CODY Astronomical Society

Club Newsletters

15/06/08

Astro Thursday Surgery

For the next 3 Thursdays Roy Mitchell and Gordon Lloyd will be in the chair from 11:30, while I'm on leave.

And don't forget the Lecture on Thursday 19th.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society

01/06/08

Qinetiq Funday

As  you are all aware we have a recruitment stand at the Qinetiq Funday on Saturday 7th June.
We still need more helpers on the day to man the stand and the observatory. Please let me know if you can help.

For those attending on the day you will need to register by filling in the attached form otherwise you not get through the gate. Please complete the form and send it to Ann Gurney via the link on the form by Wednesday also to play safe please copy the email to me.

Also attached is an information leaflet about the day.

We will be preparing the stand on Thursday evening 5th and building and setting it up on Friday 6th. All help gratefully received on both evenings.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society

11/05/08

Astro May / June 2008 news letter

With the coming of summer, this month sees the end of dark sky observing till august. So night time observing at the observatory, will only take for special Astronomical events. (Watch out for the emails)

Hopefully with clearer skies day light observing will continue especially during the Thursday surgery. Which, for this week (15th May) will be run by Roy Mitchell from 12:45 BST as I'm away again.

I will also be away on the 19th 26th June and 3rd July. Roy may again take the reigns but we will keep you posted.

Lectures

The May lecture Weather for Astronomy by John Murrell from Croydon AS should be very interesting.

And the June lecture Astrophotography by Phillip Perkins gives you the chance to see some of his fantastic 'wet film' photography from Wiltshire and France.

The July one has yet to be fixed.

Basic Astronomy

We have moved the date of the final class this month to the 28th May. This is because we had 3 events happening on consecutive nights. We are starting to at what subjects to include for next seasons Basic Astronomy. If you have any suggestions please let Gordon or my self know.

Qinetiq 'Funday' Saturday 7th June.

This event is for families of employees of the Cody Site and is a show case of the work done on site plus a lot of fun things to do. The Astronomy Society have been invited to have a stand in the Concourse at this event so the committee have decided to have our recruitment stand at the event rather than our usual time in September.

On the stand we will have the usual displays plus active telescopes showing what can be seen during the day, we may even have a link to the Zeiss in the Observatory.

All this does require manpower so we will be looking to all our members to offer their help, setting up before the event as well as on the day. If you can help please let me know even if its only for 30 minutes on the day.

2008 AGM

The committee has set the date for our AGM. Wednesday 11th June 12:30 at the Observatory.

We have be running the Society with out a Secretary for the past two years and really MUST get one in post this year. So if you would consider standing or proposing somebody that would stand please let me know. From the Constitution the Secretary shall be an Ordinary Member i.e. not an invited member.
The Secretary does not need to have a lot of Astronomical knowledge it is a Management / admin position and is a point of contact for Qinetiq.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society

21/01/08

Happy Birthday Cody Astronomical Society

To-day - Monday 21 Jan 2008 is the Tenth Anniversary of the Society's inauguration.

There will be a feature at our Lecture this week to celebrate the fact.

And the Lecture is:-

14 Pioneers of Astronomy by Bob Mizon. On Thursday 24th Jan at 7.30 pm

Please book your place.

-------------------------

Our Future Lectures are :-

Thursday 21st Feb Wide Field CCD imaging by Ian King

Thursday 20 March Antikythera Decoded by Andrew Ramsey

04/09/07

September 1st sees the start of the Cody Astronomical Society’s 07/08 season.

The committee of the Cody Astronomical Society welcomes you all to the 2007/2008 season, the 10th in the Society's history and is pleased to offer another years membership to all our current 'Invited membership' holders.

Subscriptions

Being the beginning of the new season, payment of subscriptions is now due, This year, as agreed at the AGM the subscription cost stays at  £15.

Please pass subs (Cheques payable to Cody Astronomical Society ) to myself (address below). Payment of subs can also be made at our events.

If any of your personal details have changed in the last year please use the update form and send to me.

Holders of the 'Site Access Pass’ will be required to pay their subs by the 19th September, so that we can arrange the issue of a new pass on the 1st October.

Lectures

This year we plan to have a formal lecture each month throughout the year, 10 in all.

Our first lecture will be on Thursday 25th October, James Fradgley will be talking about Variable Stars.

Doug Bateman will be talking about Sundials including the Qinetiq Noon-day dial  on Thursday 22nd November.

Others Speakers in the pipeline but we don't have details set up as yet. This is due to not having a Talks Organiser, as yet. The Committee would welcome offers from any member willing to take this on.

