2019-2020 Programme
Date
Speaker
Subject
September 11 2019
Roger O’Brien
The Solar System beyond Neptune
October 9 2019
Martin Weston & Steve Heliczer
A basic introduction to astrophotography
November 13 2019
Colin Stuart
Rebel Star - The Sun’s Greatest Mysteries
December 11 2019
Nik Szymanek
Astrophotography - The Next Steps - followed by our
Christmas Star prize Quiz (free to enter)
January 8 2020
Georgio Savini
The UCL Observatory at Mill Hill and its latest developments
February 12 2020
Carl Murray
Cassini at Saturn - the End of an Era
March 11 2020
Stuart Eves
How Astronomers Can Save the World
April 8 2020
Jerry Stone
Survival in Space. - Apollo 13 - 50 years on
May 13th 2020
(includes AGM)
John Thain
The Invisible Sky - getting started in Radio Astronomy
June 10 2020
Paul Money
From 60 to 500 - My Adventures in Astronomy
However, there are plenty of things that we can be doing with astronomy to
keep ourselves interested and to share that enthusiasm with members of our
immediate families.
What else you can do (1)
Look in the (Virtual) sky
There are plenty of journals and websites that can tell you what to go and look for including Terry's Sky Notes in the next paragraph. Astronomy doesn't have to be an expensive hobby as you can go outside and stare at the sky and begin your journey of exploration into the realms of space using just your eyes. If it is cloudy then you can explore the sky using Stellarium which we are sure many of you have on your PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. If you haven't then we certainly recommend it to all as it is not only very good but also FREE! You can download it from https://stellarium.org/ and it will run on any operating system. - Windows, Android, Apple, Linux etc.What else you can do (2)
Terry's Sky Notes (1)
Look for a hero
Terry's Sky Notes will take you to for a tour around the hero of the sky - Hercules who will be making his way to centre stage on the southern horizon during the month. The distinctive 'keystone' pattern of stars will help you find this wonderful sprintime constellation.Terry's Sky Notes (2)
Go comet hunting
There is a predicted comet event coming up with one brighter than Venus! Follow this link to learn about Comet Atlas.
What else you can do (4)
Venus - Pleaides Conjunction
Get ready for a lovely conjunction of Venus with the Pleaides on Friday night. How about getting your phones and cameras out to capture this and send them over so that we can make a display of them?
What else you can do (6)
Catch up with one of our speakers
I've been trying to figure out what a public speaker does when public gatherings are banned. Unfortunately I fall through the cracks of the government support schemes and have been looking for ways to stay afloat so that I can continue to visit societies once things return to normal. As part of this I'm now offering some of my talks online. I wondered if you could send a message to your members with details? It's a chance to watch talks again or catch up on any that they missed in person. Currently there are three talks at www.colinstuart.net/videotalks and if they prove popular I'll be adding more in the coming weeks. Best wishes, Colin Stuart
What else you can do (7)
Look for life in Space
Yes, you can look for intelligent life in space by finding when the International Space Station is due to fly over and making a point to go outside to see it. It is quite easy really. Follow this link that will tell you when it is flying over London (near enough to us). The International Space Station circles the Earth 16 times each day, at an altitude of around 400 km / 250 miles. It is staffed by a crew of six who normally stay for six months at a time, working in rotating 3-person "missions" that overlap by three months. The ISS has been continuously manned since November 2000. (more)
What else you can do (8)
Start Astrophotgraphy
HAGAS, our astro photography group, recently had a great presentation from Mary McIntyre who has kindly given us permission to publish some of her work. This month we are looking at Star Trails. Have a look at Mary's website to see even more startling images and sources of inspiration. So get your DSLR camera out and give it a go. And, of course, share your results with us - good or bad!
What else you can do (5)
Perfect for cloudy night - or day even!
