NEXT

Tony Sizer

June 16 2022

Jim Webb

January 20 2022

photo above : Mat Irvine

right : NASA/JPL

Members of the Society
February 17, 2022

photos : Mat Irvine

March 17, 2022

DALE BAKER

photos : Mat Irvine

Jim Webb & Alister Innes

April 21 2022

Jerry Stone FBIS

May 19 2022

Jerry Stone is a Freelance Space Presenter, giving presentations on a wide range of astronomy and space exploration topics across the UK and abroad.

January 21, 2021

Dr Andrew Ball

Images

Andrew Ball - courtesy himself

ExoMars - artist impression on Mars
Roll mouse over image for the Rover under test - ESA

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [ZOOM]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

THE EXOMARS MISSION : ORBITING, LANDING, ROVING AND DRILLING ON MARS

The EXO MARS Rover is the European Mars Rover, primarily built and assembled by Airbus Defence and Space, in the UK. Other elements are from the Canadian Space Agency for the wheels and Roscosmos (Russian Space Agency) for the radioisotope heater units and the lander itself. The Rover has now been named 'Rosalind Franklin' after the British chemist and DNA pioneer. Parachute landing tests have just been taking place in the USA. Andrew Ball is a Systems Engineer at ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk in The Netherlands. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the OU until joining ESA in 2008. He last spoke to the Society in 2007, so we wish him a welcome return.

February 18, 2021

ANOTHER CHANGE OF TALK

images - NASA/JPL Caltech

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [TEAMS]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

THE LANDING OF PERSEVERANCE

The landing of NASA's Mars Rover, Perseverance, precisely coincides with the next meeting, so we have decided to devote the meeting to this Join us from 7.00pm / 19.00hrs, including the live NASA feed and, we trust, lively discussion

March 18, 2021

Keith Pritchard

Images -

Orion Nebula and himself -Keith Pritchard

The Stellina telescope -Vaonis

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [TEAMS]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

FIRST LIGHT

Keith posted some amazing images on the ASH facebook page, that he had shot using his new Stellina telescope, designed and built by the French company, Vaonis. Stellina is basically a camera with a long lens. It used a CCD for imaging, the results then viewed on whatever screen you want. Some processing has to be done, but given Keith is working in London area, the results are amazing - such as the Orion Nebula - below

The Sellina below - Keith will be explaining the way it all works during this meeting

APRIL 22, 2021

Jim Webb

photo : Mat Irvine

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [TEAMS]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

“HE DARED TO GO – FIRST…”

MAY 20, 2021

Russell Parry

photos : courtesy of Russell Parry

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [TEAMS]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

APPLEY BRIDGE METEORITE –
THE SPACE ROCK THAT HIT LANCASHIRE

This is the fascinating story of the fall and find of the Appley Bridge meteorite in 1914 as told through newspaper reports and archive documents of the time. It tells the story of the confusion with enemy Zeppelins, the confiscation of the meteorite by the police and its subsequent release for analysis. Russell has many previously unseen photographs of the meteorite and images provided by various organisations around the World. He has written a 3-part play for Radio 4, based on his book. This is currently in pre-production, for a planned transmission later this year.

June 17, 2021

Dr Martin Braddock

photo courtesy of Martin Braddock

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [TEAMS]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

FUTURE CONCEPTS FOR SPACE TRAVEL
– LIFE JIM BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

Human beings are poorly adapted to live and work in space. To date, space missions rarely reach durations of longer than 6-9 months and during that time astronauts experience an environment that affects their physical and psychological well-being.
In this talk Martin reviews the safety record of space travel and the some of the major effects of microgravity on astronaut health and the mitigation measures that are in place. With a future-looking lens, he will consider the possibilities for deep space travel and the challenges that need to be overcome to permit long term missions,and asks - and attempts to answer -some of the ethical questions raised.   
He asks that you please come with an open mind!

Dr Martin Braddock is a professional scientist and project manager working in the field of drug discovery and development with 36 years’ experience of working in academic institutes and large corporate organisations. He holds a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Radiation Biology (from the Radiation Biology Unit, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell Oxfordshire), is a former Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He is currently working somewhere definitely in the news - AstraZeneca.

He has a serious interest in astronomy and in 2015 was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is passionate about all aspects of Astronomy, Cosmology and Astrobiology, holds University qualifications in Cosmology, Astronomy and Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology from the University of Central Lancashire and Open University and is working towards an MSc in Space Science and Technology. Martin is an active committee member of the Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society and Newton’s Astronomical Society at Woolsthorpe, supporting these registered charities at public open events and regular society meetings.

