More Stargazing This Saturday – 28th January
We’ll be holding another stargazing night this Saturday at the Great Notley Discovery Centre in Braintree.
From about 6pm onwards, we’ll have a range of telescopes set up for you to look through. If the skies are clear you’ll be able to the planets Jupiter and Venus, as well as other objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and Orion Nebula.
Also, if you have a telescope that you need assistance with, or are just looking for advice in getting started, we can help you out.
Everyone is welcome, so please come along. The night is free of charge, although there may be a site parking fee. For more details about the event, go to the Stargazing page.
January Public Lecture – Ian Ridpath (Pictures in the Sky)
Image by Ian Ridpath
On Wednesday 18th January, we welcome reknowned science writers and broadcaster Ian Ridpath to the Society to talk about the constellations – the titular “Pictures in the Sky”.
“In the days before writing, storytellers used the sky as a picture book to illustrate their tales of gods, mythical heroes and fabulous beasts. Those pictures among the stars were the origin of our system of constellations. Today, the entire sky is divided into 88 constellations of varying shapes and sizes. This talk, which includes illustrations from some of the world’s greatest star atlases, will trace the origin of the constellation system back to Greek times and explain who filled in the gaps between the ancient Greek figures, who decided on the official boundaries between constellations, and how the names of certain stars came about.”
So come along and find out more!
The public lecture takes place at the Henry Dixon Hall, Rivenhall End on Wednesday 18th January at 7:30pm. Entry is £4 for non-members. For further information, see the Events page.
Stargazing 2012 – Photos
Some photos taken last night at the Stargazing event at Great Notley Discovery Centre. (There would be more but we were so busy we didn’t have a chance to take many more!)
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BBC Inside Out Films at Observatory
On Wednesday afternoon we welcomed BBC presenter David Whiteley to the observatory in order to film some footage for the current affairs programme Inside Out. The programme will feature a story segment about the radio astronomy pioneers of Cambridge and is also tied in with Stargazing Live.
The show will be broadcast on Monday 16th January at 7:30pm on BBC1, so look out for us. (Unfortunately most of us will be taking part in Stargazing Live events on that night, so we’ll have to check it out on iPlayer!)
Viewing the ISS over Essex
Image: David Warrington
The International Space Station is again visible over Essex skies in the evenings over the next couple of weeks.
The ISS is a fairly bright object and is quite easy to spot, as long as you know when and where to look. It appears as a bright point object moving across the sky, usually taking a couple of minutes to pass over. There are again quite a few long passes predicted.
It’s also quite a good target for photography (see left).
You can find the viewing times of ISS flybys over Essex here, or you can click the “ISS Tracking” link in the right-hand menu.
Free Android phone apps such as Heavens Above and Satellite AR will also help you find the ISS from your location.
NEAS in 2012
As 2011 draws to a close, our public events programme also winds down. Out Starfest event in November, as well as our recent starparties, have been such great successes, that now we need a rest!
We’ll be starting up again in January, with two telescope observing nights at Great Notley Discovery Centre (tied in with BBC Stargazing Live), as well as public lecture from Ian Ridpath.
From all at the NEAS – Have a great Christmas, see you in the new year.
December Public Observing at Notley Discovery Centre #stargazing
Join us on Saturday 3rd December at the Great Notley Discovery Centre and Country Park in Braintree for a night of astronomy and stargazing.
From 6pm onwards, we’ll have a range of telescopes available for everyone to come along and look through. Look at the night sky through a telescope – Jupiter and the Moon will be on view, along with distant stars and nebulae. You can even try taking your very own astro-image through a telescope with your camera or mobile phone.
Wrap up warm, come along to the Discovery Centre and see the universe! Everyone is welcome.
Please note that these events are strictly weather permitting – in the event that the weather is cloudy and we cannot see the stars, please be aware that the session will be called off. We will try to update this page if that happens.
For more information about our stargazing events in 2012 and how to get to Great Notley Discovery Centre, see the Notley Stargazing page.
