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(Note, this site was hijacked by hackers last year and may not be quite 'back to normal - for more details, see here)

! WELCOME TO THE MAS WEB SITE !

See our Events page for more information about all our Events

Click here for MAS Facebook page

Monday, 9 May 2016: Transit of Mercury, members of MAS gathered in Ockwells Park to show the Transit to the public. For more details, see report on Events page

WARNING: never look at the Sun through a normal telescope !!
Doing so, WILL BLIND YOU !!!

Members announcement:

The MAS Members 2017 Photo Competition results can now be found on the Photo Competition page. The 2018 Competition starts now !

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All our indoor meetings run from 7.30 to 10pm in the Church Hall, St James-the-Less, Stubbings, Maidenhead, SL6 6QW (for directions, see our About & Contact page)

Meetings are normally on the first Friday of the month, September to June. There are no indoor meetings in July or August (unless indicated)

Beginners and visitors are always welcome at our indoor meetings (you don't have to join, however a £2 contribution toward the costs of the hall hire would be most welcome !)

To contact the society between meetings, please complete the on-line General Enquiry form

If you would like to receive, by email, advanced notification of our free public events, or you would like further information about the Society please use the Enquiry form mentioned above - or just turn up at any meeting and speak to any member of the Committee.

We also have a page on the Maidenhead Arts Council web site (where you will find details of other local clubs and societies if, for some inexplicable reason, Astronomy fails to fire your imagination and seize your interest :-) )

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(Table: http://www.maidenhead-astro.net/public/Home/index#2_bm)  

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21 Aug 2017 Solar Eclipse - (partial from UK)

To see the total eclipse, you must be on the 'red line' (other areas will see only a partial eclipse)

Members :- Please log-in to the Members Only section for details of our next members only Event

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Details of all our planned and past activities can be found on the Events pages.
Note that Outreach events are not usually open to the public, so are reported here only AFTER the event (Members can see planned Outreach dates in the Members Only section, Activity planning pages)

9 Jun 2017 MAS 60th Anniversary Meal - (Members and guest only)

On arrival we picked up drinks at the bar and then made our way to the 'long barn' (private function room) where the table had been set out and the beamer/screen set up at one end. There was a moment of concern when Petar had to hunt for a cable to connect his laptop to the Norden Farm beamer, however this was quickly solved and we settled down to the meal. Christina had a list of 'who ordered what' and was soon passing out paper slips to remind us :-) We quickly tucked into the starters and were soon into the main course (all very tasty !). Soon we had finished the deserts and were looking forward to the after dinner 'AV show'.

Unfortunately, Susan, our Chairman, was too ill to attend, however Andy 'stood in' as 'master of ceremonies' and called us all to attention for the 'after dinner speech'. This was arranged by Petar O. who started with a AV of our 50th year events (including our 500th meeting and the public lecture by Dr Diego) followed by a video of Chris Lintott delivering his speech at our 50th Anniversary meal. He followed this with a video of Dr. Chris Lintott's speech delivered 10 years ago at our 50th Anniversary Meal.

Although 10 years had passed, much of what Chris said is still relevant today - we are still waiting to go back to the Moon (although that is no longer '20 years away'), we still don't have a full explanation of the 'workings' of the Universe (just like 10 years ago, both Dark Matter and Dark Energy are still 'something mysterious' that we don't really understand). However some things have indeed changed  - we may not have found "ET" but we have found so many extra-solar planets that, on average, every star in our Galaxy has one. We have also discovered that other Earth-like planets do exist and are even on the verge of measuring their atmospheric make-up.

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For the latest news, follow us on Twitter (javascript must be enabled for the 'button' below to work). Our latest Twitter postings can be seen on the Observing page

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We now have our own Facebook page !

exit to: Maidenhead Astronomical Society on Facebook

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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 pointer at an outreach event. Children under the age of 18 and non-approved adults are not be allowed 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).

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Links

Robotic Telescopes (MAS Links page)
Where we meet (MAS About page)
'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ, MAS Beginners page)
exit to: Maidenhead Arts Council (MADAC) MAS web page
exit to: Tim's list of Asteroid Occultation observation opportunities
exit to: European Asteroidal Occultation Network
exit to: Space Weather
exit to: Heavens-Above - times of everything passing overhead, especially ISS, satellites and Iridium flares
exit to: The Astronomer on-line - magazine for the advanced amateur
exit to: BAA (British Astronomical Association)
exit to: SPA (Society for Popular Astronomy) - especially suitable for younger stargazers !

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Benefactors and supporters

O2 (award report)
exit to Cash-for-the-community (Baylis Trust)
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Lottery grant
RBWM-Education Directorate
Mr B.Smith of Shottesbrooke
Mrs P.Haymes
The Telegraph newspaper
exit to Oregon Scientific
exit to Telescope house

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