Membership details:
•£20 per year*
•Non-members £3.50 first 3
meetings then annual membership
subscription due pro rata for
remaining meetings.
•Free to under 18s and full time
students. Proof of status may be
required.
•Under 16s must be accompanied
by an adult.
Wednesday June 24th at 8:00pm on Zoom
Mary McIntyre
My Favourite Astronomy Photographs
Next Meeting
Our next virtual meeting has been arranged by our
Astrophotography section HAGAS and we are delighted
to have Mary McIntyre give us a talk on "My Favourite
Astronomy Photographs"
We have been fortunate to have Mary visit us earlier this
year and we found her talk inspirational. This is your
chance to meet one of the most talented people in this
fascinating field of astronomy.
I was born and raised in Lancashire and I have loved astronomy since I was a child. I
inherited a fascination of the Moon from my Mum, who was a child of the Apollo era
and has always been interested in astronomy herself. I had my head in the astronomy
sections of our encyclopaedia set before I could even properly read the text! I was
really captivated by a Ladybird book about the constellations and their mythology, and
to this day I think of the images in that book when I look at the night sky. I got my first
telescope for my 11th birthday (the best birthday ever!) and despite not having a clue
about how to use it properly, I did successfully view the Moon through it and managed
to do a solar projection using instructions from a book. In the absence of an astronomy
mentor, I didn’t really progress beyond the basics for many years.
My passion for the
subject was re-
ignited when I
became disabled and
had to give up work
for a number of
years. During
2010/2011, my Mum
and I had the
opportunity to study
for the Astronomy
GCSE and this is
where my astrophotography journey began, with a Helios refractor, Canon Powershot
compact camera and a pair of elastic bands! My interest was well and truly piqued after
studying the GCSE and I then went on to study the Certificate in Astronomy and
Planetary Science via the Open University.
I am now a keen astrophotographer and a move to the dark skies of rural Oxfordshire
to live with my husband and fellow astronomer, Mark, has helped to fuel this passion.
I’m lucky enough to have had my images appear in astronomy
magazines, astronomy books, local and national newspapers, and
on various tv shows. I don’t have a particular specialist area of
astrophotography; basically if it’s in the sky I like to photograph it! If
I am in too much pain to take my camera outside, I work with
remote access telescopes. I also love astronomy sketching
because it makes me feel better “connected” with the object I’m
observing; if I’m committing it to paper I have to study it extremely
closely first. I have found sketching has helped to really improve
my astronomy knowledge.
This is a Members only meeting - what better time to join our club!
We are sure that many of you will find this virtual meeting of interest:
“The Far Side of the Moon: Is it Just Aliens?”
17th June 2020 @ 19:30
Dear FAS Member Societies
I hope you will find the following of interest and pass it on to your Society members.
////////////
Meeting Details
Go Space Watch presents a free Public Online Astronomy Lecture on Wednesday 17 June at 7:30 pm BST. The Lecture is “The Far
Side of the Moon: Is it Just Aliens?” and will be presented by Dr Julian Onions from the University of Nottingham.
About the Lecture: The Moon is a shy body, it only ever shows one side of itself to the Earth. Before the space age, we had no idea
what was on the far side of the Moon. This has led to a number of conspiracy theories that it is a haven for aliens. In this talk, we’ll
chart the progress of how we got to see what was on the far side of the Moon, and what we found there. Tin foil hats are optional!
About the Speaker: Julian works with computer simulations of large fractions of the universe to understand trends in galaxy
formation and evolution. Investigating the tools that help us form and analyse such simulations such as halo finders, tree builders
and semi-analytic models. He also does a number of outreach activities, giving talks to astronomy societies and other interested
groups such as rotary and U3A, as well as working with schools and scouts/guide groups. He also helps with the teaching of
undergraduates in some of the astronomy courses.
Register for free through Eventbrite at the following link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-public-online-astronomy-lecture-registration-105940583136
More details about Go Space Watch and CAPCOM Magazine can be found at
www.gospacewatch.co.uk
Michael Bryce
FAS Newsletter Editor
Note that an update to Zoom 5 is
needed by May 30th
Membership details:
•
£20 per year*
•
Non-members £3.50 first 3 meetings then annual
membership subscription due pro rata for remaining
meetings.
•
Free to under 18s and full time students. Proof of status
may be required.
•
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Wednesday June 24th at 8:00pm
on Zoom
Mary McIntyre
My Favourite Astronomy
Photographs
Next Meeting
Our next virtual meeting has
been arranged by our
Astrophotography section
HAGAS and we are delighted to
have Mary McIntyre give us a
talk on "My Favourite Astronomy
Photographs"
We have been fortunate to have
Mary visit us earlier this year and
we found her talk inspirational. This is your chance to meet
one of the most talented people in this fascinating field of
astronomy.
I was born and raised in Lancashire and I have loved
astronomy since I was a child. I inherited a fascination of
the Moon from my Mum, who was a child of the Apollo era
and has always been interested in astronomy herself. I had
my head in the astronomy sections of our encyclopaedia set
before I could even properly read the text! I was really
captivated by a Ladybird book about the constellations and
their mythology, and to this day I think of the images in that
book when I look at the night sky. I got my first telescope for
my 11th birthday (the best birthday ever!) and despite not
having a clue about how to use it properly, I did successfully
view the Moon through it and managed to do a solar
projection using instructions from a book. In the absence of
an astronomy mentor, I didn’t really progress beyond the
basics for many years.
My passion for the subject was re-ignited when I became
disabled and had to give up work for a number of years.
During 2010/2011, my Mum and I had the opportunity to
study for the Astronomy GCSE and this is where my
astrophotography journey began, with a Helios refractor,
Canon Powershot compact camera and a pair of elastic
bands! My interest was well and truly piqued after studying
the GCSE and I then
went on to study the
Certificate in
Astronomy and
Planetary Science via
the Open University.
I am now a keen
astrophotographer
and a move to the dark skies of rural Oxfordshire to live with
my husband and fellow astronomer, Mark, has helped to
fuel this passion. I’m lucky enough to have had my images
appear in astronomy magazines, astronomy books, local
and national newspapers, and on various tv shows. I don’t
have a particular specialist area of astrophotography;
basically if it’s in the sky I like to photograph it! If I am in too
much pain to take my camera outside, I work with remote
access telescopes. I also love astronomy sketching
because it makes me feel better “connected” with the object
I’m observing; if I’m committing it to paper I have to study it
extremely closely first. I have found sketching has helped to
really improve my astronomy knowledge.
2020 Hertford Astronomy Group
