Wiltshire Astronomical Society Posts

Hello. September marks the start of the society’s new season, so there’s lots to update you on.

2026 Partial Solar Eclipse Outreach Event.

In August we held our most successful outreach event I think we’ve had. Between 1000 and 1500 people attended our partial solar eclipse event at Lacock. This massively exceeded our expectations (by a factor of nearly 10) and also presented some challenges. We made a concerted effort spreading the word across local Facebook groups and advertised that we were offering free solar glasses. Thank you to everyone who attended and showed such enthusiasm. Also, a thanks to all the volunteers and those that brought equipment and shared their knowledge and in particular to Chris Brooks for coordinating the event. We received a lot of positive feedback which is great and gives us something to build on.

Image Credits: Steve Allen, Matthew Terrell, Sam Franklin

Membership for the new season is now open

Our new membership cycle is now open and will expire on 31st August 2027, please follow this link to join or renew. We are a non-profit society, and membership subscriptions provides our main source of income, that keeps the society going.

2026-2027 Observing schedule is out

Thanks to our coordinator Chris Brooks putting together the brand new observing schedule. Observing sessions are open to all, members and the public. Click to download.

Monthly Meetings

Also, our monthly member meetings will restart on Tuesday 1st September, and be held on the first Tuesday of every month, through to June 2027. Please see our meetings page for current speaker programme, thanks again to our Chair, Simon Barnes for putting this together. Our

This page will be updated with the monthly newsletter when available.

Volunteers Needed

Finally, after our recent overwhelmingly successful outreach event in August, this really demonstrated the need for volunteers to assist the society. There’s many ways you can assist the society. We always need volunteers to assist at public events like observing sessions and outreach events. Most importantly, we would like more support at the monthly member meetings, assisting with teas and coffees, and helping to find interesting speakers. If you feel you can help, please get in touch via our contact page.

Clear skies

The Wiltshire Astronomical Society Team

Next Members Meeting

* Note, we’ll hold a short AGM to cover the accounts and committee selection.

We will continue to use the reoccuring zoom call for those members that cannot join in person. These are the same zoom Zoom meeting details (same URL, ID and passcode for all meetings this year). If you able to attend in person, please do and thank you for your support. If you would like access to the Zoom call, please email (see Contact Page).

Newsletter

Once again thanks to Simon Barnes, our chair, for editing the newsletter and providing our monthly “Report from the Chair” amongst other details about the society and the “Beginners” section this month. Please check it out. If you have any feedback about the newsletter, then we would love to hear it, so get in touch via our contact page.

Observing

Thanks again to Chris Brooks, our diligent observing coordinator who has complied this seasons’ observing programme. If you’re a keen observer, Chris would appreciate some support in organising and running the observing evenings, so please reach out to us via our contact page. Download the observing programme below.

Membership

NOTE. I have paused new sign ups for memberships as we are approaching our off-season (July/August). The membership period will restart in September 2026.

Mailing List

Please make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the society monthly updates by email and also the observing reminders.

Clear skies

Next Members Meeting

We will continue to use the reoccuring zoom call for those members that cannot join in person. These are the same zoom Zoom meeting details (same URL, ID and passcode for all meetings this year). If you able to attend in person, please do and thank you for your support. If you would like access to the Zoom call, please email (see Contact Page).

Newsletter

Once again thanks to Simon Barnes, our chair, for editing the newsletter and providing our monthly “Report from the Chair” amongst other details about the society and the “Beginners” section this month. Please check it out. If you have any feedback about the newsletter, then we would love to hear it, so get in touch via our contact page.

Observing

Thanks again to Chris Brooks, our diligent observing coordinator who has complied this seasons’ observing programme. If you’re a keen observer, Chris would appreciate some support in organising and running the observing evenings, so please reach out to us via our contact page. Download the observing programme below.

Membership

Thank you to all the members that have renewed and to those members that have joined the society recently. We really do appreciate your support.

NOTE. I have paused new sign ups for memberships as we are approaching our off-season (July/August). The membership period will restart in September 2026.

Mailing List

Please make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the society monthly updates by email and also the observing reminders.

Clear skies

Next Members Meeting

We will continue to use the reoccuring zoom call for those members that cannot join in person. These are the same zoom Zoom meeting details (same URL, ID and passcode for all meetings this year). If you able to attend in person, please do and thank you for your support. If you would like access to the Zoom call, please email (see Contact Page).

Newsletter

Once again thanks to Simon Barnes, our chair, for editing the newsletter and providing our monthly “Report from the Chair” amongst other details about the society and the “Beginners” section this month. Please check it out. If you have any feedback about the newsletter, then we would love to hear it, so get in touch via our contact page.

Observing

Thanks again to Chris Brooks, our diligent observing coordinator who has complied this seasons’ observing programme. If you’re a keen observer, Chris would appreciate some support in organising and running the observing evenings, so please reach out to us via our contact page. Download the observing programme below.

Membership

Thank you to all the members that have renewed and to those members that have joined the society recently. We really do appreciate your support.

Mailing List

Please make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the society monthly updates by email and also the observing reminders.

Clear skies

Next Members Meeting

Our next scheduled in-person members meeting will be held at the Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page), on Tuesday 3rd February 2026 at 19:15 for 19:30 start.

This month we we are delighted to have our own member, John Dartnell who will be giving a talk on the upcoming Total Solar Eclipses in Europe over the next 3 years. Please see the newsletter for bio and more info.

We will continue to use the regular zoom call for remote members to join. These are the same zoom meeting details (same URL, ID and passcode for the year). If you able to attend in person, please do and thank you for your support. If you would like access to the Zoom call, please email (see Contact Page).

Newsletter

Once again thanks to Simon Barnes, our chair, for editing the newsletter and providing our monthly “Report from the Chair” amongst other details about the society and the “Beginners” section this month. Please check it out. If you have any feedback about the newsletter, then we would love to hear it, so get in touch via our contact page.

Observing

Thanks again to Chris Brooks, our diligent observing coordinator who has complied this seasons’ observing programme. If you’re a keen observer, Chris would appreciate some support in organising and running the observing evenings, so please reach out to us via our contact page. Download the observing programme below.

Membership

Thank you to all the members that have renewed and to those members that have joined the society recently. We really do appreciate your support.

Mailing List

Please make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the society monthly updates by email and also the observing reminders.

Clear skies

Happy New Year wishing clear skies to all for 2026 !

Next Members Meeting

Our next scheduled in-person members meeting will be held at the Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page), on Tuesday 6th January 2026 at 19:15 for 19:30 start.

This month we are back to our regular external speaker format and we welcome Terry Ransome who will be giving a talk titled “Filton in Space – 65 years and Counting” based on his long experience in the Aerospace sector. Please see the newsletter for bio and more info.

We will continue to use the regular zoom call (same details) for remote members to join. If you able to attend in person, we do urge you to attend in person, thanks for the support. If you would like access to the Zoom call, please email (see Contact Page).

Newsletter

Once again thanks to Simon Barnes, our chair, for editing the newsletter and providing our monthly “Report from the Chair” amongst other details about the society and the “Beginners” section this month. Please check it out. If you have any feedback about the newsletter, then we would love to hear it, so get in touch via our contact page.

Observing

Thanks again to Chris Brooks, our diligent observing coordinator who has complied this seasons’ observing programme. If you’re a keen observer, Chris would appreciate some support in organising and running the observing evenings, so please reach out to us via our contact page. Download the observing programme below.

Membership

Thank you to all the members that have renewed and to those members that have joined the society recently. We really do appreciate your support.

Mailing List

Please make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list to get the society monthly updates by email and also the observing reminders.

Clear skies