We had a great turnout for the AAS, UskAS and HOVAS get together in the Hen & Chickens. Thanks to all those who turned up, hope you had a good evening and also hope we can keep the momentum up in 2024.

Martin Griffiths gave a talk about Mars : Life – Fiction – Fact – Robots etc. I enjoyed it and it seemed to go down well. Suffice to say that Martin seemed to be a bit frustrated at sending more robotic missions to investigate what we already know and is waiting for engineers, biologists (and people with shovels to dig a few holes more than 8cm deep) to visit.

For the future are there any topics that people would be interested in hearing about, or would like to give a short talk/introduction on? Suggestions are more than welcome. If you fancy giving it a go but are a little shy don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert, we will give any help that is necessary and the attendees don’t bite.

Great turnout and discussion on “The Oort Cloud” at this weeks meeting (23rd).

In case anyone is interested I have uploaded a pdf copy of the presentation slides onto the web site. LINK

There is a lot of info on the internet but one YouTube video I watched, “Unveiling the Oort Cloud“ by a Dr Nora Bailey, is quite straightforward.  LINK

Next Meeting is scheduled for the 4th Monday of November, the 27th. Topic will be advised later.
Hope to see everyone there.

The next meeting will be on Monday 23^rd October at 7:30pm.  (Apologies for the mess up last month) 
Usual place, the upstairs room at the Hen & Chicks, Abergavenny.

The topic for discussion will be “The Oort Cloud”, that sphere of rubble etc., dating from the formation of the solar system, that is thought to surround us.

Questions that we may consider:-
What is the Oort Cloud,
Who came up with the idea and why,
Is it real,
How and when did it form,
What effect does it have on us now,
What could happen in the future?

Come along and have your “two penny’s worth”.  All views, opinions, questions and maybe answers welcomed!

See you there.

The next meeting of the Society will be on Monday 25th September 2023 at 7:30pm. As usual we will be upstairs in the Hen and Chickens Pub in Abergavenny, Flannel St, NP7 5EG.

We will be looking at the autumn sky and what can be seen with basic equipment or simply by eye. The talk is aimed at absolute beginners although there will be things to interest the more experienced observers.

All welcome whatever your level of experience or knowledge

As Usual upstairs in the Hen & Chicks, Abergavenny at 7:30pm.
Tony will be giving a short presentation on Patrick Moore marking his 100^th anniversary and Nick will talk about Robert Ball, the 19^th Century equivalent of Patrick Moore.
Should be an interesting session. 
It is also the last session before our 2 month summer break so do come along listen, ask any questions you wish and have a chat.  Everyone is very welcome.

7:30pm; Upstairs in the Hen & Chicks, Abergavenny

This month we will have a number of different, short topics.

First, as we haven’t had an AGM for 3 years it is felt that we should have one now.  Not much has happened since COVID so it shouldn’t be long and it does give the opportunity for attendees to ask questions and make suggestions.  Shouldn’t take more than 30 mins (hopefully)

After that Tony Parton-Frost will give a talk on the amateur astronomer Patrick Moore CBE, celebrating 100 years since his birth.

Next we can explore the ESA and NASA missions to Jupiter’s moons, the Juice mission was launched on the 14^th April.  We can discuss what the objectives are and why Jupiter’s moons.

Lastly, if we have time, Nick will outline the sky in May and what we might see at this time of year.

Anyone interested is welcome so come along and have your input or just listen.  We are not even charging at the moment!