Laser Pens |
Maidenhead Astronomical Society may use Laser Pens as a pointer during outreach events and talks. Any such use will comply with our Laser Pen Policy, which may be downloaded from here (.pdf)
Essentially, only responsible adults pre-approved by MAS are allowed to use a laser pointer at an outreach event. Children under the age of 18 and non-approved adults are not permitted to use the laser pen at any time. Any member of the public bringing their own device (without pre-approval) is asked not to use it during one of our events (and will be asked to leave if they are not willing to comply with this request).
Future Public Events |
This page is dedicated to events promoted by Maidenhead Astronomical Society aimed at bringing an awareness and appreciation of astronomy to the general public. Almost all of the Events listed here are run by MAS (the few that are not are plainly marked)
Details of future planned events are limited to those open to the general public (Members should look in the Members Only section for details of future events not open to the public - which includes most of our local Outreach activities (schools, cubs, brownies etc)).
Future events are listed in date order, next planned first. Be aware that events can change (usually due to the weather :-) ) so please check nearer the event before making a journey
Note. MAS holds Public Liability Insurance via our membership of Federation of Astronomical Societies. The Policy Document for 2022-23 (pdf) is available on request (it can be found in the Members section)
(+) 7 Mar 2025 (and 22) Major Lunar Standstill
(+) 29 Mar 2025 Partial Solar Eclipse
(+) 12 Aug 2026 Solar Eclipse
(+) 26 Jan 2028 annular Solar Eclipse
(+) 1 Jun 2030 annular Solar Eclipse
(+) 13 Nov 2032 Transit of Mercury
(+) 7 Nov 2039 Transit of Mercury - (2nd of pair)
(+) 28 Jul 2061 Halleys Comet returns
(+) 23 Sep 2090 Total Solar Eclipse - (the next visible from UK)
Reports from our Outreach & Event activity |
Here you will find reports of MAS events held in the last 10 years or so (i.e. since the MAS web site effectively 'took over' from printed newsletters as the primary means of 'reporting back' to the membership). Some details have been removed to allow for public viewing
The Members Only section contains details of MAS History going back to our formation in 1957
(+) 2 May 2024 Newlands Girls School - (outreach)
(+) 26 Apr 2024 1st Britwell Scouts - (outreach)
(+) 27 Feb 2024 1st Cookham Beavers(2) - (outreach)
(+) 26 Feb 2024 1st Cookham Beavers(1) - (outreach)
(+) 6 Feb 2024 7th Windsor Brownies - (outreach)
(+) 15 Jan 2024 Cookham Dean Primary School - (outreach)
(+) 12 Jan 2024 1st Cippenham Cubs - (outreach)
(+) 6 Dec 2023 Bisham Brownies - (outreach)
(+) 22 Nov 2023 Furze Platt Cubs (2nd pack) - (outreach)
(+) 21 Nov 2023 Furze Platt Cubs (1st pack) - (outreach)
(+) 10 Nov 2023 Trinity St Stephans School - (outreach)
(+) 2 Sep 2023 Cookham Regatta
(+) 19 Apr 2023 Newlands School - (outreach)
(+) 18 Mar 2023 Highfield Prep School Look to the Stars - (Public Event)
(+) 4 Mar 2023 Maidenhead Big Read - (Maidenhaed Library)
(+) 23 Feb 2023 Bourne End cubs (2nd pack) - (outreach)
