Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic normal meetings have been suspended until further notice
However meetings via Zoom will still take place
These are on a Thursday evening approximately each fortnight starting at 7pm
A notice will be sent to all subscribed members by email which will include the Zoom link and credentials. If you are not subscribed but still wish to join the meeting you will be most welcome and can get the joining link and credentials by emailing the Chairman – Observing@AbergavennyAS.org.uk
Everyone is welcome – No knowledge is necessary, just a curious mind
For 2021 the meetings will be held on the following dates:
January 14th Nick Busby on “the world’s greatest telescopes”
Astronomy has been experiencing a renaissance in the past couple of decades with investment in telescopes and instruments that 50 years ago would have been the stuff of science fiction. We will review some of the developments that have enabled this technology and have a closer look at the innovations in some of the world’s largest telescopes.
January 28th Nick Busby – The sky in February
February 11th Bob Wright The Artemis mission, part 1
The Artemis program is a U.S. government-funded international human spaceflight program that has the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon. This is the first part of a presentation on the mission.
February 25th Martin Griffiths on “Observing nebulae”
There are many forms of nebulae, some easy to spot, others more difficult. This lecture will explore the best ones to observe and recommend some challenges for the observer and give guidance on instrumentation in order to maximise one’s chances of seeing these wonderful objects.
March 11th (Bob Wright, The Artemis mission, part 2 has now been moved – see below – 1st April), The Winchcombe meteorite and the sky in March – Nick Busby
The Artemis program is a U.S. government-funded international human spaceflight program that has the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon. This is the second part of a presentation on the mission.
March 18th Keith Moseley from Monmouth AS – How stars work, a detailed and accessible account of what goes on inside stars.
April 1st Bob Wright will present “The Artemis Mission, part 2“. This is the U.S. government-funded international human spaceflight program that has the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon. This is the second part of a presentation on the mission.
April 15th Rhodri Evans, Senior Lecturer, University of Namibia, Seeing a Black Hole with the Africa Millimetre Telescope
April 29th Fraser Lewis, Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy
May 13th Andrew Jeffries, Usk Astronomical Society, “Dark Matter”
May 27th Tony Parton-Frost from Abergavenny AS will give a presentation about the Space Shuttle programme
June 10th TBA Nick Busby – Observing globular clusters in the June sky; David Thomas – the June night sky
June 24th TBA David Thomas from Usk Astronomical Society will present on the night sky at this time of year
July 8th TBA Following the announcement of the consultation on the 5 year plan of the Brecon Beacons there was a very good response from the astronomical community with some positive results. Helen Lucocq MSc MRTPI, Strategy and Policy Manager for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, will give a short presentation on how the Dark Sky Reserve will be included in the plan. This will be followed by Jim Wilson who will give a talk on how and why the Dark Sky Reserve status was won for the Park. Jim is chairman of the Dark Sky Board and was an important member of the team that achieved the status in 2013.
July 22nd TBA