Loughton Astronomical Society: 50th Anniversary Astro Festival

Loughton Astronomical Society will be 50 years old this year and to celebrate they are holding a special Astro Festival on Saturday, 10-Nov-18 at Theydon Bois Village Hall in Essex from 09.30 to 17.30.

In the morning there will be displays, demonstrations, Astro Apps, Trade stands and Family Fun and a planetarium; the afternoon comprises lectures.

Talks scheduled for the day include:

• Nik Szymanek                     Imaging the Sky;
• Greg Smye-Rumsby            Myths and Illusions;
• Professor Richard Nelson    Exoplanets: Exploring the Diversity of Worlds in our Galaxy;
• Professor Lucie Green         Formation and Eruption of Magnetic Flux Ropes on the Sun.

Morning events are free but the afternoon costs £15 per person including refreshments. Book, online here.  Full details are on the Loughton Astronomical Society web site here.

2018 FAS Summer Convention : 22-Sep-18

The 2018 FAS Summer Convention will take place on 22 September 2018 at the University of York starting at 9.00am.

Talks include:

• Prof. Mike Cruise – The Gravitational Sky
• Prof. Katherine Blundell OBE – Black holes and spin-offs
• Prof. Brad Gibson – How the Universe will end
• Charles Barclay – Reaching the Stars – developing the British entry for the Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad
• Prof. Ian Gibson – The Changing Scene in Astronomy
• Prof. John C. Brown – Sun Plunging Comets (Hypersonic Snowballs in Hell)

Tickets cost £6 for FAS members, £8 for non-member.

Booking is via an online booking form.  Alternatively, tickets can be purchased at the door on the morning of the Convention (subject to availability – we recommend you book online to avoid disappointment).

Full details are on the FAS website here.

SHA Autumn Conference: 27-Oct-18

The Society for the History of Astronomy Autumn Conference will be held on 27 October 2018 at the John Lee Theatre, Birmingham & Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS from 09.30 to 17.00.

Lectures include:

• Dr Allan Chapman FRAS (The Wonderful Century; From Atoms to Island Universes.  Astronomy in the 20^th Century),  
• Andrew Stevens (Observing the Andromeda Galaxy, Dec 1612 to date-a warps and all story!), 
• Rob Peeling (William Henry Smyth, his life, placing his astronomical work in the wider context of his participation in British intellectual life in the 19^th Century), 
• Eddie Carpenter and John Chute (Sir Robert Stawell Ball),  
• Bob Bower (The Artistic skills  of Lord Ross: His hitherto unpublished drawings),  Graham McLoughlin (The 1927 Solar Eclipse)

The entry fee is £10 per person for SHA members (£15 non-members). To book, contact Gerard Gilligan (meetings@shastro.org.uk).

Web page: http://www.shastro.org.uk/

Next Meeting: Wednesday 26-Sep-2018

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 26-Sep-2018.

Our guest speaker will be Professor Jamie Gilmour, of the University of Manchester, who will speak about Meteorites and the Early Solar System.

Meetings start at 7:30 P.M. at the usual venue, the Burley Memorial Hall, Waverton, CH3 7QN

Special Event: Friday 27-Jul-2018

We are holding a special meeting on Friday 27-Jul-2018.

The evening is special because there is a total eclipse of the moon.  Normally when this happens the moon takes on a deep orange-red hue as it passes through the earth's shadow.  This eclipse should appear more dramatic than usual because the moon will in total eclipse as it rises so atmospheric absorption should add to the effect.

As well as the lunar eclipse there should be a good display of planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible in the night sky.

The evening will also include:

• A talk on the evening's events;
• A telescope surgery;
• Telescope observations (weather permitting).

The meeting starts at 8:00 P.M.  It will be held in a different location from our usual monthly meeting.  This meeting will be held at:

St. Peter's Church Hall, Hargrave   CH3 7RN
which is about two miles south of Waverton.