We are back at our normal venue from 3rd Sept. 2021 |
This page lists our monthly meetings. For other events open to the general public, see our Events page
Dates are set well in advance but the 'content' of the meeting is only updated (from our 'meetings database') when details are entered, so 'blank' or 'TBA' may be shown when data has not yet been entered (please be assured that the meeting will take place and a talk on (some) Subject will be delivered by (some) Speaker ! )
During the COVID-19 restrictions, all meetings are being held on-line using ZOOM. Meetings are normally held at the Church Hall (aka 'The Soltau Center') of St James-the-Less, Stubbings, Maidenhead SL6 6QW, from 7.30 (for a ZOOM link, or map and directions, see the About MAS (Where we meet) page
The Main Topic is usually delivered by an invited guest speaker. We aim to provide a diverse range of subjects linked (in some way) to Astronomy - whilst the 'Second Session' is typically delivered by one of our members. If time allows, the evening concludes with a short 'What to see this month'.
Details of a typical evening (times are approximate) :- 7.30pm. The evening starts with the Chairman delivering any important Announcements and then introducing the main speaker. 7.45pm (latest). Main Topic Speaker gets up and the lights are turned off. If you arrive after 7.45, please enter the Hall by the first door (on the right, after the entrance) and please be extra careful when finding a seat at the back of the Hall as members often setup telescopes there ! 8.45-9pm +. Coffee break during which visitors often chat with members who have set-up their telescopes at the back of the hall. If the weather is good, sometimes members will nip out for a quick look at the sky. Smoking is permitted outside the Hall, however smokers are asked to avoid any 'observers' (smoke particles always seem to get into optical equipment, no matter how well 'sealed' it may be) 9.15pm (at the latest). The 'Second Session' then runs for about 45 mins, typically ending with "What's Up !" (what to look out for in the sky this month) 10pm. We aim to clear the hall by 10pm. Post meeting Observing. If the weather is good, the Observing Organiser then leads the way to our chosen observing site, or (if the weather looks even a slight bit 'iffy) members sneak off to the local Pub instead :-)
Next meeting :
(+) 7 Jun 2024 MAS 67th AGM - (Annual General Meeting)
Meetings Archive |
The meetings archive gives an 'overview' of the Society activities over the past 10 years (see also the Events page).
Members have access to the full 'History of MAS' (including AGM minutes going back to 1957) along with full names and photos
The MAS 'year' runs from September of one year to June of the following. The end of year AGM in June elects the Committee for the following year (there are no meetings in July and August - although often members will meet informally at the local pub - which gives the new Committee time to 'get a grip' on running the Society)
The "short cuts" (in the 'title bar', at the very top of this page) will take you to the June AGM entry for the end of that MAS year
The Maidenhead Astronomical Society meetings archive (last 10 years only)
Missed a meeting, or can't remember when a topic was last covered ? Here is the archive of past MAS meetings.
