Category: Uncategorized

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.

Newsletter

Thank you again to Simon Barnes, our chair, for putting together the monthly newsletter

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

Next Meeting	Tuesday 2nd June 2026. Arrive 19:15 for 19:30 start at Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page)
Speaker(s)	Member presentations & AGM* Jon Gale on Bincocular objects for summer John Dartnell on My Astro/Atmospherics Photo Album

* 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

Next Meeting	Tuesday 5th May 2026. Arrive 19:15 for 19:30 start at Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page)
Speaker	Ken Whight. Talk “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, How Can I Determine What You Are?”

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

Next Meeting	Tuesday 7th April 2026. Arrive 19:15 for 19:30 start at Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page)
Speaker	Nicky Fleet. (External) on topic “Extinct Constellations”

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

Next Members Meeting

We will again be holding an in-person meeting at our new venue at the Pewsham Community Hall (see meetings page), on Tuesday 7th October 2025 at 19:15 for 19:30 start. This month we are delighted to invite Michael F Barratt (FRAS) who will give the talk “The Colourful Lives of Stars”, see the newsletter for more info.

We will set up a zoom call for remote members to join and hear the speaker. If you are in the local area, 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

Wiltshire-AS

Hi, just a quick reminder of our upcoming online (zoom) meeting on tonight Tuesday 4th January 2022. We are not meeting in person at the Hall in Seend for the time being.

The online meeting details are as follows:
Time: Tuesday 4th January 2022 19:45 GMT
URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86216052459?pwd=NVNjeGFzaG9oSkdxZUI1T2dLVlE4QT09
Meeting ID: 862 1605 2459
Passcode: 563532

Tonight, we have Martin Lunn giving a talk on an appropriate theme, “The Star of Bethlehem”.

Thanks to Andy once again for putting together the newsletter, please download via the link below.

Due to the ongoing Coronovirus COVID-19 situation, the society committee has cancelled the monthly meeting scheduled on Tuesday 7th April 2020. The scheduled speaker, Pete Williamson, has kindly offered to return next year. Also Andy Burns has will produce the April Newsletter and send via email as normal – thanks Andy.

Chris Brooks will continue to provide updates on scheduled and ad hoc observing via the observing mailing list – please sign up here https://wasnet.org.uk/observing/ – as well as on the members private Facebook group, see links below.

We will provide another update in good time ahead of the May meeting as the situation and Government health guidance develops.

As a reminder, you can keep up to date on the society’s public Facebook page here, as well as the private group for members here.

Clear skies