The society hosts monthly public lectures presented by industry or academic experts in the Whittle Theatre at the Cody Technology Park. We also host smaller, more informal presentations for members at the Observatory as part of our basic astronomy science education programme.
All of the meetings are free to members. There is a small charge for non-members to attend the public lectures.
Thursday 2nd January 2025
7:30pm - The Observatory
Club Night - CANCELLED
Our regular, first Thursday in the month, evening session to meet up, chat, discuss astronomy and any other areas of interest. You can bring in your equipment and compare the size of the telescopes and potentially maybe even observe objects in the night sky - weather permitting of course.
It’s a great opportunity to meet and get to know new members of the society and also to help each other out with the technical or equipment issues we’ve all encountered.
No booking, just turn up if you can for this one.
Wednesday 8th January 2025
7:30pm - Whittle Lecture Theatre
Planetary Nebulae - The Physics of Dying Stars and Some Recent Discoveries
Presented by Peter Goodhew, FRAS
Peter will describe the physics of late-stage stellar evolution and how this affects morphology, appearance and brief lifetime of planetary nebulae. He will illustrate how new planetary nebulae are being discovered. This will be accompanied by a recent case study. This will be followed by images of recent discoveries – including some unexpected and mysterious cosmic objects. Finally he will give a perspective on how such research is evolving to meet the challenges of detecting increasingly faint objects awaiting discovery.
After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in Physics and Mathematics Peter was recruited by International Business Machines. He had a succession of international roles throughout his career until taking early retirement. Since then he has been engaged in astrophotography. For the past 3 years this has been almost exclusively in research and discovery. He is part of an international team of amateurs engaged in research, and also supports professional astronomers in their research work. He operates 3 remote robotic telescopes located in Spain, and leads a network of 8 similar robotic telescopes in Spain and Chile.
Please book with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
Thursday 6th February 2025
7:30pm - The Observatory
Club Night
Our regular, first Thursday in the month, evening session to meet up, chat, discuss astronomy and any other areas of interest. You can bring in your equipment and compare the size of the telescopes and potentially maybe even observe objects in the night sky - weather permitting of course.
It’s a great opportunity to meet and get to know new members of the society and also to help each other out with the technical or equipment issues we’ve all encountered.
No booking, just turn up if you can for this one.
Thursday 13th February 2025
7:30pm - Whittle Lecture Theatre
Is Pluto a planet?
Presented by Jerry Stone
Pluto was in the news in 2015 as the New Horizons spacecraft - which has Jerry’s name on it - finally reached Earth’s distant cousin in the outer reaches of the Solar System, after a journey of 9-½ years. But did it actually encounter a planet?
Just 7 months after New Horizons was launched back in January 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted to re-classify Pluto as a Dwarf Planet, resulting in uproar in the astronomical community and starting a controversy that still divides opinion among astronomers and the general public alike. But does it need to? Is there not a simple answer?
“Is Pluto A Planet?” covers the thorny question of the status of Pluto. It looks in detail at the IAU definition of a planet and some of its unexpected - and unintended - consequences. To give an example, Jerry can show that Jupiter - the biggest object in the Solar System after the Sun - is actually a dwarf planet! He can also show that it isn’t a planet at all … So how many planets do we really have? Is it 8, 21 or maybe only 3?
This is Jerry’s most controversial presentation, and includes some things that one astronomer has told him he shouldn’t be saying!
Jerry is a Freelance Space Presenter and run Spaceflight UK; He is a space expert, presenter, author and broadcaster! He has given presentations on astronomy and space exploration for over 50 years all over the UK and abroad. He is often interviewed on radio and TV; He was was on Sky News covering Tim Peake’s mission on the International Space Station, and on Sky and the BBC to cover the passing of Neil Armstrong.
His work has been recognised by NASA.
He has spoken about space exploration at the British Science Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Palace of Westminster, the Royal Institution, the World Science Fiction Convention ... and a rock festival!