September 16, 2021

Jerry Stone FBIS

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

HOW WE REACHED THE MOON

When the Soviet Union stunned the United States by launching the first artificial satellite and also put the first man into space, America had to respond - and to do so in a way that would clearly show a superiority in space exploration.

So, in 1961, President Kennedy laid down a bold challenge - to "Land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth - and to do it before the end of the decade!"

Yet at that time, the Moon rocket only existed on paper, and the landing craft hadn't even been designed, so how did they do it, and what were the chances that conspired to determine that Neil Armstrong would become the first person to walk on the Moon?

We follow the Apollo Program, from its beginnings to achieving its objective, from tragedy through to triumph, in Jerry's highly visual presentation that looks in detail behind the scenes at this magnificent achievement.

photos - left: Mat Irvine, right: NASA

October 21, 2021

Dr Peter Altman

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [ZOOM]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

ALIEN LIFE - What are the Chances?

The concept of alien life, for many years relegated to the realms of Science Fiction, is now mainstream.  Rovers on Mars are actively looking for biological signatures, over 4,000 exoplanets have been discovered, many with Earth-like properties, and Astrobiology is now a respected branch of Science. As Arthur C Clarke once said, “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” It’s not possible to prove the absence of alien life but much effort is being put in to obtain evidence for its existence. Dr Peter Altman trained as a biochemist and now works as a science writer and speaker. His areas of special interest include cosmology, biochemistry and photography. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Bricket Wood Science Group and a member of the Magic Circle in London. This talk is based on his book 'Mysteries of the Universe – Answerable & Unanswerable Questions' photos - left : Peter Altman; right : Mat Irvine

POSTPONED from earlier in the year

November 18, 2021

Dale Baker

photos : Mat Irvine

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [ZOOM]

19.00hrs / 7.00pm

THE AGE OF WHO

Dale has always been fascinated with on-screen science fiction, so this time he take a look at the world's longest-running SF series, Doctor Who, though from a slightly different point of view. He will be looking at the Doctors themselves - how they differed and how the various actors portrayed them - even if they are of course the portraying same person...

December 2021

January 16th

Dale Baker

LIFE - WITH STRINGS ATTACHED - PART 2

Having been postponed from October 2019, we are pleased to say we can finally present Part 2 of Dale's intriguing look at the Pioneer of Puppetry - sixties style - the Life & Times of Gerry Anderson.

February 20th

Jim Webb

photos : Mat Irvine

SNAPSHOT OF THE UNIVERSE

A subject that often comes up as something we should literally be looking at, astrophotography will be the subject of this Meeting - overseen by our Chairman, Jim Webb

May 21st 6.00pm

Michael Franks

photo : Mat Irvine

VIRTUAL MEETING [ZOOM]
ASTROBIOLOGY :
THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE

Michael will be looking at the evolution of life on Earth. How life - as we know it - works and where we might find life elsewhere. This will include an examination - and explanation - of the infamous Drake Equation! He will look at the history of searching for life on Mars; the first landers on Mars – Viking; the Allen Hills meteor; and other traces of life on Mars. The talk will review the other places where we might life in the Solar System, such as Europa, Titan, Enceladus and Miranda. Then further out into the Universe where exoplanets get a mention. Image - Bhen - the Benevolant BEM, by David Hardy courtesy and © David Hardy

June 18th

Bill Barton

VIRTUAL MEETING 18.00hrs / 6.00pm [ZOOM]

FIAMMETTA WILSON, MANDOLINS & METEORS

Having initially been destined for a life in music (as many ladies were in her time), she then discovered astronomy, and particularly meteors. Between the years 1910 to 1920, she observed about 10,000 meteors and accurately calculated the paths of 650 of them. In 1913, she made an independent rediscovery of Westphal's Comet while it was passing the Earth. After publishing many papers, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in January 1916, one of the very few lady Fellows at the time. And she had a direct connection to the Society, and our current meeting place, as she spent all her life, including the observing, in Barnet Lane, Totteridge which is a couple of miles away from the Mitre Inne. 2020 marks one hundred years since her death. Bill Barton FRAS, is Deputy Director, British Astronomical Association, Historical Section. image courtesy The British Library

July 16th

Mat Irvine

VIRTUAL MEETING [ZOOM]

ROBERT vs THE FLYING SAUCERS

This slightly odd title (?) reflects the equally odd situation of a certain small town in New Mexico, USA that in the 20th Century boasted two significant 'space events'. One was long term - the arrival of a rocket pioneer who needed the wide open spaces for his experiments. The other event was initially far more short-lived - though the ramifications are still reverberating… More will be revealed during this fully illustrated talk, including the name of that New Mexican town. (In case you still haven't worked that out... it begins with 'R')

This talk was given in 2015 in its original form, but that was five years ago - and this version is modified and updated!