We will also be holding our usual Christmas event at the observatory.

But to start the season we are having a BBQ and Star Party,  Friday evening 21st September 7:30pm.  Venue:- Phil's house.

Book  your place NOW by replying to this email  and no later than Mon 17th September.  Please indicate if there are any special dietary considerations.

Cost £3 per head. Members are invited to bring their Partners,  Young people accepted. Bring your own drink, the food will be subsidised by the Society.

Please bring your own telescopes.

Observing

A programme of monthly observing/club evenings is being organised throughout the season, to be held at the observatory on Ball Hill. The events will take place early or late each month to avoid light pollution from the Moon.

We hope that these evenings will entice those new to amateur astronomy to come and have a look through the Zeiss telescope and learn about telescopes and what can be seen in the night sky.

For seasoned observers, we hope you'll bring along your own telescopes to give the evenings a real "star party" feel. We hope to foster a bigger interest in getting out there and doing observing, rather than just listening to someone lecturing about it.

We would welcome any member wishing to help by taking an active role in these observing evenings or even just to suggest objects they might like to observe.

There will of course be other observing opportunities ‘fitted in’ when there are special Astronomical events and the sky is particularly clear, or to observe the Moon.

As with the formal lectures, the observing/club evenings will begin at 7.30pm and will take place on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night. The dates for all these events will be published shortly so please keep a look out.

Membership access to the observatory

All members will have total access to the observatory once they have attended a briefing session. Those attending the briefing will be given an Observatory Guide. The guide contains everything observers need to know to operate the observatory properly and safely. Those wishing to use the observatory will need to familiarise themselves with the guide and follow it when using the observatory. We hope that the improved access to the telescope, coupled with the Society monthly observing sessions, will encourage more members to have a go using the observatory and develop their interest in astronomy.

Basic astronomy

We will fit in some Basic Astronomy classes at the observatory as we have done in the past. These are for those who are new to Astronomy and those wishing to reinforce their knowledge.

Recruitment Stand

As last year, we will again be manning a recruitment stand in the concourse on Tuesday September 25th. from 10:00am to 3:30pm

If you have any Astronomy pictures you have taken over the past year, or other material suitable for the stand and would allow us to use them, please let me know ASAP.

We will also be looking for volunteers to man the stand. Even if it's only for 15 minutes it will help.

Thursday Surgery

I attend the observatory each Thursday from 11:00 to 14:00, this is for members who wish to do day light / Solar observing, training on the Zeiss Telescope, using the library etc. And I'm there to help members with any astronomy related problems or even just a chat. I also use the time to maintain the observatory and telescopes……or even to collect SUBS.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society
 

13/07/07

Dates for your diary

Sat-21-Jul-07

Working weekend. Volunteers required

Sun-22-Jul-07

Working weekend. Volunteers required

Sat-25-Aug-07

Ian King Imaging Course - Church Crookham

Sat-01-Sep-07

I need your SUBS   Start of the 07/08 season

Fri to Sun 07th Sep-07

Herstmonceux Astro Fest

Sat-08-Sep-07

"

Thu-09-Sep-07

"
Sept sometime Cody Astro BBQ

Mon-24-Sep-07

Prep for stand *

Tue-25-Sep-07

Recruitment Stand

Sat-20-Oct-07

SAGS meeting at Southdowns Planetarium

Thu-25-Oct-07

October Lecture James Fradgley on Variable Stars

Wed-21-Nov-07

November Lecture Doug Bateman Sundials
December Xmas Party
 

Working Weekend at the Observatory - Volunteers required
Removal of the Zeiss mirrors and other maintenance jobs

We are continuing the refurbishment of the Zeiss by having the mirrors re-silvered before the start of the observing season.

Recruitment Stand in the Concourse :-
Offers of items required for the recruitment stand. If you have any observing results, photographs or other items that would be of interest please let me know.

Also we need Volunteers to man the stand on the Tuesday. It doesn't have to be for long (15 minutes will help). The stand will be manned from 9:30 to about 3:30.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society


15/06/2007

Astro Event

THE HERSTMONCEUX SCIENCE CENTRE ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL

7th, 8th & 9th September 2007

Camp under the backdrop of the historic domes and enjoy a packed weekend.

This year, speakers on Saturday will include:

Nik Szymanek (Astrophotographer)

Dr Andy Newsam (Liverpool John Moores University)

Dr Paul Murdin (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge)

Prof. Brian Hunter (Queens University, Canada)

5th speaker to be confirmed

There will also be informal talks given by the Sky at Night team who are supporting the event this year.