(+) 22 Feb 2023 Bourne End cubs (1st pack) - (outreach)
(+) 8 Feb 2023 Western House Academy - (outreach)
(+) 18 Jan 2023 1st Cippenham Beavers - (outreach)
(+) 12 Jan 2023 6th Windsor Cubs - (outreach)
(+) 21 Nov 2022 Cookham Dean C of E School - (outreach)
(+) 12 Nov 2022 White Waltham Academy - (outreach)
(+) 8 Nov 2022 1st Maidenhead Sea Cubs (2nd visit) - (outreach)
(+) 1 Nov 2022 1st Maidenhead Sea Cubs - (outreach)
(+) 25 Oct 2022 Partial Solar Eclipse
(+) 3 Sep 2022 Cookham Regatta
(+) 15 Jun 2022 Newlands KS3 Science Club - (Outreach)
(+) 18 Mar 2022 21st Maidenhead Scouts - (outreach)
(+) 10 Mar 2022 Wargrave Cubs - (outreach)
(+) 9 Mar 2022 Wargrave Cubs - (outreach)
(+) 28 Jan 2022 Western House Academy - (Outreach)
(+) 14 Jan 2022 1st Cookham Guides - (Outreach)
(+) 9 Dec 2021 Windsor Cental Scouts 2 - (Outreach)
(+) 8 Dec 2021 Windsor Cental Scouts - (Outreach)
(+) 2 Dec 2021 Furze Platt Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 16 Nov 2021 Cookham Beavers 2 - (Outreach)
(+) 15 Nov 2021 Cookham Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 8 Nov 2021 Cookham Dean School - (Outreach)
(+) 4 Sep 2021 Cookham Regatta
(+) 12 Aug 2021 Perseids meteor shower - (Ockwells Park outreach)
(+) 10 Jun 2021 Solar Eclipse - (partial from UK)
(+) 4 Mar 2021 1st Maidenhead Sea Scouts - (Outreach)
(+) 27 Jan 2021 (and 28) Bourne End Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 14 Nov 2020 Covid19 CANCELLED Public Viewing Event - (White Waltham)
(+) 9 Nov 2020 Cookham Dean Primary School (ZOOM Outreach)
(+) 4 Apr 2020 Stargazing public event - (POSTPONED)
(+) 21 Nov 2019 Central Windsor Scouts (Outreach)
(+) 11 Nov 2019 19th Maidenhead Beavers (Outreach)
(+) 11 Nov 2019 Transit of Mercury (2nd of pair)
(+) 4 Nov 2019 Cookham Dean Primary School - (Outreach)
(+) 10 Oct 2019 Holy Trinity School yr3 - (Outreach)
(+) 7 Sep 2019 Cookham Regatta
(+) 29 Aug 2019 Maidenhead Library (Outreach)
(+) 19 Aug 2019 Childrens Reading Challenge Maidenhead Library - (Outreach)
(+) 20 Jul 2019 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing - (Maidenhead Festival)
(+) 4 Apr 2019 Newlands School (Outreach)
(+) 28 Mar 2019 Bourne End Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 14 Mar 2019 Furze Platt Beavers (Outreach)
(+) 24 Feb 2019 Furze Platt cubs (Outreach)
(+) 15 Feb 2019 Scouts (Outreach)
(+) 15 Feb 2019 13th Maidenhead Scouts (Outreach)
(+) 7 Feb 2019 Burchetts Green Infant School - (Outreach)
(+) 24 Jan 2019 Sea Scouts (Outreach)
(+) 29 Nov 2018 ALLsorts (Outreach)
(+) 18 Nov 2018 Furze Platt Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 7 Nov 2018 Furze Platt Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 5 Nov 2018 Cookham Dean Primary School (Outreach)
(+) 20 Oct 2018 Furze Platt Beavers (Outreach)
(+) 10 Oct 2018 WILLIAM LASSELL by Kenlem England (MAS) - (Maidenhead Heritage Centre)
(+) 11 Aug 2018 CANCELLED Persieds Observing - (Ockwells Park)
(+) 27 Jul 2018 Total Lunar Eclipse
(+) 30 Jun 2018 (end) Maidenhead Week - (Lassell at Heritage Center)
(+) 23 May 2018 Wycombe Abbey School (Outreach)
(+) 12 May 2018 Lassell grave clear up
(+) 11 May 2018 Lassell grave tidy up
(+) 8 May 2018 9th Maidenhead Brownies - (Outreach)
