Main Meetings
Each month, the society has a guest speaker, who will talk about their specialised subject, followed by a "what's up" describing the sky that month and sometimes an additional 5-minute talk from a society member on something they have been doing recently. Free refreshments are available during the interval. During the year we will also be arranging observing evenings at appropriate times and places.
Note: if you have something that you would like to talk about in the 5-minute slot, please contact a committee member.
Meeting Details:
The meetings are held on the first Friday of each month from September to June and start at 7.30pm. Our 2016/2017 program is as follows:
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| 8th September 2017 | The Giant Planet Jupiter - Damian Peach (BAA) |
| 6th October 2017 | ExoMars 2016 & 2020, PanCam and Roving on Mars - Craig Leff (Mullard Space Science Laboratory) |
| 3rd November 2017 | The Discovery of Gravitational Waves - Justin Greenhalgh (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) |
| 1st December 2017 | Our Galactic Neighbourhood - Owen Brazell (Webb Society) |
| 16th December 2017 | Christmas Dinner: Edmond Halley: Astronomer, Sea Captain, and Discoverer of the 'Proper Motions' of the Stars - Dr Allan Chapman (University of Oxford) |
| 5th January 2018 | 13 Journeys Through Space and Time - Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution - Colin Stuart (Science & astronomy author) |
| 2nd Feburary 2018 | The Geology of the Moon: What can we learn from the Apollo Samples? - Dr Louise Alexander (Birkbeck, University of London) |
| 2nd March 2018 | Great Comets and Great Disappointments - Nick James (BAA Comet Section Director) |
| 23rd March 2018 | Future projects at RAL Space - Dr Chris Pearson (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) [Note this meeting is at the end of March!] |
| 6th - 8th April 2018 | BAA Winchester Weekend |
| 4th May 2018 | Members’ Evening – My Favourite Telescope |
| 1st June 2018 | The Atmospheric Jet Stream - Dr Roger Brugge (Reading University) & 37th AGM |
The meetings are held at the West Berkshire Mencap Centre in Newbury, off Enbourne Road: RG14 6AT. Parking is available at the hall itself: Click here for an interactive map.
The people in charge of the hall have asked us NOT to park in the streets near the hall, but to use the official car park only. If the residents feel we are intruding we could be asked to stop using the hall for our meetings. There is a possibility of overflow parking in the field to the west of the car park.
We also offer an ICS Calendar file of all the meetings (main & beginners) of the session to add to your phone or email client — click here to download (if you're using Outlook 2003, you may have better luck with this version).