Dr Anton Vamplew will be speaking on Sunday as part of the family activity fun day along with rocket demonstrations, rocket making and launching plus much more.

For more information please visit our website: www.the-observatory.org Alternatively you can contact the centre on 01323 833731.

Don't miss out on this fantastic weekend. Come and soak up the atmosphere at the UK's home of astronomy and hopefully take a look through the historic telescopes, weather permitting of course!

Sandra Voss
Science Director
The Observatory Science Centre
Herstmonceux
Hailsham
East Sussex BN27 1RN

Ph:01323 832731
Fax: 01323 832741
www.the-observatory.org
Registered charity number: 298542


Phil Alner


15/06/2007

Astro outcome of the 10th AGM 12th June 2007

Please find attached the Chairman's report of the year 06/07.

I am pleased to announce that the AGM returned Dr Graham Coley as our President.

Your committee for the coming season is :-

Position  
Chairman Phil Alner
Secretary Vacant
Treasurer Roy Mitchell
Membership Secretary Phil Alner
Observatory Co-ordinator Gordon Lloyd
Talks organiser Vacant
Librarian Norman Kelsey
Web master Paul Curtis
Member Roger Smith
Member Reg Withey
Member Vacant
   
Account reviewer Reg Milne
 

As you will see we are still short of a Secretary and a Talks organiser.

These are important posts in the Society and need to be filled.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society
 

11/05/2007


ASTRO NEWS May 2007

CONTENTS
  1. Cody AS AGM
  2. SAGAS Meeting
  3. Local planning / Light pollution.
  4. Our Next Lecture.

-----------------------

1. The Cody Astronomical Society AGM will take place on Tuesday 12th June at the observatory starting at 12:30pm. The calling notice and agenda will be sent out 14 days before.

David Harden, our present Secretary, is standing down.

David has served the society as Secretary for several years and in that time has devoted a lot of time and effort in building the society for which we will always be thankful.

So, we are looking for a replacement. The post of Secretary is essential to the smooth running of a well-organised Society.

The nominee for Secretary :-

  • Must be an ordinary member (as stated in the constitution)
  • Would ideally be taken by a person who is employed on Cody site therefore having a working knowledge of the site requirements and be the Site point of contact. This could be a person that has retired from employment on the site in which case we will need somebody else to act as Site point of contact.
  • Does not have to have a great knowledge of astronomy.

We also have a vacancy for a Talks organiser (this post was not filled at the last AGM).

We need nominations for these posts either another member or yourself.

With out a Secretary it is going to be difficult to run the Society.

If you would like to talk to David Harden or Phil Alner about the posts please do so.

----------------------------------------

  1. SAGAS (Southern Area Group of Astronomy Societies)

    The next meeting of SAGAS takes place on Saturday 19th May at the Southdowns Planetarium, Chichester. It is an afternoon meeting with possibly a presentation in the planetarium afterwards. The agenda has not been announced as yet.

    I will be attending and if any Cody member would like to join me please contact me.

    SAGAS Summer Meeting 14th July 2007

    The SAGAS Summer 2007 meeting will be held on Saturday 14th July at Vectis Astronomical Societies Observatory at Watery Lane, Newchurch, Isle of Wight . (Latitude: 50° 39' 17" N Longitude: 1° 13' 00" W for those with a GPS.

    More details on the SAGAS website www.sagas.org.uk

    ------------------------------------------

  2. Local Planning / Light pollution
  1. Albury Heath, I have just been informed by Guildford BC that the planning application for the gas extraction plant has been withdrawn.
     
  2. PYESTOCK. The new planning application for the redevelopment of Pyestock is on the UK PLANNING website. See http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/showCaseFile.do?councilName=Hart+District+Council&appNumber=07%2F00764%2FMAJOR

If this is granted permission the sky glow from this development will be horrendous. The observatory is about 700 metres from it and we will loose the ability to observe our western sky.

The plans are for a 24 / 7 mega distribution depot. Apart from the light pollution there will be about 600 HGV's per day using the local roads admittedly heading for the M3, but we have all experienced when there is an accident on the M3 and the motorway is closed the local area clogs up but we will then have put up with all those extra lorries.

Not only that but as the local unemployment figures are very low the workers required will have to be brought in from elsewhere adding to the traffic problems.