(+) 28 Apr 2018 Maidenhead Arts Festival
(+) 18 Mar 2018 1st Furze Platt Brownies - (Outreach)
(+) 19 Feb 2018 Winter Hill Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 18 Jan 2018 1st Maidenhead Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 13 Dec 2017 Geminids meteor watch - (Ockwells Park)
(+) 22 Nov 2017 Cookham Dean CE Primary School - (Outreach)
(+) 18 Nov 2017 PUBLIC EVENT Leonids meteor watch - (at White Waltham)
(+) 6 Nov 2017 2nd Woodlands Park Rainbows - (Outreach)
(+) 5 Oct 2017 Harvest Moon - (official)
(+) 22 Sep 2017 Autumn Equinox - (early Harvest Moon)
(+) 21 Aug 2017 Solar Eclipse - (partial from UK)
(+) 12 Aug 2017 Perseid Meteor Watch - (Ockwells Park)
(+) 9 Jun 2017 MAS 60th Anniversary Meal - (Members and guest only)
(+) 1 Apr 2017 Stargazing Live
(+) 8 Mar 2017 1st Stoke Poges Guide Unit - (Outreach)
(+) 7 Mar 2017 19th Maidenhead Cubs - (Outreach)
(+) 21 Feb 2017 Furze Platt Cub Pack - (Outreach)
(+) 7 Feb 2017 St Pirans School - (Outreach)
(+) 7 Feb 2017 1st Wargrave Cubs - (Outreach)
(+) 2 Feb 2017 Wildcats Cubs Wargrave - (Outreach)
(+) 19 Dec 2016 Cookham Dean Primary School - (Outreach)
(+) 25 Nov 2016 Bayfordbury Observatory - (members visit)
(+) 17 Nov 2016 Taplow Brownies - (Outreach)
(+) 21 Oct 2016 Lowbrook Academy Science Week - (Outreach)
(+) 17 Oct 2016 19th Maidenhead Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 17 Oct 2016 Holy Trinity School Science Week - (Outreach)
(+) 10 Sep 2016 Pinkneys Scout Camp - (Outreach)
(+) 11 Aug 2016 Perseid meteor watch - (Ockwells Park)
(+) 11 May 2016 1st Datchet Cub Pack - (Outreach)
(+) 9 May 2016 Transit of Mercury - (Public observing at Ockwells)
(+) 9 May 2016 Parkinsons UK at SportsAble - (outreach)
(+) 30 Mar 2016 Claires Court Holiday Club - (Outreach)
(+) 16 Mar 2016 Trinity St Stephens First School - (Outreach)
(+) 15 Mar 2016 Eton End School - (Outreach)
(+) 14 Mar 2016 Holy Trinity Primary School - (Outreach)
(+) 26 Feb 2016 Pinkneys Green and Boyne Hill Altwood Scouts - (outreach)
(+) 11 Feb 2016 Cox Green School STEM - (Outreach)
(+) 4 Feb 2016 Burchetts Green Infants School - (Outreach)
(+) 1 Feb 2016 3rd Cookham Brownies - (Outreach)
(+) 14 Jan 2016 6th Windsor Cubs and Scouts
(+) 1 Jan 2016 Comet Catalina 2013
(+) 12 Dec 2015 Geminids watch - (at Ockwells Park)
(+) 30 Nov 2015 21st Cox Green Beavers - (outreach)
(+) 26 Nov 2015 Furze Platt Beavers - (Outreach)
(+) 21 Nov 2015 A history of the Sun - (St Cross College OXFORD (not by MAS))
(+) 18 Nov 2015 Leonid meteor watch - (canceled)
(+) 12 Nov 2015 1st Cookham Dean Brownies - (outreach)
(+) 24 Oct 2015 Cavendish Lab - (Members coach trip)
(+) 17 Oct 2015 (to 23 Oct) Orionids Meteor Shower
(+) 10 Oct 2015 Solar Observing Ockwells Park - (members only)
(+) 6 Oct 2015 Sequela Foundation - (outreach)
(+) 28 Sep 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse
(+) 27 Sep 2015 Super Moon (followed by a Lunar Eclipse)
(+) 29 Aug 2015 Public Solar Observing - (lunchtime at Norden Farm)
(+) 11 Aug 2015 Perseids Meteor watch - (Cancelled due to bad weather)
(+) 18 Jul 2015 St Nicholas School camp - (Outreach)
(+) 23 Jun 2015 Courthouse School - (Outreach)
(+) 27 May 2015 Claire Court School - (Outreach)
