Over 150 of us enjoyed a great talk in Sheffield University’s magnificent Firth Hall from the first British ESA astronaut, Tim Peake. He told us about the life and the tough training of an astronaut and how the future of manned space exploration may develop. Several schools and student groups attended and we all learned
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We were invited to Lydgate Junior school to present “An Evening of Astronomy” which was a great success, with around 120 children and adults listening to a series of talks, playing with our Mars Rover and taking away lots of freebies to inspire them to find out more about astronomy and space.
Our Stargazing Live event was a great success despite a mainly cloudy sky. Over 120 people enjoyed a series of interesting talks, looked at our impressive displays and chatted to our knowledgeable astronomers. A few even managed to see Jupiter and its moons before the clouds rolled in. A great evening.
A clear sky brought many people to Mayfield to see the Moon through many different types of telescope. They were also able to learn more about the Moon, space missions associated with it and why Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the Moon.
We travelled to Castleton in the Peak District to take part in a Sungazing-style event as part of the National Parks Week celebrations. Many visitors to the town stopped to view the Sun through our telescopes and they all learned a little bit more about our closest star.
This image of the Sun was taken by SAS member Chris Walker in one of the few fleeting gaps in the clouds on an otherwise grey and sometimes drizzly Sungazing Live event. The image is made more impressive by the fact that it was taken using a mobile phone held up to the telescope eyepiece.
Despite some heavy showers (look at the sky in the background!), the Sun was seen by many enthusiastic visitors who were treated to some excellent talks in the bowling pavilion at the end of the afternoon.
A hardy group of members headed up Ringinglow Road to get a good viewpoint for the transit, visible from dawn at 04:45. As usual for an important astronomical event, no Sun was to be seen but they followed the event live using an iPad on the Internet. Roll on 2117!
Our first Sungazing of the year and guess what? The Sun actually shone most of the afternoon, despite dire weather predictions. Lots of sunspots and an enormous prominence were seen by the many people who visited us at Mayfield.
Here is a great picture of Jupiter, Venus and the Moon with the ISS zipping past taken from society President Steve’s back garden on 24th February. The ten exposure second causes the Moon to be very bright but allows the movement of the ISS across the sky to be seen clearly.