August

Summer Break

September 17th
7.00pm / 19.00hrs

Ron Miller

photos : Mat Irvine

October 8th
NOTE EARLIER DATE TO COINCIDE WITH SPACE WEEK

Michael Franks

photo : Mat Irvine

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING [Teams]

THE MARTIAN DICHOTOMY
- with a nod to Edgar Rice Burroughs

Forget your Olympus Mons, or Valles Marineris, probably the strangest feature on Mars is the distinct difference in elevations between the northern and southern hemispheres.
Known as the Martian Dichotomy, this difference can be up to three kilometres.
Basically is comes down to the north is fairly flat, while the south is mountainous.
Michael will examine the various hypotheses as to why this should be?

Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin,

November 19th

NOTE - Moved from the September date

Jerry Stone

photo : Mat Irvine

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING

THE ISS @ 20

Several space stations have been put into orbit, but the one that is most well known, and the largest by far, is the International Space Station, which has now been occupied for 20 years, marking mankind’s permanent presence in space. The ISS has been visited by over 200 people from 20 countries.

photo © NASA

December

Winter Break

January 17th

Bob Marriott

For many years - 1991 -2016 - Bob Marrriott was the BAA's Curator of Instruments, and from 2003 - 2017 Director of Instruments and Imaging. He also produced the periodical 'I&I News' (newsletter of the Instruments and Imaging Section). Copies of those, and his own new publication, 'Occasional Notes', can be found and downloaded from his web site www.hamaldemon.com

This will be his first visit to ASH, and looks as if it will be extremely interesting...

THE SILVER-ON-GLASS REVOLUTION

From the mid-seventeenth century until the mid-nineteenth century, telescope mirrors were made of speculum metal – an alloy of copper and tin. (Example above is the Rosse Telescope mirror in the Science Museum) In addition to the age-old process of ‘silvering’ the back of domestic mirrors with a mercury amalgam, experiments in depositing metal films on speculum-metal mirrors and glass were attempted as early as the mid-eighteenth century, but these processes were intended only for aesthetic purposes and were of no use for optics. In the mid-1830s, Justus von Liebig succeeded in depositing a thin film of silver on a surface by chemical means, though this was an incidental effect resulting from his work on aldehydes. By the late 1850s, the process of depositing silver on glass had become sufficiently refined for optical purposes, resulting in a sudden ‘revolution’ in telescope technology. photo © Mat Irvine

February 21st

Hosted by Treasurer
Kyri Voskou

photo : Mat Irvine

THE CHANGING VIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- AS SEEN BY THE SKY AT NIGHT

Over the 60+ years of The Sky at Night, the programme has covered the Solar System many times. We will see contrasting episodes - 40 years apart! The first is from 1975 : 'The OUTER PLANETS', compared to one from 2017 : 'INTO THE DARK ZONE'

This meeting has moved from September and November 2018

March 21st

George Emsden

photo : Mat Irvine

PROJECT ECHO

The first communications satellite to be launched. It was a 'passive' satellite - in that it purely bounced signals - as against re-transmitting them, which 'active' satellites do. Echo was nevertheless an important milestone to world communications. George tells the story

photo : NASA

WEDNESDAY April 24th
CHANGE to the date and location

Observing Evening

hosted by

Jim Webb
Kyri Voskou
Alister Innes

(click sign for RGM's own site)

photo : Mat Irvine

OBSERVING EVENING

At the ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS, Waltham Abbey

Currently - rendezvous in the car park - orange arrow

If you could require transport or need more details, contact the Chairman

CONTACTS

or 07801.577210

May 16th

Mat Irvine

photos : Mat Irvine

CAUSE & EFFECT

The story of the BBC Visual Effects Department

Partially based on the book by Mat Irvine and Mike Tucker - 'BBC VFX'

and yes - lots of science fiction.....

