Upcoming Events

  • 24 May, 2013 @ 7:30pm
    Debate. Subject T.B.C.
    Club Room, 4a Railway Street, Huddersfield, HD1 1JP

  • 31 May, 2013 @ 7:30pm
    The Night Sky Close Up (RW)
    Club Room, 4a Railway Street, Huddersfield, HD1 1JP

Battle for the Galaxies - Public Lecture

Submitted by President on Mon, 06/05/2013 - 19:11

ineIn the 1920s there was a number of competing ideas about the origins and evolution of the Universe from its very beginnings until the view we see today.
 
This lecture illustrates the main players in this story.
 
Essentially - at that time - there were two camps:
 
a) That everything that was visible was to be found inside our own Galaxy - the Milky Way - this was supported by such heavyweights of astrophysics such as George Ellery Hale and Harlow Shapley.
 
b) That there were individual island Universes - Galaxies - to be found where-ever you looked in the sky. - supported by Curtis, Hubble and Bart Bok.
 

Public Solar Evenings for 2013

Submitted by President on Thu, 16/05/2013 - 20:00

The Astronomy Society will be holding 3 solar observing evenings over the Summer to which the public are invited.
The Observatory will be open for viewing the Sun on the following dates:
Friday June 21st [Solstice]
Friday July 12th and
Friday July 26th
If the sky is clear - i.e. the Sun is visible in blue sky - then the Observatory will be open from 6.30pm until around sunset - which will be sometime between 9pm and 9.30pm
With a number of specialised solar telescopes we will be able to show you sunspots, faculae, prominences, granulation and much more details.
If you have a telescope and want to know how to observe the Sun safely please come along and we can advise you of the correct equipment to use.

HAPS Debate Friday 24th May 2013 - 'AI Tech in Space - Good or Bad?'

Submitted by President on Wed, 15/05/2013 - 20:09

The topic for the first debate of the 2013-14 Program will be 'AI Technology in Space - Good or Bad?'
With AI becoming available in a number of hi-tech devices - such as some smartphones etc., this technology is also appearing in Medicine - surgery - and also is quite a few Space related programs - such as the Curiosity Rover on Mars.
So, what is the history of AI tech in Space and what may be the future?
Come along to this debate and join in with the discussion

ISS Astronaut Performs Space Oddity in Space!

Submitted by jon on Wed, 15/05/2013 - 13:45

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has recently landed back on Earth after a stint in the International Space Station. Before he left the ISS, Chris performed and filmed a cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity.

 

The resulting video is beautifully put together and must surely be the first music video filmed in space!

Herschel Space Telescope Runs out of Juice

Submitted by jon on Tue, 30/04/2013 - 09:37

The Herschel Space Observatory, run by the European Space Agency (ESA) has now run out of liquid helium coolant and has stopped observing. The increase in temperature of the instrument would make observing the target infra red wavelengths impossible as they are indistinguishable from locally generated heat.

 

Program of Events 2013 to 2014

Submitted by President on Wed, 27/03/2013 - 20:00

This is the ciurrent version of next year's program.
Some events have still to be planned - such as Public Lectures in 2014.
Due to circumstances beyond the Society's control events are subject to change or cancelation at short notice.
Please get in touch if you would like more information
Details of events open to the public and those reserved for Society members only are highlighted in the Program
 
 

The Summer Night Sky

Submitted by President on Thu, 28/02/2013 - 20:36

Summer months are now almost here so the long days and short nights make for difficult observing conditions.
Having said that, during the Summer months the nights though short are also often very clear with good seeing.
The main focus for this Summer are:
June - Mercury is visible in the evening twilight until almost 2 hours after sunset. Whereas Venus is visible in both the morning and the evening twilight
Jupiter will be visible in the west for about 1 hour after sunset
Saturn is the main other planet on view not setting until just before midnight.
July - Mercury is visible in the morning twilight and Venus is still on view both before sunrise and after sunset. In July Venus will not set until around 11pm BST.

Kepler mission spies yet more Earth-like Planets around Sun-like stars

Kepler - a satellite-based space camera that is on a mission to locate Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, in our Galaxy, has so far made over 2000 discoveries - that will be followed up by other instruments to confirm the nature of the star and planet system and whether the conditions on the Planet are close to the environment of Earth.
Recent discovers suggest that the number of such planets around 'Goldilocks' stars may number into the billions- and just in our Galaxy alone.
Read the full story here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20942440
 

Bright Comet possible for Autmn 2013

Submitted by President on Wed, 26/09/2012 - 12:05

A Comet that was recently spotted may - over the next 12 months - get quite close to the Sun.
There are many 'sungrazing Comets' - and some of them end up as a fireball which is swallowed up by the Sun - never to be seen again.
A new member of this class has been spotted and, if its orbit goes as it is predicted then this Comet, Comet C/2012 S1 ISON,  will make a close pass of the Sun in late Summer 2013 and will, hopefully then, be visible in the skies in Autumn 2013.
It could be as bright as Comet McNaught of 2007 - but Comets are fickle objects and can sometimes disappoint.
So, look at this article for more details and a star-chart

Vote for what the VLT observes

Submitted by jon on Fri, 17/08/2012 - 10:40

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is operated as part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) at their Parnal Observatory site in Chile.
 
The telescope has been providing valuable data to the scientific community for years now, on subjects as varied as exoplanets and the dynamics of stars within the Milky Way.
 
"For the first time in its history, ESO invites you to decide where in the Universe it should point the Very Large Telescope (VLT)."
 

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