Wiltshire Astronomical Society Posts

This month is our last meeting of the current year and is scheduled for Tuesday 6th June for an in-person meeting at at 19:45 (20:00 meeting start) at the Hall in Seend (see meeting page for further details).

This month, we welcome the always enjoyable Andrew Lound who will be giving a talk entitled “Venus Paradise Lost”. Also, we will hold an AGM. This is an important AGM since we will be asking for volunteers to step by to fill several roles in the society for people retiring, Andy as chair and Peter as speaker secretary. We thank them enormously for their efforts.

Since we haven’t had any volunteers as yet to fill this roles, principally the speakercoordinator, this inevitably means our next year, starting in September 2023 will have to change format, from organised in-person meetings with a dedicated speaker.

To help people understand what help the society needs to function and expections of the volunteer roles, please see our new page on “Society Roles” https://wasnet.org.uk/society-roles/. This page details the name of the role, expectations and the current incumbent. We will discuss this at the AGM.

UPDATE. Please see download link to 2023 June newsletter. Many thanks to Andy for putting this together.

Clear skies

For our montly meeting this month, scheduled for Tuesday 2nd May, this will be held online only using Zoom (joining details below). Please do not meet at the Hall in Seend as we have no booking. Society members and non-members are welcome to join the Zoom call.

This month, we welcome Dr Paul A Daniels FRAS, who will be giving a talk on “The Megaconstellation Threat”.

Zoom Meeting Details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89296312967?pwd=NGFZRnBjV2xsY3dhU00vZG5YMHBpZz09
Meeting ID: 892 9631 2967
Passcode: 428426
Start Time: 19:30 for an 20:00 start with the Talk.

On the zoom call, we will outline some options for the future of the society for next year. The current Chair and Speaker Coordinator are stepping down after many years of giving their time and energy. So far, no volunteers have come forward. Without new and willing volunteers to help, it will not be possible for the society to continue in its current form.

For the June 6th 2023 meeting, we will be back to the Hall in Seend for our AGM and final monthly meeting of this current year before our Summer break.

UPDATE on TU 2023-05-02 @ 15:54. Please see attached our monthly newsletter kindly put together by Andy Burns.

Clear skies

For our April meeting this month scheduled for Tuesday 4th April at 19:45 (20:00 meeting start) at the Hall in Seend, we welcome Chris Starr who will give a talk on “Heavy Metal World”. Please see our meetings page for more details.

Our next scheduled observing session at Lacock is Friday 14th April (weather dependant). Please sign up to the observing mailing list on our observing page which gives further details.

** UPDATE @ 2023-04-04 15:29 BST. ** Andy has dutifully put together this month’s newsletter download link below. The society is in urgent need for volunteers in order for it to continue, so please read this month’s newsletter and consider if and how you can help.

Click to Download the April 2023 Newletter

Clear skies

For our March meeting this month scheduled for Tuesday 7th March at 19:45 (20:00 meeting start) at the Hall in Seend, we welcome a Mary McIntyre who will give a talk on “Shadows in Space & the stories they tell”. Please see our meetings page for more details.

Our next scheduled observing session at Lacock is Friday 17th March (weather dependant). Please sign up to the observing mailing list on our observing page which gives further details.

UPDATE 2023-03-07 14:09. Many thanks to Andy for putting together the March 2023 newsletter, see link to download below.

Clear skies

For our monthly meeting this month scheduled for Tuesday 7th February at 19:45 at the Hall in Seend, we welcome a regular speaker, Prof. David Southwood. Prof Southwood will give a talk on “The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE)”, so not one to miss. Please see our meetings page for more details.

Also, keep an eye on our observing page and observing-specific mailing list for info on the upcoming observing sessions.

** UPDATE AT TU 2023-02-07 14:59 **

Thanks again to Andy for putting together the newsletter for this month, link below.

In a change to our schedule, tonight’s meeting (Tuesday 3rd January 2023) will be a ZOOM only meeting. We will not be meeting at the Hall at Seend.

There will be a number of members absent tonight for various reasons, so on balance a Zoom only meeting seems preferable. Apologies for the short notice.

Our speaker Mike Alexander is giving a talk titled “Heaven’s on Earth” and Mike is based in Gran Canaria so was giving the talk over zoom anyway.

To join the Zoom meeting, click the link below:
Time: 3 Jan 2023 19:30 GMT
Zoom URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81898671836?pwd=b2lDcWlWaEV5b0pYVVJsNzJlWTJwUT09
Meeting ID: 818 9867 1836 
Passcode: 136120 

Normal meetings in person are planned for February 2023’s meeting.

Our monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday 6th December 2022 at the Lye Pavilion Hall in Seend (Rusty Lane), please arrive at 19:45 for an 20:00 start, and see meetings page for more details.

This month we welcome Martin Griffiths who will give a talk titled “How the Moon was formed”.

** UPDATE **

Many thanks to Andy Burns for putting together this month’s newsletter, see download on the link below:

Our monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday 1st November 2022 at the Lye Pavilion Hall in Seend (Rusty Lane), please see meetings page for more details. This month we welcome Chris Hooker who will give an in person talk on the planet Mercury.

Notices:

Last month at the Hall, we experimented with a speaker delivering their talk over Zoom. It appeared to go well but please support us and provide any feedback in person or via the https://wasnet.org.uk/contact-us/ page.

The society urgently needs some volunteers; Speaker Secretary and someone to help with Teas/Coffee at meetings. Without active volunteers, the monthly meetings will struggle to continue in the current format. Thanks in advance for any support you can give and ask any queries if you’re interested in what is involved.

** UPDATE. 2022-11-01 14:51 GMT **

Many thanks to Andy for putting together the November newsletter

Clear skies

** Post updated Tue 2022-10-04 15:54 BST **

Our monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd October 2022 at the Lye Pavilion Hall in Seend (Rusty Lane), please see meetings page for more details.

This month we welcome Paul Money who will talking on “The Trials & Tribulations of Voyager”. This month we have set up the ability to allow speakers to give talks remotely and broadcast to the normal meeting Hall. This is an important step forward for the society, as it allows us to have bring a wider range of speakers from further afield. Please support us and attend the hall in person. All feedback welcome on how this goes.

Also, if any members have yet to renew their membership for this season, please visit the membership site available via https://wasnet.org.uk/membership/. If you encounter any issues, there is a contact email address on the membership page, so please get in touch.

Thanks again to Andy for dutifully putting together the October Newsletter, link below.