(+) 11 May 2015 Finchampstead Brownies (Outreach)
(+) 15 Apr 2015 Exploring the Realm of the Giants - (Cafe Scientifique Henley (not by MAS))
(+) 21 Mar 2015 StarGazing Live 2015 (and Telescope Workshop)
(+) 20 Mar 2015 Solar Eclipse (Ockwells Park)
(+) 13 Mar 2015 13th Maidenhead Scouts at Braywick
(+) 8 Mar 2015 Cox Green Wives Group
(+) 25 Feb 2015 Taplow Guides (Outreach)
(+) 25 Feb 2015 Taplow Brownies (Outreach)
(+) 24 Feb 2015 Tilehurst Brownies (Outreach)
(+) 12 Feb 2015 Cox Green Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 10 Feb 2015 21st Maidenhead Cubs (Outreach)
(+) 30 Jan 2015 Furze Platt Brownies (Outreach)
(+) 29 Jan 2015 1st Woodland Park Brownies (Outreach)
(+) 26 Jan 2015 Burnham Grammer School (Outreach)
(+) 13 Dec 2014 Meteor Watch (public observing at Ockwells Park)
(+) 5 Dec 2014 Comet rendezvous free talk at RAL (booking required)
(+) 20 Nov 2014 1st Maidenhead cubs - (Outreach)
(-) 15 Nov 2014 Public observing and meteor watch at Braywick
Saturday 15th November 2014 6.30pm - Braywick public observing and Leonid Meteor watch
Report by Tim, photos by Percy
Telescopes (outside): Steve B., Dave H., Percy K., Peter N. (Bins) ('scopes present but not setup Tim H., Robin O.)
Main Hall: Peter, Adrian J., Susan F. (& several ladies), Talks by: Tim H. "Meteors to Milky Way", Andy T. "Rosetta Mission News" (see here also)
On arrival the projector lead continued to show problems, intermittently loosing the Blue signal. Fortunately Steve was able to replace it with a spare from his 'spare' PC (and threw away the faulty lead)
The talks were done in succession. I did a second one for a guy who arrived later. We then did a third sitting starting with Andy aimed at our members and a few other visitors. They were well received by most accounts.
The subjects are topical. Shame not more of our own members could come along, but there we go (several key members were unable to attend)
I recognized one Gentleman who had been to our public meeting before. The take home point from the meteor talk was to prepared for the Leonids (tonight and the next 7 days or so) and Geminids (December). The Leonids were only really active after about 11pm and were low rates. The best shower would be the Geminids on night-morning of Dec 13/14. Radiant is high altitude in the Evening (13th) so meteors can be seen most of the night after 5.30 pm. Emphasis was placed on being warm and to watch the sky from a dark location for at least 30 min
After the meeting a few of us discussed imaging and its application. Its a strong interest for some (but not all). Indeed there are a couple of active observers in the society who do make high quality scientific observations and report them to international institutions which is pleasing. We also chatted about head lamps, the efficiency of new technology (evidenced by a clever LED torch that operates from a single 1.5v battery - not normally possible as most LED torches require 3x 1.5 = 4.5v, however this one incorporates a voltage 'booster') and the price advantage at Car Boot fairs !
A big thanks to Susan for organisation. We were ready for 300, but only 30 showed up this time :-(
Report by Dave H.
