The next meeting of the Society is Thursday 15th October at 7pm by Zoom.  Bob Wright from Usk Society will present on the planet Venus.  Venus is presently an early morning object, it rises in the east in the constellation of Leo,  before the Sun at around 4 am.  For those early birds it is hard to miss as it is very bright at more than magnitude -4.  It has recently had a lot of media interest owing to the detection of a so called “biomarker” gas in its atmosphere – Phosphine.  The work was done by an international team of astronomers, led by led by Prof. Jane Greaves from Cardiff University, who many of you may remember gave an excellent talk to Abergavenny Astronomy Society in March 2019.

As usual the meeting will start at 7pm by Zoom, the details of which are below. 

There has been some feedback that a few people have experienced problems joining the meeting by Zoom from the link.  The link launches Zoom in your internet browser, the settings in some people’s browsers block certain features and do not allow Zoom to launch.  If you experience that if the browser says it has blocked Zoom, click on “allow”.  Alternatively go to the Zoom site in advance (https://zoom.us/download) and download and install Zoom on your computer, it is free.  Start the programme and simply enter the meeting number and password when requested and it will take you into the meeting.

Topic: Venus the morning star
Time: Oct 15, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84066576842?pwd=MkVrWXZHVFhoY1pFQVZERCtsUEtPQT09

Meeting ID: 840 6657 6842
Passcode: 487218
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kwMTULve1

Mars is currently at its closest point to the Earth and will not get closer for around 17 years, so now is the ideal time to observe it.  Technically it was at its closest point on the 6th October but it reaches its opposition – that is when the Sun, the Earth and the planet are all in a straight line, on the 13th October.  In the case of Mars the opposition does not exactly coincide with the closest point owing to its rather eccentric orbit.  It will be well positioned for observing for the next few months but will be getting smaller as time goes on.  Presently its diameter is just over 22 arc seconds but that will decrease by about 23% per month.  Realistically you will need a telescope to see any details on its surface but the rocky and sandy deserts are then quite easy to spot.  You may even be able to see the southern polar cap – although that is looking very small now as the Martian summer gets into full swing.  The picture shows the planet from Abergavenny on the 5th October when it was almost at its closest.  In this picture South is up and you can just see the little polar cap.  The light coloured areas near the edge of the planet are clouds.

summer get into full swing.

The next virtual meeting of the Society will be at 7pm on Thursday the 1st October.

Mars is presently at it very best for observing and will be like that for the coming weeks.  A combination of various factors mean that it will not be as easy to observe from our northern latitudes for many years to come.  In the meeting we will explore the best ways to observe the planet and what you might expect to see.

Winter is almost upon us and as a plus it brings the brilliant winter constellations in this meeting we will have a look at what there is to see in the November night skies.

Topic: Astronomical Society Meeting
Time: Oct 1, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 833 1123 0592
Passcode: 684277

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kddq8Ftj13

This Thursday we will have another virtual meeting of the Society along with members from Usk Astronomical Society.  This will be another in the back to basics type talks, this time on an absolute beginners guide to astrophotography. 

Astrophotography is a large and complex subject that can also be very costly in equipment, but like anything if taken gradually bit by bit it becomes much more accessible.  This talk looks at how with basic equipment – say a digital camera of some sort or even just a smart phone you can start to produce some amazing results.  You do not even really need a PC but it does help.  Basic instructions to get you started will be given plus some top tips to avoid common pitfalls.

The meeting will start at 7pm and it will be open from 6:50, please log on before 7 if possible so we are ready to start on time.

Topic: Astronomical Society Meeting
Time: Sep 17, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 846 7002 6528
Passcode: 884442

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcGvE078P

There will be a Zoom meeting of Abergavenny Astronomy Society, joined with Usk Astronomy Society this Thursday evening at 7 pm.  The details for joining the meeting are below, just click on the link.  David Thomas from Usk will lead a discussion on various hot topics/ recent news in astronomy.

If you have not joined a Zoom meeting before don’t be shy it could not be easier.  You can use whatever device you are reading this message on e.g. smart phone/ laptop/ tablet/ desktop.  Simply click on the link below.  If you have Zoom installed on the device it will ask you if you want to use it, otherwise it will just connect you through your standard browser.  That’s all there is to it, you can then just sit back and listen

Topic: Usk & Abergavenny Astro Societies meeting
Time: Sep 3, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 893 6091 6194
Passcode: 518423

Although the good weather seems to have taken a turn for the worst and the Perseid meteor show was pretty effectively clouded out, clear skies will surely return and you may want to try the following podcast that describes some simple things to look for in the August/ September skies.   The planets Jupiter and Saturn are very prominent in the south and for the night owls Mars rises after midnight in the east and will get easier to observe as we get into autumn.