June 20th

Jerry Stone

photo : Mat Irvine

right : NASA

THE FIRST MEN ON THE MOON - 50 YEARS ON

July and August

Summer Break

September 19th

Dale Baker

photos : Mat Irvine

November 21st

Mat Irvine

photos : Mat Irvine

THE CRADLE OF AVIATION

One of Mat's 'MAT' talks - or Mat's Astro Tours - a look round the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, NY - home of Grumman Aviation - that built the Apollo Lunar Module

January 17th

Dr Simon Drake &
Dr Andrew Beard

THE SKYE METEORITE

The discovery of a meteor impact on the Isle of Skye caused much interest in the geological - and astronomical - communities, leading to the work done by our two speakers. The results have only recently been published in scientific journals, so we will be the first Society to hear the details

SATURDAY January 27th

Alister Innes

OBSERVING EVENING

CANCELLED

There will an Observing Evening with the hope of seeing the very close encounter of the bright star Aldebaran with the Moon.
Meet at the Society's Observing Site in Barnet - click here for details - at 17.00hrs/ 5pm as the event takes place at 18.00hrs.
Other sites to possibly view, will be the Hyades and Plieades star clusters and the two bright craters on the Moon - Tycho and Copernicus

February 15th

Dale Baker

RAY HARRYHAUSEN - THE MONSTER MOVIE MAKER

Dale continues with more stories of his autograph hunting amongst the rich and famous - with time time concentrating on one of the most famous - animator Ray Harryhausen.

And if you don't know the name you will know the movies - including
7th Voyage of Sinbad; Jason and the Argonauts; Clash of the Titans

March 15th

Mat Irvine

April 19th

Hosted by Chairman
Jim Webb

OBSERVING EVENING

After some changes - the Observing Evening WILL now take place on the scheduled date - at the Viewing Site (click for details on how to get there) The scene - skies permitting - should look similar to the image - taken a month ago, 19th March, with a three-day old Moon and a bright Venus. And there will be a lot more to discover as well

May 17th

Hosted by Chairman
Jim Webb

OBSERVING EVENING

As the April Observing Evening went so well, another one for May - before the skies get too bright in the evenings. Check OBSERVING for maps and details.
The Moon - skies permitting - should look similar to the image - a very thin crescent as the Moon is but 2 days old - and it will be very close to Venus.
And there will be a lot more to discover as well

June 21st

Dale Baker

July and August

SUMMER BREAK

No meetings these months

September 20th

Greg Smye-Rumsby

FRIDAY October 19th

Alister Innes

OBSERVING EVENING

AT THE BARNET VIEWING SITE - SEE OBSERVING

MEET AT 8.00PM

November 15th

Jerry Stone

THE APPROACH OF APOLLO

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 in July 2019, the first Apollo flight away from the Earth was Apollo 8 in December 1968. Jerry takes a look at that mission, and the built-up to the actual landing, half a year later

December

previously for 2017

January 12th

Jim Webb & Alister Innes

OBSERVING EVENING

Meet at the Observing Site at the earlier time of 18.00hrs, 6.00pm

POSTPONED

January 19th

Dale Baker

SIGN HERE PLEASE

Society member Dale Baker collects autographs - but there's far more to it than that!

The Society is well known for its eclectic talks, and here certainly is one as Dale will tell stories, show clips and - maybe - even reveal a few secrets (!) of our on-screen Science Fiction heroes.

February 9th

Jim Webb & Alister Innes

OBSERVING EVENING

Meet at the Observing Site at the earlier time of 18.00hrs, 6.00pm

February 16th

Jim Webb

March 16th

Mat Irvine

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

A recent visit to the 'City of Angels' involved an eclectic mix of scenes...

No not the Oscars, but instead the Griffith Observatory (left) and its recently-built basement exhibition on the Solar System and a private conducted tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory! Oh and K-9 happened to be visiting as well. All will be revealed at the meet!

April 1st

Wayne Johnson

OBSERVING EVENING

at the Royal Gunpowder Mills

Royal Gunpowder Mills, Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey,EN9 1JX

April 20th

Michael Franks

NEWS FROM THE CAPE

Michael continues his latest visit to the Kennedy Space Center, as featured in 2002, January and February, with more stories and photos

May 18th

Jim Webb & Alister Innes

June 15th

George Emsden

September 21st

October 5th

DARKNESS VISIBLE

Early date to coincide with SPACE WEEK

Includes the AGM A round-up of the Total Solar Eclipse that will have occurred over a wide swath of the United States on 21st August - moved from September

(Image shown from the 2006 total eclipse)

October 19th

Alister Innes, Kyri Voskou and Jim Webb

OBSERVING EVENING

Held at the Barnet Site,
see OBSERVING for location maps and details

Any enquiries, email observing@ashastro.co.uk

During the evening it hoped we can spot both the outer planets - Uranus and Neptune

November 16th

Jerry Stone

Saturday
November 18th

Members of the Society

OBSERVING EVENING

This is a first being held on a SATURDAY - we will see how this goes

But potentially a good viewing opportunity, with the Moon being close to new

The outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are both well placed for viewing and there is Comet 2107 O1 (ASASSN) near the Pole Star as a possible target