With no moon and no planets on view I knew it was going to be an unusual night, concentrating on star clusters, nebulae, double stars, and galaxies. There was a lot of passing cloud. I'm glad I did a proper scope alignment and tracking setup this time so that I could jump around the sky and make the best of the gaps between the clouds when they occurred. At one time or another I had the scope on:
M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy, in Andromeda
NGC457 - The Dragonfly cluster, alias the Owl cluster, in Cassiopeia
M103 - an open cluster in Cassiopeia
Stock 2 - an open cluster in Cassiopeia
Albireo - a multi-coloured double star in Cygnus
M39 - an open cluster in Cygnus
M57 - The Ring Nebula in Lyra
M15 - The Great Pegasus cluster, a globular cluster in Pegasus
M34 - an open cluster in Perseus
NGC869 - the double cluster in Perseus
M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula
Cr399 - The Coathanger cluster in Vulpecula, although in the scope's narrow 1 degree field of view I could only see the hook. It's better in binoculars.
Although there were far fewer visitors than for our Stargazing Live event, the parents and kids that showed up were nonetheless enthusiastic and asked a lot of questions. The favourite seemed to be M31 - the Andromeda Galaxy.
Just a large fuzzy patch visually, yes, but when I told them it was a galaxy they were amazed. We discussed how far away it was (about 2.5 million light-years away in case you're wondering), which led to a discussion of what a light year was, and how the sun was 8 light minutes away, and the moon is 1.5 light seconds away. As they comprehended the distances, they were amazed all over again. The discussions reminded me (as if I needed reminding) that a good portion of the entertainment lies not only in looking
through the scopes but in understanding what you are looking at. I think our members are exceptionally good at getting the understanding across, so well done everyone.
Report by Steve B.
Members started setting up from 5.30 and I arrived just before 6. I managed to get 2 PC's running Stellarium (the Virtual Moon Atlas PC refused to boot) although one of these overheated before the end of the evening (hopefully an easy fix before Stargazing Live!)
The doors opened at 6.30pm. Susan and helpers 'manned' the main desk and provided coffee, tea and 'chocky' biscuits ! Despite a few drops of rain between 6 & 7, the sky was reasonably clear allowing some good viewing of the nice double star (a white/yellow and a distinctly blue) in Lyra. Looking toward the SE - SSE (and covering the security light with a tea cloth), higher in the sky I searched for Andromeda (Galaxy) as well as the Triangulum Galaxy and the Spiral and Double Double clusters but without success (it's very tricky to find anything with a Dobsonian, especially when the 'spotter' scope has been knocked out of alignment during travel in the back of a car !)
Of the planets, Mars set soon after the Sun (Saturn being almost as close to the Sun as Venus) and only Uranus and Neptune were above the horizon during the evenings observing. Uranus could be found in Pisces to the South East and Neptune SSW (click on the Stellarium plot, on the right, for a larger view = Uranus & Neptune can be found on the ecliptic (the red line)) - both were some 30 degrees above the horizon at about 8pm.
Jupiter only rose in the East at about 11pm, just as Neptune was setting in the West.Although The Leonid 'radiant' did not rise until the late evening (11pm+ = and is highest in the sky around dawn), and tonight (Saturday, 15th) is 2 days prior to the (expected) peak on Monday night (17-18th) one visitor did report seeing a meteor !
The Moon reached it's Last Quarter on the 14, so the following week is an ideal opportunity for favourable viewing of the Leonids - hopefully members will have better luck spotting trails Sunday and Monday night. Members are also referred to MAS September meeting talk by Richard Kacerek of the UKMON (UK Meteor Network). FYI the Leonids meteor shower is due to the debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle.
As the evening reached a close (the last talk was at about 9) the sky started to 'mist over' although some stars were still visible as I finished packing up at about 10pm
It seems that the local Advertiser let us down (despite having been informed 3 times, in writing, months in advance) so, despite the event being 'free entry, no booking required', for once we where 'underwhelmed' by visitors (there was even space in Braywick car park !)
This note last modified: 30th Jan 2015 13:22.