Current Moon Phase (Courtesy US Naval Observatory) |
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Daily Sunspot Image (Courtesy NASA SOHO) |
Practical Meetings
Practical Meetings are at Arlington Village Hall, near to the Yew Tree Inn, Arlington, from September/October to April, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. or 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. depending on the day. An informal lecture including observing (weather permitting), star identification, binocular viewing and often the Society's 12 inch Dobsonian telescope (pictured below) will be available. Refreshments are provided.The entrance to the hall is about 50 metres from the Inn. Click here for a location map. The change from Pevensey to Arlington is a trial, offering a dark location with a hall and good kitchen facilities. This can also be located in the Philip's Ordnance Survey East Sussex Street Atlas page 150 square E3. It is hoped that by holding practical meetings on a Friday and a Sunday during the darker nights more members would be able to come.
These evenings are well worth attending, as they provide an opportunity for beginners to become familiar with the night sky - to learn the constellation patterns, locate 'hard-to-find' star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, and to explore the surface of the Moon and planets under the guidance of experienced observers - as well as for informal discussion and the exchange of ideas. Click here for a 5-day weather forecast from the BBC.
The Society's 12-inch (30cms) f6 Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mounting. This telescope, which was assembled by members, is transportable so it is brought along to our Practical Meetings and to the public observing sessions we arrange.
Observing Sessions 2007/2008
Date |
Subject |
|---|---|
| 11th April 2008 | TBA |
| 14th March 2008 | TBA |
| 15th February 2008 | TBA |
| 11th January 2008 | TBA |
| 14th December 2008 | Binocular Evening - Bring your own, and discover how useful they can be for astronomy. |
| 16th November 2008 | The Moon - Near first quarter, it will be ideally placed for early evening observing. |
| 12th October 2008 | Star Maps and the Celestial Sphere - Gordon Taylor will explain the mysterious terminology! |
Observing Sessions 2006/2007
Date |
Subject |
|---|---|
| 23rd March 2007 | The 5 day old moon - Peter Gill |
| 16th February 2007 | TBA |
| 12th January 2007 | TBA |
| 15th December 2006 | TBA |
| 17th November 2006 | TBA |
Observing Sessions 2005/2006
Date |
Subject |
|---|---|
| Friday 31st March 2006 8 p.m. |
To be announced |
| Friday 3rd March 2006 8 p.m. |
Galaxies and Constellations |
| Friday 3rd February 2006 8 p.m. |
Algol or Saturn
Algol if it was cloudy in December, minimum at 21h. Saturn now available |
| Friday 6th January 2006 7 p.m. |
The Moon and an Occultation
Occultation at 1923 - if we start early. |
| Friday 2nd December 2005 8 p.m. |
Eclipsing Binaries
Algol minimum at 19h. Mars still well placed |
| Sunday 6th November 2005 7 p.m. |
Deep Sky
During the period of the meeting there will be no moon, also Mars is at opposition the next day. |
| Friday 21st October 2005 8 p.m. |
Finding Uranus and Neptune |
| Friday 23rd September 2005 8 p.m. |
Eclipses
Notably the one on 3rd October |
| Sunday 17th April 2005 6 p.m. |
Solar Observing with Peter
Gill's H Alpha telescope
and a talk / discussion on Solar observing.
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| Friday 11th March 2005 8 p.m. |
Occultations
Gordon Taylor |
| Sunday 13th February 2005 7 p.m. |
Observing with Peter Gill's 7"
refractor
or if cloudy Peter will give a talk about Jupiter
|
| Friday 14th January 2005 8 p.m. |
Subject to be announced
Saturn at opposition the previous day
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| Sunday 12th December 2004 7 p.m. |
"Observing Meteors" (David
Godfrey)
If it is clear we will have a meteor watch for Geminids, which are at maximum on the next day, and we will also be able to observe Saturn and Titan.
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| Sunday 14th November 2004 7 p.m. |
"Why the sky is as dark as it
is, and why it isn't even darker" (David Godfrey)
The sky was clear with no moon. 12 people attended and objects such as the Ring Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy were viewed.
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| Friday 15th October 2004 8 p.m. |
"The Autumn Night Sky" (Bob
Cripps)
The sky was mostly cloudy, so no viewing took place, but an excellent 'tour' and what to look for was given by Bob with some hand-outs. The hall has good facilities and is warm. The site is very dark and has great promise for those clear nights, so those who attend next time, don't forget your torches / binoculars / telescopes! Bob's astrophoto's prompted a discussion about astrophotography afterwards.
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