The speaker at this months meeting was Bob
Mizon who is the chairman and Chief co-ordinator of the Campaign
for Dark Skies. The talk was in two parts, the first having the title "Astro
Alphabet". This consisted of 26 slides with each being associated with a
letter of the alphabet. The slides were on the following subjects (in case
anybody wants to research them further);
A is for Ansty
(Dorset) and Astrophotography.
B is for W Bradfield, a
prolific discoverer of comets.
C is for Circus
Maximus, a formation on Miranda the satellite of Uranus.
D is for Double
Star.
E is for Eros, the asteroid.
F is for Footprint,
the first on the moon.
G is for Geminid,
the meteor shower.
H is for Horsehead Nebula.
I is for IC4665,
open cluster in Ophiuchus
J is for Jupiter
K is for Kids,
as in Auriga
L is for Light, as in moonlight.
M is for Meteor Crater, Arizona.
N is for Northern Lights
O is for Octans,
the constellation at the southern pole.
P is for Peloponnisos
Peninsula, (satellite photograph).
Q is for Quintet,
Stephans in Pegasus
R is for Runaway Star,
(as in moving from one constellation to another over time).
S is for Stupidity, as in taking a photo and leaving a red light on.
T is for Triton,
the satellite of Neptune.
U is for Ursa Major or try here!
V is for Vela supernova
remnant
W is for Winter
Jewels and Wide Angle Photo
X is for Xmas tree
Y is for Y Canes Venatici,
one of the reddest stars known.
Z is for Zodiac.
After a short break for refreshments (and the sale of books that Bob had bought
with him) the talk continued with another short series of slides. These were all
taken with a standard camera set-up on a scotch mount.
As a point of interest Bob has a new book just coming out titled "Light
Pollution: Responses and Remedies" published by Springer.
There were a number of society notices made before the meeting closed. Duncan
Goulding reported that the Heavens Above group would be holding a Moon Party on
Fri 23 November at the Kings Arms, Rotherfield. This event is to be supported by
the Wadhurst Astronomical Society and all members would be welcome, the event
was primarily a public observing session. The future for the Isle of Thorns
Observatory is still unsure, although the Cats Protection League now says that
anything can be sorted out after the purchase goes through! For obvious reasons,
the Heavens Above group feel that it should be sorted out before the purchase.
It also appears that a number of people were totally unaware that the
Observatory was used by Heavens Above for observing sessions.
The next meeting is the Annual General Meeting of the Society; though please keep reading! It will be held on 12 December at 7.30 at Uplands as usual. Although there is a bit of business to get through, the evening will also be a more social type of event with a small buffet provided. There is a copy of the agenda for the AGM attached to this newsletter. If any member has any other points that they wish to be raised please contact either Murray or Tim before the meeting (there will also be a chance to raise matters under any other business). Please make the effort to attend if at all possible, it is your chance to have a say in the running of the society! Your input is needed and welcomed, whether you think everything is wonderful, everything is awful, or something in between, please come along and have your say.
The balance of accounts stands at Current £287.73 and Reserve £1220.98.
The accounts to the end of the societies financial year, 31/10/2001, have now
been passed on to the auditor. It is hoped that they will be returned in time
for the AGM, in which case a full copy will be available to all members there.
As mentioned in the last newsletter it is to be proposed at AGM that there will
be a change to the Membership year of the society. Please note this is not a
change to subscription rates. The annual rates for new members are as before:
£15 for individuals and £20 for joint membership. Provided approval is given
at the AGM, the subscription year for existing paid up members will run from 1
January to 31 October 2002. Existing society members will therefore be due to
pay £12.50 for individuals and £17 for joint membership for the part year to
31 October 2002. Full membership fees will then be payable by each member on 1
November 2002.
The society telescope is nearly completed. If anyone wishes to go on the list to borrow the telescope from the society please contact Peter Prince (01892 836284) as soon as possible. It is hoped that the telescope will be ready for loan at the A.G.M. The committee has looked into insuring the telescope, unfortunately the cost of insurance is 25% of the insured amount (£125 plus ipt). Therefore it is felt that the society should be its own insurer.
The treasurer has made contact with the Curator of
Tunbridge Wells museum and there is the possibility that the society could
attend an event at the Library in 2002. This would be an excellent opportunity
for the society to get some welcome publicity. Although there are no firm plans
made at present, there is a possibility that we could attend an event such as National
Science Week, which is due to run from 8th to 17th March 2002.
It is not yet clear whether the PTA at Uplands will be holding an event next
summer. Contact has been made with a member of the PTA, but as yet no plans have
been made for the summer 2002. We did attend the Primary School event this year
and there is the possibility that we could do this again. Any announcements
about future events that the Society is planning to attend will obviously be
made to the society as soon as possible, both at meetings and through the
Newsletter.
As mentioned in the report of last months meeting the Heavens Above group held a Moon Party at Rotherfield. The Wadhurst Astronomical Society supported the event, although our numbers on the evening were small. Unfortunately, the weather on the evening of the 23rd precluded any observing. However around 24 people turned out for the event and were entertained by talks given by Murray, Duncan and Christine Jones. The talks were helped along by videos, slides and a demonstration. Hopefully, word will spread and a similar event could be organised in the future.
Chairman: Murray R. Barber 01892 654618 murray.barber@virgin.net
Secretary: Tim Bance 01732 832745 timbance@hotmail.com
Treasurer: Ian Reeves 01892 784255
Editor: Peter Bamblett 01732 368656 pbamblett@hotmail.com
Web site: Rob Cray rob@arcray.net
Publicity: Michael Harte 01892 783292 michael@greenman.demon.co.uk
Dir. of Obs.: Sean Tampsett 01892 667092 sean_tampsett@hotmail.com
Librarian: Joan Grace 01892 783721
Custodian of Equipment: Peter Prince 01892 836284
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
AND SOCIAL EVENING
To be held on 12 December 2001
at 7.30 pm in Uplands College Drama Studio
AGENDA
1. Minutes of previous AGM on 13 December 2000
2. Officers reports
Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity, Observations
3. Proposed changes to Constitution
3.1 The list of officers of the society to be changed as follows;
3.1.1 Deletion of the posts Deputy Chairman and Deputy Treasurer
3.1.2 Addition of the posts Custodian of Equipment and Technical Advisor
3.2 The deletion of the line "No member shall hold the same office for more
than four years". Each Officer will still be elected every two years. There
will still be the opportunity for any member to stand for any post on the
committee every two years.
3.3 The alteration of the date that subscriptions fall due from 1st January to
1st November. Also the alteration of the date that any member shall be deemed to
have left the society from 31st August to 30th June This means that next year's
subscription year will run from 1st January to 31st October. The full annual
subscription will then be payable from 1st November 2002.
3.4 The deletion of the words "the parents teachers association of" in
the section Winding up the society. This will ensure that should the society be
wound up any monies remaining will go directly to Uplands College.
4. Election of Officers.
The following posts are due for election this year: Secretary, Treasurer,
Editor, Publicity Officer, Director of Observations, Librarian, Custodian of
Equipment, and Technical Advisor. NOTE: If proposal 3.1 above is not accepted
the present Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian will be unable to be re-elected
in their present posts.
5. Any Other Business