On Friday the 10th of November, after meeting the real thing a couple of weeks ago @Flat_Tim and Buzz will be taking me out once again for my penultimate presentation of the year.
This time we will be re-visiting Coventry & Warwickshire Astronomical Society.

Once again I will be presenting my extremely popular audience-participation evening: “Celebrate Tim Peake’s Principia Mission”.

I am looking forward to being made very welcome once again as they did on my two previous visits to them.

I wonder how keen this group will be in having selfies taken with Tim.

Like all my other visits out with this presentation, I’m really looking forward to having a lot of fun with them during the audience participation bits.
I’m sure that, like the other groups I have done this with, they will really enjoy the evening I have planned for them.

All are very welcome, so if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.

Their meeting starts at 7:15pm.

Venue:
Earlsdon Methodist Church Hall,
Earlsdon Road South,
Earlsdon,
Coventry,
CV5 6NF

On Monday the 6th of November, after meeting the real thing a couple of weeks ago @Flat_Tim and Buzz will be taking me out once again. This time we will be re-visiting Wolverhampton Astronomical Society.

Once again I will be presenting my popular audience-participation evening: “Celebrate Tim Peake’s Principia Mission”.

I am looking forward to being made very welcome once again as they did on my previous visit to them.

But I wonder how keen this group will be in having selfies taken with Tim.

Like all my other visits out with this presentation, I’m really looking forward to having a lot of fun with them during the audience participation bits. But I’m sure that they will really enjoy the evening I have planned for them.

All are very welcome, so if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.

Their meeting starts at 7:30pm.

Venue:
Highfields Environmental Centre,
Boundary Way,
Penn
Wolverhampton,
WV4 4NT 
+ Google Map

 

My monthly sky diary for November showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in pdf form to download and print.
Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

It is also available to share on Google calendars.
Click here to go to my Google calendar.

More sky events will be added to the live Google calendar as more information becomes available.

On Wednesday the 25th of October, @Flat_Tim will be taking me out once again.
This time we will be visiting my home astronomical society in Bedford.

I will be presenting my audience-participation evening: “Celebrate Tim Peake’s Principia Mission”.

I am looking forward to presenting on home territory amongst good friends.

Like my other visits out with this presentation, I’m really looking forward to having a lot of fun with them all during the audience participation bits.
Little do they know what to expect, but as this talk is going down so well, I’m sure that they will really enjoy the evening I have got planned for them.

All are very welcome, so if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.

Meeting starts at 7:30pm.

Venue:
The Resource Room.
Piazzi Smyth Observatory.
Pemberley Avenue
Bedford.
MK40 2LE

Over the next few weeks Comet ASAS-SN01 gets brighter and moves further northwards.
This fresh comet from the Oort cloud was discovered on the 19th of July 2017, from Cerro Tololo, Chile

It passed close to the Pleiades around the middle of September and is currently in the constellation of Perseus.

The comet reaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on the 14th and passes 67 million miles from Earth 4 days later.
It should reach a maximum magnitude of around +8, so should be visible in binoculars or a small telescope at this time.

By the end of October it will be found in the constellation of Camelopardalis, heading almost directly towards Polaris.
What it’s brightness will be at this time is difficult to say, as comets are notoriously difficult to accurately predict.

By the end of November the comet will be close to Polaris and its motion would have slowed down as the distance from Earth increases. It should be very faint by this time.

 

 

A small asteroid (Do they still call them that these days?) is due to buzz past the Earth over the next few days. It is likely to reach the giddy heights of magnitude 12.5 (or there-about), so will be a real challenge to spot as it passes us, moving south west as it goes.

It will not hit the Earth and will pass by at about 30,000 miles above the Earth’s surface at closest approach on the  12th.

On the 10th it will be in Aquarius a little below the Water Jar asterism.

On the 11th it will be in Capricornus, within the main body of the constellation when dark in the UK.

On the 12th it will be in Sagittarius and virtually lost in the multitude faint milky Way stars and very low down in the south western evening sky after dark.

If you’re going to give it a go. Very good luck.

More details here on the Sky & Telescope Web Page

Dave

 

 

 

On Thursday the 5th of October, @Flat_Tim and Buzz will be taking me out once again.
This time we will be re-visiting Walsall Astronomical Society.

We will be presenting my audience-participation evening: “Celebrate Tim Peake’s Principia Mission”.

I am looking forward to being made very welcome once again as they did on my previous visit to them. I know that they will probably be surprised to see Tim, as I don’t think they are expecting him (Unless they read this blog, of course!). But, I’ll bet you this for nothing, they’ll all be wanting to take selfies with him at the end of the evening.

Like my other visits out with this presentation, I’m really looking forward to having a lot of fun with them during the audience participation bits. But I’m sure that they will really enjoy the evening we have planned for them.

All are very welcome, so if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.

Their meeting starts at 8:00pm.

