Reading Astronomical Society Main Programme

2024/2025 RAS Programme.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Sept 21st 2024 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Guest Speaker: Peter Campbell-Burns UK meteor observing network (UKMON)

TThe UK Meteor Network (UKMON) is a UK-wide network of observers collating data on meteor and fireball occurrences. Peter will explain the important scientific objectives and latest data-capturing techniques.

LOCATION MAP


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 27th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Oct 19 2024 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Guest Speaker : Dr Lillian Hobbs FRASAstronomy Using a Phone or a Tablet

Portable devices now allow us to do astronomy in entirely new ways, unencumbered by expensive or heavy equipment. Dr Hobbs is an amateur astronomer, astrophotographer and author.


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 25th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Nov 16 2024 7pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Guest Speaker: – Danny Thomas  (Farnham AS and SAGAS Secretary) – 3D Constellations

Danny wrote his own software to take the stellar coordinates of stars from surveys of our galaxy and model the constellations. Using this, he can spin the constellations around and see how they look from a sideways viewpoint and animate how they change over time. He uses the software to tell a story of the well known Northern and Southern hemisphere constellations including names of stars, mythology and moving groups.

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This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 22nd at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Christmas Social Evening.

Dec 14 2024 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This social evening is not suitable for zoom connection. Resuming this service next month.

RAS Christmas Special

Members will show their latest equipment and software, with quiz, raffle and a Christmas buffet.


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 27th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Jan 18 2025 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Guest SpeakerMembers Talks

Title of talks – A miscellany of short talks by Reading AS members. Subjects varied and TBS! – If you would like to give a talk please let us know


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 24th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.



OPEN DAY

National Astronomy Week Open Day

February Sunday 9th 2025

A day for celebration of Astronomy.

12:30 to 17:30
NATIONAL ASTRONOMY WEEK 2025 – details to follow

LOCATION MAP


Monthly Main Meeting.

Feb 15 2025 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Society Speaker – Brian Skidmore (RAS ) – The Power of Gravity

The Power Of Gravity – How gravity – despite being by far the weakest of the 4 forces – produces Nature’s most powerful events.

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This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 28th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Mar 15 2025 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

Guest Speaker – Neil Phillipson (Science communicator) – Mankind’s Next Big Leap

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Title of talkMankind’s Next Big Leap

“Neil explains the incredible achievements of the post-Moon era – showing how the vast body of work the scientific community has done since the Moon landings has led us to the moment when we shall, at last, become a space-faring civilisation, ready to explore and colonise the Solar System and beyond – bringing vast benefits to Earth and transforming society for the better.  He presents a bold vision of a better future – one in which innovation and progress flourish while war, poverty, illness and hunger are finally relegated to history”

LOCATION MAP


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 28th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

Placeholder for outreach

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Monthly Main Meeting.

Apr 12th 2025 7 pm – Note 2nd Saturday, due to Easter
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Guest Speaker – Danny Owen (University of Surrey)NOVEL DESIGNS FOR SPACE MISSIONS

Title of talkNOVEL DESIGNS FOR SPACE MISSIONS

Just as sat-nav did away with the need to argue over the best route home, scientists from the Surrey Space Centre have developed a new method to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel.

LOCATION MAP


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 25th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Monthly Main Meeting.

May 17 2025 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

Society Speaker Gerry Bond

Subject:- Observing the Universe Acronym by Acronym

From the very basic problems of nature, such as the day not being a precise fraction of a year, humanity quickly got the idea that naming and sorting all of science was challenging. Into this soup of knowledge, humans introduce more and more instruments and methods to make sense of it. Well, everything needs a name, these instruments and methods included. There’s good evidence a sense of humour naturally arises in brains grappling with gravity, so this talk will deal with the unusual ways researchers give themselves and their toys a certain individuality.

Besides! We will learn a bit of astronomy along the way.

LOCATION MAP


This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 23rd at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you there.

FULL DETAILS

Email info@readingastro.org.uk or text 07510444630 for further information.
Please ignore information at gostargazing(dot)com.


Monthly Main Meeting and AGM

Jun 21 2025 7 pm
St Peter’s Church Hall

Last year’s entry repeated probably

This will be a physical meeting in the hall with remote access via ZOOM. Non-members, having enjoyed the talk, donate £5 via online banking:
Reading Astronomical Society: Sort code: 60-17-21: Account No: 54137268

RAS Speaker – Kenelm England – Astronomical Centenaries for 2025

Kenelm England (FRAS), an amateur astronomer with an interest in astronomical history, a longtime member of the Reading AS.

Title of Talk – Anniversaries in “2025”. Kenelm England (Reading AS and historian)Kenelm’s annual look at notable astronomical and scientific anniversaries in years ending “25”Plus 54th Annual General Meeting

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This month’s Outreach meeting will be held on Friday 28th at 1st Wokingham Scout Hut. Weather permitting we will have 2 short talks followed by observing the sky through telescopes. Please bring coats as it may get chilly. See the FridayCLUB page for more details. It would be great to see you therePlaceholder for outreach


A Sunday 22 or 29th June 2025
1200-1800

EAST READING FESTIVAL Palmer Park

© https://whatsonreading.com

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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.

Images of previous event.