 2023.
Roy retired in 2011 after 32 years at Sheffield Hallam University and before that worked in various Research Associations. He's been an amateur astronomer since age 10 or so with interests in wargaming, genealogy and history.
Roy gives us a "Cooks Tour" of the bodies that lie in the outer regions of the Solar System, the different categories of objects and their formation and history.
Observing Session:
The clocks have changed, the evenings are lighter, so that's the end of our Observing Sessions until the Autumn. As always, we've had some successful sessions and others have had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather.
It still gets dark in the evenings, so there's still lots of opportunities to get outside under the stars. Remember there are some great online observing guides - a good one is run by Telescope House.
TBC October 2023
6:30 - 9 pm
Star Party:
We hope to hold Star Parties again this session - Covid-19 allowing. Maybe we'll be able to run one at the Madley Environmental Study Centre (MESC) again.
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.
TBC
Star Party with MESC
More information here.
Visit:
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). 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.
TBC
Where would you like to go?
More information here.
Members pay for shared transport and any entrance fees as appropriate..