Meeting Recordings (2022-2023)

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. 

A talk given by Professor Brad Gibson to the Herefordshire Astronomical Society on the 2nd February 2023.

Brad is the Head of Physics & Maths, and Director of the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, at the University of Hull.

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.

A talk given by Mike Foulkes to the Herefordshire Astronomical Society on the 1st December 2022.

Mike is the director of the British Astronomical Association’s (BAA) Saturn, Uranus and Neptune Section.

Mike gives us an overview of the Uranus system and the planet's discovery by William Herschel.

[Please contact the website manager if you would like to view the recording] 

A talk given by Owen Brazell (The Webb Society).

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.

In this talk, Owen explains what Planetary Nebulae are and how to observe them.

A talk given by Dr Steve Barrett (University of Liverpool).

Steve takes a long term look at the Universe right up to a Googol - "The End of Everything". 

Steve mentioned that he has made some handouts for the talk available online - they're here. 

Steve is happy to take further questions by email (here) if you wanted to follow up on anything in the talk.

A talk given by Bill Barton (FRAS, SHA and Deputy Director of the BAA Historical Section).

Bill's talk tells the intriguing tale of Mary Ward and her accidental death. 

A talk given by Dr Ann Bonell, President of Leicester Astronomical society.

"Percival Lowell and the Canals of Mars" - Ann describes some early observations of the Red Planet and then concentrates on the life of Percival Lowell and his tireless fervour for the canals of Mars.

[Our May talk was held at the Kindle Centre and was not recorded]

A talk given by Bob Mizon MBE FRAS.

"Comets in History" - Bob traces our relationship with these intriguing night visitors, from ancient superstition to modern scientific exploration.  

[Please contact the website manager if you would like to view the recording] 

A talk given by Hugh Allen (Wells & Mendip Astronomers).

Hugh's talk demystifies amateur spectroscopy and shows how it offers a unique way to observe the Universe.

A talk given by Dr Steve Barrett (University of Liverpool).

Steve entertains us by examining the evidence for and against the claims that the Apollo moon landings of the late 1960s and early 1970s were faked by NASA.

This was our Annual General Meeting followed by a talk by Francis Milsom. Francis talked about building a 16" telescope. 

The talk was not recorded. 

A talk given by Dr Diego Altamirano (Associate Professor at the University of Southampton). 

Diego helps us get our heads around "powers of tens", in the process taking us through 44 orders of magnitude in 44 seconds, then launches into the extreme world of neutron stars. 

A talk given by Dr Julian Onions (FRAS, Nottingham University Astronomy Department) 

Julian tells us all about galaxies - what they are, how they are classified, how they are formed, what we understand about their lives. And lots of pretty pictures.

A talk given by Steve Richards (Sky at Night magazine) 

Steve's talk is  an introduction to deep sky imaging for beginners and for observational astronomers making the move to the slippery slope that is astrophotography. It covers equipment choices and techniques.

Russell Parry FRSPH

Russell tells us about the Appley Bridge Meteorite.

[Please contact the website manager if you would like to view the recording] 

Pete Williamson FRAS (Shropshire AS)

Pete's fun talk looks back over time to see how many aspects of music and space / astronomer intertwine.

[Due to the copyrighted music that Pete played in this talk we're unable to post the recording to YouTube. Please contact the website manager if you would like to view the recording.]

J R Tate FRAS, The Spaceguard Centre

Jay tells the story of how Near Earth Objects came to be, what they've done in the past, what they'll do in the future and what we are and are not doing about it ... The End is Nigh?

Dr Lee MacDonald - Annual Webb Lecture

"Greenwich Observatory in 1900: reshaping an old observatory for the twentieth century"

[Apologies for the intermittent audio quality - technical gremlins]

Ezzy Pearson - Planetary Rovers

Ezzy takes us on an historic tour of the robotic emissaries humanity has sent to traverse their way across other worlds.

Steve Tonkin - Ten Ways the Universe Tries to Kill You

A light-hearted, but scientifically robust, look at a lot of fundamental cosmological processes, from stellar evolution to galactic interaction.

Christianne Wakeham - Life in Hell?

The mystery in the cloud decks of Venus 

Julian Onions - Cold Dark Matter

Jeremy Shears - An introduction to variable star astronomy and cataclysmic variables

Gerard Gilligan - 12th Annual Webb Lecture - William Lassell