Stardate: 20261007
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Hertford Astronomy Group — October 2026 Newsletter
Welcome to the October edition of the Hertford Astronomy Group newsletter! As autumn settles in and the nights draw in earlier, we are entering one of the finest seasons of the year for both visual observing and astrophotography.
🌟 Welcome & Chairman's Notes
A warm welcome to all our members, old and new! September was a busy month for the club—from our community display in Welwyn Garden City to welcoming everyone back for the start of our main lecture season at the University of Hertfordshire.
With the longer nights upon us, October provides superb opportunities for observing bright planets like Saturn and Jupiter, alongside deep-sky targets visible in clear autumn skies. Whether you're setting up a telescope in the garden or joining us at our indoor and outdoor meetings, we look forward to seeing you!
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📅 Main Monthly Meeting
Decoding Our Cosmic Origins
Speaker: Peter Goodhew
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 at 20:00
Venue: The Lindop Building, College Lane Campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield (Also broadcast live via Zoom)
About the Talk:
For millennia, humanity has looked up at the night sky and asked: where did everything come from? Over the past century, revolutionary discoveries have transformed our understanding of cosmology, leading to new theoretical models attempting to explain the universe. Yet, no physicists are currently completely satisfied with our explanations. This talk explores how and why theoretical physics has evolved over the past century, the key unresolved issues, and the surprising implications of the latest research on the origin and future of the cosmos.
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📸 HAGAS (Astrophotography Section) Meeting
Special Guest Speaker: Vineet Bewtra
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 28th, 2026 at 20:00
Venue: Room 1A161 (Upstairs), Lindop Building, College Lane Campus, Hatfield AL10 9AB (What3Words: stars.stones.energetic) — also available live via Zoom.
About the Speaker & Topic:
HAGAS is delighted to welcome Vineet Bewtra! Vineet returned to astronomy and astrophotography in late 2019 and has been amazed by what amateurs can achieve today. You can explore his imaging work on his website (leelaastroimaging.org), on AstroBin (@Leela.Astro.Imaging), as well as on Cloudy Nights and Stargazers Lounge.
Interactive Discussion: Prior to the talk, members are encouraged to try out Vineet’s free web tool at astroscore.leelaastroimaging.org to join in the interactive discussion during the meeting!
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🔠News & Sign-Up: First Members' Observing Evening Success!
We are delighted to share that we recently held our very first Members' Observing Evening! It was a fantastic opportunity to gather under the stars, share telescope views, and discuss observing techniques together.
Following the success of our inaugural session, we are keen to run future observing nights regularly. Because our local weather can be unpredictable, these sessions are run on a weather-dependent, short-notice basis—when a clear night is forecast, we send out a call to signed-up members to confirm the venue and start time.
Would you like to join us for the next observing session?
Whether you are an experienced observer with a full telescope rig, a beginner looking for advice on setting up your equipment, or simply want to look through other members' scopes, everyone is welcome!
Sign up to the Observing Callout List:
(Once registered, you'll receive short-notice notifications whenever a clear night is locked in for a session.)
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🌌 MemberMojo & Membership Reminders
Member Portal: Log into your MemberMojo dashboard anytime to renew, manage contact preferences, or download a printable membership pass.
Payment Options: We accept online card payments (via Stripe) as well as direct bank transfers.
HAGAS and HAGOBS Sections: HAGAS meetings are open to all full club members (£15/year).
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🌟 Volunteer Callout: Youth Astronomy Evening at Panshanger Park
Date: Saturday, November 14th, 2026
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: Panshanger Park
We are excited to be hosting a special outdoor astronomy evening for a group of 20 enthusiastic young stargazers aged 8–12! For many of them, this will be their very first hands-on experience with astronomy, and we want to make it an inspiring and unforgettable night.
To give the children the best experience possible, the more telescopes and volunteers we have, the better!
Clear Skies: We’ll be showing them around the autumn night sky, pointing out bright planets, the Moon, and key constellations.
Cloudy Skies: If the clouds roll in, we have our fun "artificial planets" setup ready to go!
Rain Plan: If the weather turns wet, we will move inside for engaging indoor activities and talks.
Whether you can bring a telescope, giant binoculars, or just a helping hand and a passion for stargazing, your support would be hugely appreciated.
Can you join us and help inspire the next generation of astronomers?
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🔠Night Sky Highlights for October
Saturn: Prominent in the southern sky through early evening—a prime target for both viewing and imaging its ring system and moons.
Jupiter: Rising earlier each evening in the east—look out for transits of the Galilean moons and details in the cloud belts.
Autumn Deep Sky: The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Great Pegasus Cluster (M15) offer ideal targets for wide-field astrophotography and binocular sweeps.
Clear skies, and see you on October 14th and October 28th!
The Hertford Astronomy Group Team
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