Note that this list covers only our monthly meetings and AGM's. Reports on Observing and Other Events are separate pages
If notes were taken at the meeting, the date below is underlined and shown with a '(+)' = click to see the notes (if no '(+)' is shown, no notes were taken - or, more likely, the webmaster hasn't found them and posted them up yet :-) )
(+) 3 May 2024 The Exploration of Venus - (Jim House)
(+) 5 Apr 2024 The Visible Universe - (Doctor Max Whitby)
(+) 1 Mar 2024 Water in the Universe - (Prof Jonathan Tennyson)
(+) 2 Feb 2024 The Mechanics of Eclipses - (Sheridan Williams FRAS)
(+) 5 Jan 2024 Telescope Parade - (and the Parker Solar Probe by Arthur White)
(+) 1 Dec 2023 SPECIAL FEATURE Herschels Lunatick Friends - (Andrew Lound)
(+) 3 Nov 2023 Binary Pulsars Einsteins Perfect Laboratories - (Barry Kellett)
(+) 6 Oct 2023 Solar Space Weather SOHO - (Dr Eric Dunford)
(+) 1 Sep 2023 The Changing Climate of Mars - (Peter Read)
(+) 2 Jun 2023 MAS 66th AGM - (Annual General Meeting)
(+) 5 May 2023 Two talks by members - (LATE CHANGE)
(+) 31 Mar 2023 Overview of telescopes and mounts - (Dave Hayes)
(+) 3 Mar 2023 Study of our Galaxy in the Era of Gaia - (James Binney)
(+) 3 Feb 2023 The Galaxy without a dark side - (Barry Kellett)
(+) 6 Jan 2023 Telescope Parade and Workshop - (by members)
(+) 2 Dec 2022 Xmas Social Photo Comp and Quiz - (set by members)
(+) 4 Nov 2022 Exploration of Jupiter - (Dr Mike Legett)
(+) 7 Oct 2022 The Lunar 100 - (Dr Lilian Hobbs)
(+) 2 Sep 2022 InfraRed Astronomy - (Dr Eric Dunford)
(+) 10 Jun 2022 MAS 65th AGM - (NOTE 2nd Friday)
(+) 6 May 2022 Gravitational Waves - (Joshua Pooley)
(+) 1 Apr 2022 Saturn - (Michael Foulkes)
(+) 4 Mar 2022 Update on the Exploration of Mars - (Jim House)
(+) 4 Feb 2022 What Astronomy Tells Us About The Origins of Life On Earth ? - (James Hough)
(+) 7 Jan 2022 Telescope Parade and Workshop - (by Members)
(+) 3 Dec 2021 Christmas Quiz set by members - (followed by Social Evening)
(+) 5 Nov 2021 CANCELLED - (Hall closed)
(+) 1 Oct 2021 Dark Nebulae - (Owen Brazell)
(+) 3 Sep 2021 How we reached the Moon - (Jerry Stone)
(+) 4 Jun 2021 63rd AGM (ZOOM on line meeting)
(+) 7 May 2021 Milestones in Astronomy - (Rod Hine (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 2 Apr 2021 The Red Sun - (Lyn Smith (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 5 Mar 2021 Tour of the Universe - (Jane Green (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 5 Feb 2021 Space Vehicles - (Graham Bryant (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 8 Jan 2021 The Astronomer's Toolkit - (Dr Lee Anne Willson (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 4 Dec 2020 Xmas Quiz - (set by members (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 6 Nov 2020 The Monster in the Crab - (Gary Poyner (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 2 Oct 2020 Is there anyone out there ? - (Bob Mizon (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 4 Sep 2020 Two eyes are better than one - (Stephen Tonkin (ZOOM on line meeting))
(+) 5 Jun 2020 COVID19 Postponed MAS 62nd AGM
(+) 1 May 2020 COVID19 Postponed The Monster in the Crab - (Gary Poyner)
(+) 3 Apr 2020 COVID19 meeting CANCELLED
(+) 6 Mar 2020 Recent Developments in Gravity Wave Research - (Martin Dyer)
(+) 7 Feb 2020 Ask an expert Q and A panel - (By Members)
(+) 3 Jan 2020 Equipment Parade - (By members)
(+) 6 Dec 2019 Xmas Quiz and social - (By members)
(+) 1 Nov 2019 The Origin of the Solar System - (James Fradgley)
(+) 4 Oct 2019 Kew Observatory and the origins of modern solar physics - (Dr Lee Macdonald)
(+) 6 Sep 2019 History of Mars Exploration - (Jim House)
(+) Aug 2019 Summer break - (no meeting)
(+) Jul 2019 Summer break - (no meeting)
(+) 7 Jun 2019 MAS 61st AGM - (and Photo Competition prizes)
(-) 3 May 2019 13 Journeys in Space and Time - (Colin Stuart)
Friday, 3rd May 2019 - 13 Journeys in Space and Time - Colin Stuart FRAS – Author, writer and speaker. You can find books by the author on Amazon. You can sign up to Colin's' weekly Newsletter here.
13 Journeys in Space and Time by Colin Stuart.
Colin had been invited to prepare a book based on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Of course he could not cover every lecture since the first, which was by Michael Faraday in 1825, so he selected the 13 that were most related to astronomy, or time ans space (his book can be found on Amazon).
