Astronomy Group Programme
Astronomy Group Meetings are held from 14:00 to 16:00 on the second Wednesday of each month, except for July and August. Meetings may be in person, Zoom-only or as a hybrid. Members will be sent an email with details, including meeting room number, a few days before each meeting. In-person meetings are held at Napier University, Merchiston Campus, 10 Colinton Road EH10 5DT.
Upcoming Meetings
Wednesday 8 May 2024 "The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh at 100"
Mark Phillips
Wednesday 12 June 2024 "History of Astronomy Part 2: 1600 onwards"
Georgia March
(This meeting will be followed by the annual Group meal - details to follow.)
Each meeting features: "This Month's Night Sky" - Alan Pickup and Pat Devine cover this topic between them.
"Space Shorts" is a short format presentation (ca. 5 minutes). All members are invited to present a session.
Many thanks to Prof. Tony Trewavas, a founding member of the group, for his valued "Skywatch". Tony extracted relevant articles from scientific journals and presented them in an understandable way. He now feels that it is time for him to stand down from this role. He will continue to be a member of the group and from time to time will compile “Astronomy Newsletters” which will be emailed to members.
Instead of our normal meeting at Napier University, in February 2024 there was a visit to the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Many thanks to Alan Pickup for organising this event. A photo taken during the visit is shown on this page.
Our last Dark Sky Outing (to Galloway) was held on March 14th & 15th 2023. Thank you to Simon Murray for organising this. A Dark Sky report was presented at the April 2023 Meeting.
Notes:
If you wish to join the group, please contact Sandy Blake (email: alexanderjohnblake@outlook.com).
To cover the cost of a gift for the speaker and incidental expenses, members are asked for an annual payment of £7.50. The next payment is due in September 2024.
Thank you to George Cleland and Don Kennedy for facilitating and recording our Zoom meetings.
The members of the Group Planning Sub-Group (GPS) are Sandy Blake (Group Leader), Simon Murray (Treasurer and Deputy Group Leader), Alan Pickup (Deputy Group Leader), Pat Williams and Sheila Petrie. Suggestions for future activities including talks are welcome. Members are invited to give short (10-15 minutes) or full length (40-45 minutes) talks on any astronomy-related subject which interests them or to compile and present an edition of "Space Shorts" (ca. 5 minutes). Contact Sandy to arrange a date.
A volunteer member will provide biscuits for all: Hilary Cottingham kindly volunteered to bring biscuits for the April meeting. However, you will need to supply your own refreshment: tea and coffee can be purchased, before the meeting, at the canteen and brought to the meeting room.
At the break we have a voluntary collection for the Napier Student Grant Initiative Fund: at the April meeting we donated £11.55.
Sandy Blake (Group Leader).
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For a summary of Group activities, click on the "Topics Covered" link at the top right of this page. Many past talks are available on video to Astronomy Group members. Please contact the Group Leader for a link to any specific talk.