I have taken the liberty to attach a document, which has been sent to me from the SPLAT (Stop the Pyestock bLot Act Today) HQ 

www.pyestock.com

Emma Whittaker (the case officer for Hart District Council) has advised that, she will now only accept objections if they include the following:

Name

Postal address

The Planning Application number (07/00764/MAJOR)

and reasons for the objection (examples included in the attached note)

c. The Golf Driving Range. We are still waiting to hear when the application is to be put before the Rushmoor planning committee

------------------------------------

  1. Our next lecture "Stars that go bang in the night" is on Thursday 24th May 2007 by Robert Smith.


Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society
 

23/02/2007

February Newsletter

Thursday surgery

1st March, will be run by Roy Mitchell from 13:00

I will be away on leave. Back on the 3rd March.

Golf driving range

From the last newsletter you will be aware of the planning application to modify the Southwood golf course and add a floodlit driving range.

You may have seen in the local Star newspaper, two articles, one on the front page dealing with a mix-up with the deadline for comments and on the back page an interview I had with their reporter.

Since then I have spoken the applicants i.e. Peter Amies head of Rushmoor Community leisure.

He has said that although the application has gone in they are testing the water to see what response there is from the public and what controls will be applied by the planning dept. Subject to these factors and the cost of running the facility it could be that it doesn't go ahead.

Mean time there is to be a public exhibition at Southwood on Thursday 8th March from 6pm to 9pm and on Saturday 10th from 9am to noon.

Following an indication that he is willing to have a meeting with Cody Astro Soc. I have offered to hold one at the observatory on Thursday 8th either lunchtime before the exhibition or preferably, from our point of view, after the exhibition in the evening, about 9:30pm. This would be attended by himself, his 2-IC, the developers and any one from our side. I will also be suggesting that someone from the planning dept should attend. This will be confirmed after I get back from leave on the 3rd March. The object of this meeting will be to discuss the implications of the application and try to demonstrate how the light pollution will affect observing from the observatory.

Mean time we still need as many objections to this application as possible.

The new dead line for objections is now 23rd March.

It is very easy to do on line. Click on the following link :-

http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/searchsubmit/performOption.do;jsessionid=8142372871F3F8D2EE8D98941AD526A6.wam2?action=search

And then type in the application number 07/00059. This takes you to the Case page.

There is a link at the top of the page to 'Comment on the application'

Lunar eclipse

The only Lunar eclipse visible from the UK this year will be on Saturday 3rd March.
The first contact with the penumbral shadow is at 20:16
First contact with the Umbral shadow is at 21:30
Greatest Eclipse is at 23:21
Fourth contact with Umbral shadow 01:12am

Gordon is away at the moment so we don't know if he will be at the observatory that night.
I may be back from leave in time to be at the observatory.

Mean time watch-out for an email clarifying the situation.

Basic Astro

Wednesday 07th March. GCSE Chapters 10,11, 14

The subject is The Solar system, The Sun, Comets, meteors and meteorites.

Zeiss lens

The reconfiguring of the Objective lens is progressing and with a bit of luck could be back in the telescope ready for our March observing window. Failing which there will be other telescopes available.

Cody Observing

Our March window of observing opportunity is from 8th to 16th

March Lecture

Tuesday 27 March. Guy Hurst will be giving us a lecture on 'The first 40 Years of the Astronomer'. A periodical astronomy magazine

Group visits to the observatory.

As you know we are asked by organisations such as the Cubs and Scouts to give them the opportunity to experience the night sky via a large telescope.

The month of March we have two visits.

1st Farnborough Cubs will be coming on either Thursday 22nd or Friday 23rd date to be finalised.

Churt Cubs will visit on Monday 26th.

I would welcome any help from our members on these two nights. The start time could be 19:00 and would only be for about 90 mins. Please contact me if you can help.

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society
 

10/01/2007

Comet McNaught

"Further to BAA e-bulletin 262 this comet is now a spectacular object in the
early evening twilight. Denis Buczynski reports that he saw the comet tonight
from a site north of Inverness. In the evening twilight he estimated that
the comet was as bright as Jupiter and a tail of several degrees was visible
with the naked eye.
 
"Over the next few nights the comet will be best seen in the evening sky. You
will need a clear western horizon and should start looking as soon as the Sun
sets. The comet should be obvious at an azimuth of around 240 degrees and the
tail will be pointing almost straight up from the horizon. The comet is also
visible in the morning sky at an azimuth of around 110 degrees around 30 mins
before sunrise but circumstances are not as good as in the evening.
 
"By perihelion on January 12th the comet could be brighter than Venus. It
has been seen through gaps in the cloud so make an effort even if the weather
prospects look poor. This is a rare opportunity to see a very bright comet."
 

Phil Alner
Chairman Cody Astronomical Society