I write this while on a ship in the South Atlantic travelling from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia on a wildlife expedition to see the amazing creatures and plant life in the polar regions and Antarctica before the environment is altered through climate change. Image Credit: Glynn Bennallick To get here, on the way down south to Buenos Aires, I glanced out of my plane window at night over the wing to the…
Sun and Stars – 8th March: Carnewas
The second of this years Sun & Stars events. The event, as always, is dependant on clear skies, but this evening we hope to be able to see sunspot activity on the surface of the Sun before it sets. As the skies darken, we will be able to observe a 1% illuminated crescent Venus followed by Jupiter and her moons. followed by Mars and a waxing gibbous Moon as they pass through the meridian….
Our Next Meeting – 16th, January: Summercourt
For our main talk for this evening, Nick will be demonstrating Skytools 4 – Planning software that few astronomers have heard of. Rather than end up looking at the same tired old Messiers you’ve seen multiple times, Skytools will access nearly every astronomical database out there and based on your location, your chosen observing time – now or in the future, what will look good through the equipment you own and the sky conditions…
Our Next Meeting – 19th, December: Summercourt
A Christmas jumper and mince pie meeting. Bring either of these along for our last meeting of 2024. There is no formal programme arranged, but it would be good to listen to members thoughts on how they thought their astronomy went during 2024. Where there any observing or imaging highlights of the year that you enjoyed. Did you read any good books or view a Youtube that you really liked and wish to share…
KA Star Party at LLanhydrock : 7, December
The second Star party we had planned for the 7th December at National Trust Llanhydrock has been cancelled due to forecast of high winds. We hope to be able to organise further star parties during early 2025 and will announce those here on our website when we have further details.
Latest Member Image : Pickering’s Triangle
Pickering’s Triangle, also known as Pickering’s Triangular Wisp, is a fascinating part of the Cygnus Loop, the remains of a supernova explosion that occurred 10 –15 thousand years ago. It was discovered photographically in 1904 by Williamina Fleming at the Harvard Observatory, although the credit went to the observatory’s director, Edward Charles Pickering – a process that happened all too often then. The Triangle is a complex network of shimmering filaments and expanding gas…