Meetings and Events 2024
Tuesday December 10th: Mars
Our speaker for the evening will be Roy Gunson, an accomplished amateur astronomer and the current Vice-Chair of the Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society. With over 32 years at Sheffield Hallam University, Roy has a wealth of knowledge to share. He will explore the fascinating history of human observations of Mars, a planet that has captivated our imagination for thousands of years.
Tuesday November 19th: What Day is it?
We all think we know what a day is ! However, astronomically, there are several different kinds of days and they all mean something slightly different. Some of these definitions of the day have consequences relating to the time of year or where you are on the Earth. This talk by Colin Steele will look at some of the different kinds of days involved. However, the possible kinds of ‘day’ expand further when leaving the Earth and going to other planets. Days longer than years exist as do months shorter than days. Sometimes days can go ‘in reverse’. Alternatively, the poles can be reversed or the poles and equator are exchanged. Such a variety of things related to the day – in ONE solar system.
Tuesday October 15th: Why we stargaze
Humans have been looking at the stars for as long as there have been humans. The desire to observe and understand is fundamental to the human experience. Yet, how it has been done, and precisely why has changed drastically over the millennium. In this talk Dr James Lees will examine what we know of our astronomical history considering why it has been like that, the civilisations that have contributed, and how we have reached our modern era where stargazing is more powerful than ever before.
Dr James Lees is a physicist and science communicator who studied at the University of York and Stanford. He now lectures at the School of Physics, Engineering, and Technology at the University of York in Condensed Matter Physics.
Tuesday September 17th: On site telescope work
A members’ evening , setting up their personal scopes and also using our society’s scopes
Sunday June 23rd: Bawtry Craft Fair
We will be there with a display of astrophotography and some solar scopes to observe the sun! 10am-4pm