To write the book he had to research the lectures. Only the relatively recent lectures were available on video or film. For older ones he had to reply on newspaper reports and the lecturers own notes. He told us about some of the interesting things he discovered during this research.
Lectures researched included the 1885 by Dewer, which was researched using his still radioactive notebook ! Another notebook he checked was that of James Jean, where a hand drawn sketch of the Great Bear with star notations, indicating the position of the double and eclipsing binary was found on the rear of one page. The Robert S Ball lecture of 1881 covered the previous 1874 and coming 1882 Transit of Venus along with some speculations on the then recent discovery of canals on Mars !
A lecture in 1913 by Herbert Hall Turner covered comets, which Turner suggested could be responsible for Sun Spots ! A stream of comets in orbit around the Sun to as far out as Saturn would give just the right period for the observed sun spot cycle. Around this time, astronomers discovering a new comet - or nova - and wanting to communicate it's position to others came up with a clever system. The problem was that the telegraph operators at each end, unused to numeric co-ordinates would often garble the position. Of course they could communicate by letter, however international mail could take weeks. The clever system they came up with was for them all to have an identical dictionary. To send a co-ordinate, for example RA 6h 15m, you would turn to page 6 and find the 15th definition and send that one word !
The Sir James Jeans lecture of 1933 featured a talk on the possibility of life on other planets and a girl with her head painted up in 'glow in the dark' chemicals, including her teeth !
The 1944 lecture, by Sir Harold Spencer Jones on Astronomy in our everyday lives, was one of the first to be filmed. We were treated to a short clip from Pathe news. As we approach the present day, the props and demonstrations became more complex and elaborate. Perhaps one of the most impressive was the 1970 lecture by Sir George Porter that required a complete window frame be removed to allow the delivery of a prototype time machine !
Of course the one that everyone has heard of was the Carl Sagan lecture of 1977 on The Planets. In it he mentioned how Hall was inspired to look for the moons of Mars by the story of Gulliver's Travels where it is mentioned in passing that Mars had two Moons. These days the conspiracy theorists would have a field day, however in the days when it was known that Earth had 1 moon, Jupiter 4, the 'obvious' sequence was 1,2,4 so Mars must have 2 ! A nice clip of Carl hosting tea time on Mars was shown, although in 1977 it must already have been known that Mars lacked any significant atmosphere (so the water should have been boiling in the cups :-) ).
Sagan is, of course, famous for his book Cosmos, and also his TV series of the same name, which can be found 5 DVD set on Amazon for a only £13 !
The 3 final lectures mentioned were 1993 Frank Chase, The Cosmic Onion which covered the realm from atom to quarks, Monica Grady 2003 A voyage in time and space, and finally 2015 Kevin Fong How to survive in space. Of course all the later lectures were recorded and some can even by found on YouTube !
After the break
Latest images - Peter
Peter has previously shown us images taken with a small refractor on the 80mm objective class, using a Sony alpha Nex-6 (a Compact System Camera), without it's lens, in prime focus mode. However he decided to get out his C11 SCT and give that an outing.
The first thing he discovered is that C11 focal length of f10 means that photographing the Moon requires a mosaic of 7 separate images. However, the C11 allows the convex secondary mirror to be removed and the camera put in it's place.
This significantly reduces the focal length., allowing him to image the Moon in a single shot. It also means that the f10 telescope becomes an f2 (hence the name 'Faststar') using the 'Hyperstar' adaptor ! This significantly reduces the exposure time, reducing a 12 minute expose to 30 seconds. This has many advantages, not least of which are reducing tracking errors, thermal noise and light pollution.
Peter was thus able to obtain good results even without taking calibration frames.
What's Up - Alun Can be downloaded from here (pdf).
All our indoor Meetings are open to the public, however non-members are asked to make a contribution of £2 toward the hall hire costs (this may be collected by Fred, our Membership Secretary, at the door on arrival, or left at the 'Tea hatch' at half time).
This note last modified: 11th Jun 2019 09:21.