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Astronomical Society of Haringey |
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MEETINGS
The meetings for 2016 are here on their own page
January 21st Mat Irvine
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BRITAIN IN SPACE (AT LAST) The main news for anyone in the UK (and we hope elsewhere) in space, is that we have finally got an official British ESA astronaut to the International Space Station. Celebrated around the UK on 15th December when the launch took place, including a Stargazing Live Special from the Science Museum, this was just the start of Tim's visit to the ISS, where he will be for six months. We trust also that it is a re-boot in the new-found 'official' interest in human spaceflight, that until now was frankly ignored by the UK Government (of any colour), as not being a priority. Your Editor, who was working on the SGL Tim Peake Special, will take you through the whole story and - as your Starter for 10 - just how many British-born astronauts have there been? |
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February 18th Alister Innes and
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OBSERVING EVENING Meet at the Barnet Observing Site see details. The Moon is just over half, so the terminator - the line between light and dark - will show the mountains and craters far better than at Full Moon Jupiter will also be rising during the evening |
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March 17th Mike Goldsmith
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NEW HORIZONS TO PLUTO More on the recent New Horizon probe encounter with what is still referred to by many as 'the outermost planet'. Mike Goldsmith has written an intriguing book on all aspects of the planet (dwarf or not...); its discovery; recent demotion and the latest findings from New Horizons. The book also includes other aspects of Pluto, such as its mention in fiction - and that includes Doctor Who!
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April 21st Jim Webb, Kyri Voskou, Alister Innes
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OBSERVING EVENING Meet at the Barnet Observing Site see details. The Moon is almost full, so a good comparison to the February meeting. The Lyrid Meteor Shower is at near-peak, and although the bright Moon isn't the best situation, you never know! Plus Jupiter is still bright and Mercury could just about be visible??? |
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May 19th Mat Irvine
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THE UNDERGROUND CORN CIRCLE Fermilab, set in the corn fields of Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago, is not quite as large as CERN, but it came first. Visibly the site is dominated by the impressive Wilson Hall. (left) Fermilab runs many international projects and it is also the centre for DUNE - Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment - shooting these elusive particles underground to a similar facility at Stanford, 800 miles away. Includes a trip 1000 feet underground to meet the detectors! |
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June 16th Michael Franks
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SPACEX AND THE WAY TO MARS Elon Musk says he wants to visit the International Space Station aboard his own craft by 2020 -- and he doesn't think it will be "that hard". Speaking at the StartmeupHK Festival in Hong Kong, Musk said the company was also looking further ahead, to Mars and beyond, and could unveil its plan to do so as soon as September 2016. Michael Franks has been digging deeper and will explain more at this meeting |
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July and August 2016
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No Meeting these months | |
September 15th Jim Webb & Alister Innes
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OBSERVING EVENING at the Society's Viewing Site VISITORS WELCOME
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October 6th Michael Franks
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ASTEROID MINING : GOLD RUSH or GOING BUST? Will this be the Gold Rush of the 21st Century? The prospectors will certainly be a tad more sophisticated than their 19the Century distant relatives, but the rewards could be as great - if not greater...
This Meeting will also include the AGM |
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October 20th EXTRA Jim Webb and
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OBSERVING EVENING An extra meeting, on the day that would have been the usual October date. Meet at the Observing Site from 20.00hrs / 8pm Sights on view could be the constellations, Andromeda, Pegasus and Taurus - the last of which contains the Plieades or Seven Sisters open star cluster, always worth a view. |
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November 17th Jerry Stone
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NELL, ESTHER AND AUNT EFFIE This enigmatic title refers to 2016 being the 90th Anniversary of the launch of the world's first liquid-fuelled rocket. This was on March 26th 1926 by Robert H Goddard in Auburn, Massachusetts. Jerry has been delving deeper into this very important milestone- which will also reveal the 'why' of 'Nell', 'Esther' and 'Aunt Effie'...
THIS TALK WAS MOVED FROM THE SEPTEMBER DATE |
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December 8th
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OBSERVING EVENING
An Observing Evening is being planned for this day. Postponed due to weather |
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Dr Mike Goldsmith studied variable stars and cosmic dust at Keele University, receiving his Ph D in 1987. Since then he has written more than fifty books and scientific papers on a variety of subjects, including astronomy and astrophysics. He worked in the field of acoustics for many years, as head of the Acoustics Group at the UK's National Physical Laboratory. He is now a freelance researcher and science writer.
