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. Our Policy Document for 2017-18 is available as a PDF download here
(-) 11 Nov 2019 Transit of Mercury (2nd of pair)
11 November 2019: Transit of Mercury, start 12:35, mid 15:19, ends 16:015 (all times for Reading)
Like Transits of Venus, these occur in pairs, this being the second of the 2016/19 pair. Although Transits of Mercury are less rare than a transit of Venus, the next Mercury pair will not be until 2032/39 (see wikipedia).
For more on this transit, visit the time and date website
This note last modified: 27th Feb 2016 11:09.
(+) 4 Apr 2020 Stargazing public event - (White Waltham)
(+) 10 Jun 2021 Solar Eclipse - (partial from UK)
(+) 25 Oct 2022 Partial Solar Eclipse
(+) 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
(+) 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
(-) 10 Oct 2019 Holy Trinity School yr3 - (Outreach)
Thursday, 10 Oct 2019 - Holy Trinity School Cookham Yr 3, Outreach
Team: Andy, Robin, Steve (report by Steve)
We arrived at about 1pm for a 1:30 start. Having been to this venue before, I was determined to arrive early to grab the very limited parking space, however I failed to keep an eye on the clock and managed to arrive 5 minute late ! Fortunately it was possible to squeeze my car on without blocking more than one other.
Unlike our previous visits, it was obvious that no outside Sun projetion demonstartion was going to be possible and in any event we had managed to bag the main hall. So we unloaded near the rear entrance which was closer to the car park, whilst waiting for the lunch-time tables to be cleared away.
The main hall had a very good screen and projector system and Robin was able to connect straight up with no problem. On checking with the others in the team I learned that we would be presenting to some 30 students in single session and had up until 3pm. This would allow plenty of time for a good Q & A, something that often has to be skipped due to lack of time.
At about 1:40 the class arrived, initially 26 with two of three others expected to join after the first 10 minutes or so. Robin suggested waiting for the latecomers but was encouraged to start before loosing the students attention ! He mentioned that one of us was an ex-teacher and asked them to guess who during the talks.
With the help of Stellarium he went over the finding north and identifying some of the constellations. At the end of the presentation, as 3 or 4 students were called out for a short time, he took questions. Then with the focus on the Moon, he handed over to Andy.
Andy was soon explaining how the phases of the Moon occurs, with the students forming a circle around his blow-up Earth and Robin moving his spotlight lamp as the sun. At the end, Robin brought out his moon / earth eclipse model and I assisted with the torch as he explained how the Moons shadow causes a solar ellipse.
I then did the Solar System Q and A. Andy helped by awarding a 'well done' sticker to those who correctly identified the planets. This allowed me to focus on those who had not yet answered a question. Each winner then placed the planet in the correct position with Robins assistance. This was followed by another Q&A with some searching questions such as 'why don't you fall back to earth when you step out of your space craft ?' and 'how long would you live without a space suit ?'.
After this Robin led the telescope explanation and we finished with a final Q&A session, ending just on the hour at 3:00 pm. The final task was to reveal who the ex-teacher was. I'm not sure if I was pleased that some identified myself, however Andy confessed much to some amazement ! Andy handed out some small awards = pencils, erasers, sharpeners and the red Tribbles - as the class left.
I felt that the time was about ideal as it allowed a lot more questions than normal and we never felt the need to hurry the students along.
We quickly packed up to clear the hall but then had to wait whilst the path was cleared of parents picking up their offspring. With the good weather, however, this was not a problem.
This note last modified: 13th Oct 2019 09:27.