PROGRAMME 2022-2023
50th ANNIVERSARY YEAR
COVID-19 Policy: CURRENTLY NATIONAL GUIDELINES APPLY
If pandemic regulations impinge on our meetings in the hall it will be notified here.
Programme 2022-2023
All meetings start at 7.00 pm in St. Peter’s Church Hall, Earley. The open FridayCLUB meetings are planned to be at Swallowfield Parish hall. If you are a speaker who would like to talk to the society or have a recommendation for a speaker or subject please email info@readingastro.org.uk.
Meetings are wheelchair accessible unless mentioned otherwise
Friday, Aug. 26th 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
September 17th 2022 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
This will be a physical meeting in the hall with access by ZOOM
Bernard Henin science author
Bernard studied applied science in biotechnology but decided to find other life aspirations on different continents with businesses such as Amazon.com and humanitarian organisations in Africa.
“I have decided to share my passion for space science with the general public. In doing so, I write books for Springer International and get to spend months researching a chosen topic and interviewing leading scientists at space agencies and universities worldwide. I am a recurrent panellist on the Space Oddities YouTube channel.”
Having lived in Brussels, Houston and Hong Kong home, Bernard currently resides in Wiltshire.
The subject of this talk will be The James Webb Space Telescope
Friday, Sep 23rd 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
October 15th 2022 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
This will be a physical meeting in the hall with access by ZOOM
Guest Speaker Dr Barry Kellett (RAL)
“A stellar time bomb – the allure of Betelgeuse”
Dr Kellett is a lively and entertaining speaker well-known to local astronomy societies with an eclectic collection of talks taking in physics science and, on occasion, its inclusion in artistic works.
Friday, Oct 28th 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
November 19th 2022 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM
Guest Speaker Dr Lee Macdonald
Lee Macdonald first navigated the world of amateur astronomy as a teenage member of the Reading and Newbury societies in the 1980s It was no surprise to those who knew him that his interest would continue through university and beyond into a career in historical research.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1836–1944, Location, Location, Location.
Outreach evening
Fri Nov 25th 2022 7.30 pm
Swallowfield Parish Hall – room entrance at the rear.
Short talks or indoor demonstrations included, outside if clear. Suitable for young beginners.
This month. We do image interpretation. The output from Hubble and Webb is magnificent but what are we seeing? Here’s the basic astronomy behind the view.
Additional time is available for a talk (galaxies) or outside observing.
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
No membership is required. Every 4th Friday. Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Please bear in mind no observing will be done if cloudy.
Monthly Main Meeting.
Sat Dec 10th 2022 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
This is the Christmas social evening called
Santa’s Grotto
The usual Christmas social buffet is accompanied by a small exhibition.
Santa’s grotto of interesting equipment, Peter’s quiz, raffle, food & drink.
Bring prizes. Bring food. Buy raffle tickets. Come and have fun!
New members are welcome to come and meet the faces and names.
Outreach evening
Fri Dec 30th 2022 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
January 21st, 2023 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
A physical meeting in St Peters hall with ZOOM access.
Brian Skidmore Mission architect SSTL
The Story of Modern Cosmology
At the beginning of scientific thought, the sky was a vault – maybe a rather large one – with a finite size. Brian will examine how we achieved our current understanding.
Outreach evening
Fri Jan 27th 2023 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
February 18th 2023 7pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
This will be a physical meeting in the hall with access via ZOOM
John Talbot
Asteroids – past, present and future
Examining the history of asteroid discovery, what they are, where they came from and why we care. What we have learnt so far about the smaller bodies of the solar system and the implications for the Earth and the life upon it. The talk will include space missions to asteroids, including DART and OSIRIS-REx which is due to return a sample from Bennu in 2023.
Outreach evening
Fri Feb 24th 2023 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
In late February we usually hold an open day in the hall on a Saturday afternoon. Watch this space. https://readingastro.org.uk/open-day-2020/embed/#?secret=klA9gZ7vXH
Monthly Main Meeting.
March 18th 2023 7pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
Prof Chris Owen (MSSL, UCL) Principal Investigator on the ESA Solar Orbiter Mission Solar Wind Analyser.
Solar Orbiter
Taking the closest ever images of the Sun, observing the solar wind and the Sun’s polar regions like never before, unravelling the mysteries of the solar cycle. Solar Orbiter is the most complex scientific laboratory ever to have been sent to the Sun. Although our life-giving star has been an object of scientific interest for centuries, its behaviour still presents a puzzle for scientists. Solar Orbiter will take images of the Sun from closer than any spacecraft before and for the first time look at its uncharted polar regions
Friday, Mar 24th 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Monthly Main Meeting.
April 15th 2023 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
We have Owen Brazell of the Webb Deep Sky Society, talk subject “Planetary nebulae (what they are)” for April 15th.
Friday, Apr 21st 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
Main Meeting & 50th AGM.
May 20th 2023 7pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
Including Annual General Meeting
Guest Speaker:
Ken England
Astronomy Anniversaries 2023
Friday, May 26th 7.30 pm
Beginners and Practical session at Swallowfield Parish Hall
Bring your telescopes in the hope that the sky will be clear. Every 4th Friday. Short talks or indoor demonstrations included.
50th Anniversary Celebration Meeting
June 17th 2023 7pm
St Peter’s Church Hall
Andrew Lound Odyssey Dramatic Presentations
Herschel’s Lunatick Friends
The Lunar Society was one of the most influential groups in the 18th century, no aspect of science and industry was overlooked at their monthly dinner parties. Although the development of the steam engine and coinage production became the main focus for Matthew Boulton, he had developed a passion for astronomy. Andrew Lound tells the story of the Lunar Society’s interests in astronomy based on new research that has revealed some surprising facts! A dramatic presentation beautifully illustrated and accompanied by music and presented with 18th century flair! Andrew Lound’s book ‘Lunatick Astronomy’ is available.
A Sunday 25th June
EAST READING FESTIVAL Palmer Park
Reading Astronomical Society stand.
Exhibition and solar observing.
We will be attending this annual local event with our telescopes suitably filtered for safe observing of sunspots and other activity on our local star.