The Society
The Reading Astronomical Society was founded in 1972 to promote amateur astronomy in the Reading area, UK. We have been providing talks by professional and amateur astronomers, offering practical advice and help and arranging trips to sites of interest for over 50 years.
The Society maintains a membership of around 100 members, which makes Reading AS one of the larger societies in the UK. Members come from all parts of Berkshire including Bracknell, Basingstoke, Slough and Reading, south Oxfordshire and some from further afield including Wiltshire, Hampshire and London. The society is connected to the wider astronomical community via the British Astronomical Association and is a member of the Federation of Astronomical Societies.
Our president is Dr Allan Chapman, the well-known historian and teacher of the history of Science in the Faculty of Modern History, Oxford.
You are welcome to attend your first meeting as our guest. To join the society please complete and return a Membership Form (PDF) or fill in a form at the main meeting. Children under 16 welcome if accompanied by an adult.
Astronomical Local History around Reading
Amateur astronomy in Reading started much earlier than 1972. In fact a local resident Gideon T Davis was publishing his observations in the late 19th century. Come along to one of our meetings and chat with member Kenelm England FRAS for further infromation of astronomy in and around Reading in the past.
The Meetings
Each month the society holds it’s monthly meeting. Speakers are invited from a wide range of backgrounds to give astronomical talks. Professionals and fellow amateurs speak on a variety of subjects. Check out our archive of past meetings listings archive of past meetings.
The monthly Meetings run each month between September and June. Meetings are held at St Peter’s Church Hall, Church Road, Earley from 7.00pm. See the programme for full details of the talks and Speakers.
The usual format of the meetings is a one hour talk, followed by a break where you can have a tea or coffee, chat to other members or the speaker and browse the library. This is followed by short talks by members on a variety of subjects e.g. observing techniques, things to observe, images. The meeting closes at 9.45pm.
Library: The Society holds many Books and DVDs across all of astronomy, many donated by members – available for loan. The library is kept right up to date with purchase of new books. Take a look at the Library contents on the following Library Index. The link will download you a spreadsheet copy of the Library index to your device.
The FridayCLUB
This is our free outreach section. Membership is not required for these meetings which are to encourage, motivate and generally inform young and old about amateur astronomy.
The meetings consist of a short talk on astronomy and if clear after the talk, we use our members telescopes to show everyone what is visible at that time of the year. Children are very welcome.
The committee Come along to the Monthly Meeting and chat with the committee. They are easy to identify as they wear an RAS badge. Got a good idea for a talk or event please let one of the commitee know.
Observing
Currentley we observe from our FridayCLUB site in Wokingham each Month. Occasionally the FridayCLUB and other organised evenings are themed, e.g. the Moon or Photography, or timed to coincide with a particular astronomical event e.g. meteor showers or lunar eclipses. Owning a telescope is not essential to attend one of our themed evenings. Sharing instruments and observing tips and techniques on our observing nights are an excellent way to increase your astronomical knowledge and skills.