They meet at:
Rushall Olympic FC,
Dales Lane,
Rushall,
Walsall,
West Midlands
WS4 1LJ

My monthly sky diary for October showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in pdf form to download and print.
Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

It is also available to share on Google calendars.

Click here to go to my Google calendar.

More sky events will be added to the live Google calendar as more information becomes available.

Now last weekends Kelling Sky Party is behind us, the observing season is well and truly open.

Dates for my astronomy workshops for next year have now been confirmed.

Although I have had people travel as far afield as Sheffield and Hampshire, if these workshops are too far for you to travel, if your club or society would like me to organise an astronomy workshop closer to your location, do get in touch.

So below is my list of workshops currently available for booking.

Click here for full details and Paypal booking on my Workshop Web page

BEGINNING ASTRONOMY
17TH FEBUARY 2018 – CHELVESTON VILLAGE HALL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY AND WEBCAM IMAGING
24th March 2018 – HIGHAM FERRERS HOPE METHODIST CHURCH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

SOLAR OBSERVING AND IMAGING
9th June 2018 – HIGHAM FERRERS HOPE METHODIST CHURCH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOSHOP ESSENTIALS
29^th September 2018 – HIGHAM FERRERS HOPE METHODIST CHURCH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY AND WEBCAM IMAGING
27th October 2018 – CHELVESTON VILLAGE HALL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

On Friday the 29th of September I will be taking Milton Keynes Astronomical Society on a wild ride touring out from Earth to the very edge of our observable universe.

I will be giving my Whistle-Stop Tour of the Universe (Hitch-Hiking on a Ray of Light) presentation to them.

So let’s hope that they all strap themselves in and get ready for a journey that really is out of this world.
(Of course, it’s really just a fantastic excuse to show some beautiful images of our wonderful universe).

So if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.

MK AS meet at 8:00pm at the following venue:

Rectory Cottages.
Church Green Road, 
Bletchley, 
Milton Keynes.
MK3 6BJ.

 

Preparations now being made for next weeks Autumn Equinox Sky Camp at Kelling Heath.

This annual pilgrimage is made by hundreds of like-minded astronomy devotees, who love nothing more that standing out under the cloudy sky and socialising. Well, we do get some clear skies quite frequently, but the event is always eagerly anticipated and definitely sociable. Clear skies are a bonus.

We are on the Red Field this year, and will be there from the Thursday until Sunday.
If you haven’t booked a pitch, you’re far too late, but some spare pitches have recently been advertised, so have a look round to see if you can catch one. It might also be worthwhile ringing Kelling directly and seeing if they have had any cancellations. I know some people have picked up pitches at short notice this way.

So, today’s task in hand? Get myself out in the garage and get sorting out all that camping gear.

Next job: Decide what astronomy equipment to bring along. Do I go along with all guns blazing, or just take it easy with the Dob?

Oooh!! Decisions, decisions.

 

On Friday the 15th of September I will be re-visiting Cambridge Astronomical Association to give them a presentation on Mars – The Red Planet. This coincides with their recent observing evening celebrating 140 years of Mars observing since Schiaparelli drew his infamous Canali and Asaph Hall discovered the two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.

I will talk about past observations, the frustrations of observing the planet as an amateur, and review of some of the unmanned missions, both failures and successes that have visited the planet and a look at future possibilities of manned flights.

The meeting starts at 8pm.

The venus is:
The Institute of Astronomy,
Madingley Road,
Cambridge.
CB3 0HA.

 

 

On Tuesday the 12th of September I will be re-visiting Little Stanion WI group.
I will be taking @Flat_Tim and Buzz along to tell them all about the History of Manned Space Flight, notably The Space Race, which resulted in the Apollo lunar landings.

Looking forward to seeing them all again.

Meeting starts at 7:45pm.

Meeting is held at:
Corby Conservative Club,
Cottingham Rd,
Corby
NN17 1SZ

 

My monthly sky diary for September showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in pdf form to download and print.
This includes some details of the asteroid 3122 Florence which makes a close pass of the Earth on the 1st.
It should be bright enough to be seen with a small telescope.

Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

It is also available to share on Google calendars.

Click here to go to my Google calendar.

More sky events will be added to the live Google calendar as more information becomes available.

So the nights are now drawing in and it will soon be star party time.
Kelling is only a few weeks away.
The good observing season is now approaching.

My monthly sky diary for August showing the events of the night (and day) sky visible from the UK is now available in pdf form to download and print.

Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

It is also available to share on Google calendars.

Click here to go to my Google calendar.

More sky events will be added to the live Google calendar as more information becomes available.

So make the most of what little dark skies we do get at this time of the year and keep a look out for displays of noctilucent clouds as their season starts coming to a close.

My monthly sky diary for May showing the events of the night sky and space activities now available in pdf form to download and print. It is also available to share on Google calendars. More sky events will be added to the live Google calendar as more information becomes available. Make the most of what little dark skies we do get at this time of the year.

Click here to go to my Google calendar.

Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.