In the last edition of Popular Astronomy (the SPA magazine March- April 2020) there was an article by Mark McIntyre about how you could make a radio meteor detector. We asked Mark if we could reprint the article and he sent me this web link which contains all the information. We confess that we thought the magazine article looked a little easier to digest at first glance so if you want a copy of that we can scan it for you. Maybe the web link puts flesh on the bones so to speak. So how about it? Are we going to start a Radio section of our club? Let us know if you are interested in doing this.
Coronavirus
We are certainly living in interesting times with our meetings on hold until further notice.
Stay safe
Coronavirus
We are certainly living in interesting times with our
meetings on hold until further notice.
Stay safeHowever, there are plenty of things that
we can be doing with astronomy to keep
ourselves interested and to share that
enthusiasm with members of our imme-
diate families.
What else you can do (1)
Look in the (Virtual) sky
There are plenty of journals and websites that can tell you what to go and look for including Terry's Sky Notes in the next paragraph. Astronomy doesn't have to be an expensive hobby as you can go outside and stare at the sky and begin your journey of exploration into the realms of space using just your eyes. If it is cloudy then you can explore the sky using Stellarium which we are sure many of you have on your PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. If you haven't then we certainly recommend it to all as it is not only very good but also FREE! You can download it from https://stellarium.org/ and it will run on any operating system. - Windows, Android, Apple, Linux etc.What else you can do (2)
Terry's Sky Notes (1)
Look for a hero
Terry's Sky Notes will take you to for a tour around the hero of the sky - Hercules who will be making his way to centre stage on the southern horizon during the month. The distinctive 'keystone' pattern of stars will help you find this wonderful sprintime constellation.Terry's Sky Notes (2)
Go comet hunting
There is a predicted comet event coming up with one brighter than Venus! Follow this link to learn about Comet Atlas.
What else you can do (3)
The Bringer of Peace
Venus continues to dominate the early evening sky as it approaches its brightest at the end of the month. This link will take you to an animation of how Venus will appear in the night sky over the next month and into May when it disappears.
What else you can do (4)
Venus - Pleaides Conjunction
Get ready for a lovely conjunction of Venus with the Pleaides on Friday night. How about getting your phones and cameras out to capture this and send them over so that we can make a display of them?
What else you can do (5)
Perfect for cloudy night - or day even!
In the last edition of Popular Astronomy (the SPA magazine March- April 2020) there was an article by Mark McIntyre about how you could make a radio meteor detector. We asked Mark if we could reprint the article and he sent me this web link which contains all the information. We confess that we thought the magazine article looked a little easier to digest at first glance so if you want a copy of that we can scan it for you. Maybe the web link puts flesh on the bones so to speak. So how about it? Are we going to start a Radio section of our club? Let us know if you are interested in doing this.
What else you can do (6)
Catch up with one of our speakers
I've been trying to figure out what a public speaker does when public gatherings are banned. Unfortunately I fall through the cracks of the government support schemes and have been looking for ways to stay afloat so that I can continue to visit societies once things return to normal. As part of this I'm now offering some of my talks online. I wondered if you could send a message to your members with details? It's a chance to watch talks again or catch up on any that they missed in person. Currently there are three talks at www.colinstuart.net/videotalks and if they prove popular I'll be adding more in the coming weeks. Best wishes, Colin Stuart
What else you can do (7)
Look for life in Space
Yes, you can look for intelligent life in space by finding when the International Space Station is due to fly over and making a point to go outside to see it. It is quite easy really. Follow this link that will tell you when it is flying over London (near enough to us). The International Space Station circles the Earth 16 times each day, at an altitude of around 400 km / 250 miles. It is staffed by a crew of six who normally stay for six months at a time, working in rotating 3- person "missions" that overlap by three months. The ISS has been continuously manned since November 2000. (more)
What else you can do (8)
Start Astrophotgraphy
HAGAS, our astro photography group, recently had a great presentation from Mary McIntyre who has kindly given us permission to publish some of her work. This month we are looking at Star Trails. Have a look at Mary's website to see even more startling images and sources of inspiration. So get your DSLR camera out and give it a go. And, of course, share your results with us - good or bad!
2020 Hertford Astronomy Group