He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and the Royal Astronomical Society, Chairman of the Space Habitats Committee of the Space Renaissance International, a Senior Associate of the Space Studies Institute and a Space Ambassador for the National Space Society.
He is also an interplanetary poet! NASA's Mars probe, MAVEN, is in orbit around the Red Planet, and like various other spacecraft, it has his name on it, stored on a DVD. Not only that, but the DVD also includes a poem he wrote! No other space presenter in the UK can make this claim.
Please book with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
Tuesday 8th April 2025
7:30pm - Whittle Lecture Theatre
The Invisible Universe
Presented by Dr Jen Gupta
Gazing at the night sky with our eyes or telescopes reveals twinkling stars and far away galaxies. But what we see is only a small part of the story. From manipulating this visible light, to detecting "light" that humans can't see, I'll cover some of the different ways that astrophysicists explore the parts of the Universe that are hidden from our eyes. Along the way I will tell the curious story of the discovery of the first quasar 3C273, and touch on the stories of some of the pioneers in these areas of astronomy and astrophysics who dedicated their careers to furthering our understanding of the invisible Universe.
Dr Jen Gupta is an astrophysicist, science communicator and self-proclaimed professional space nerd. She is an Associate Professor in Public Engagement and Outreach in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth where she works to make physics and astronomy more accessible to the wider world, and Vice-President of the Society for Popular Astronomy (President from January 2025). As a presenter she has featured in the PBS series 'NOVA Universe Revealed' and co-presented the BBC Radio 4 show 'Stranger Than Sci-Fi', as well as regularly appearing on the TV and radio to talk about astronomy and science.
Please book with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
Thursday 10th July 2025
7:30pm - Whittle Lecture Theatre
How To Grow Supermassive Black Holes
Presented by Prof Matthew Middleton - University of Southampton
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are believed to be ubiquitous within the central core of galaxies. But how they formed remains a mystery. It is certainly likely that they grew by a combination of accretion of matter and black hole mergers. The latter is expected to be subdominant, requiring accretion to be the major avenue of growth. However, observations of the early universe have presented a major challenge, as many SMBHs are observed to be fully grown when the Universe was only a few 100 million years old! To solve this problem, we are required to understand a regime of accretion dubbed ‘Super-Eddington’. My talk will focus on how this regime of accretion operates, how it can explain the discovery of ‘little red dots’ by the James Webb Space Telescope, and where missing physics is opening up exciting avenues of exploration.
Prof Middleton is an expert in the physics of accretion onto compact objects (neutron stars and black holes) and works across theory, observation and experiment. He has been a permanent member of academic staff at the University of Southampton since 2016. Prof Middleton is active within the UK Space Science community as Vice President of the Royal Astronomical Society and as Chair of the Space Science and Exploration Working Group of the Space Academic Network (SPAN).
Please book with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
Previous talks/events:
Wednesday 18th December 2024
7:30pm - Whittle Lecture Theatre
An introduction to Radio Astronomy
Presented by Brian Coleman (G4NNS)
Brian will give brief history of Radio Astronomy, explain the sources of radiation that can be observed by radio then talk about the design of an amateur radio telescope and how to make observations of Galactic Hydrogen using a back yard radio telescope. Some of the other aspects of radio astronomy that are practical from the back yard will be discussed and in particular the UK Meteor radar system be introduced. This provides opportunities to participate in the study of meteor events with your own equipment or using the projects receiver network. Brian will introduce the UK Radio Astronomy Association, a not for profit organisation who supply a range of equipment for the study of solar events using LF Radio and magnetometers and Muon detectors to study Gamma ray bursts.
In addition to a fascination with astronomy Brian obtained his first amateur radio radio licence in 1967. Always interested in the technical challenges of designing and building radio equipment particularly for the higher frequency bands, VHF, UHF and Microwave this led to the challenge of Earth – Moon - Earth communications ( EME ) where the moon is used as a reflector to extend range beyond the horizon for frequencies not refracted or reflected by the ionosphere. After a career in the electronics industry the two interests, Radio and Astronomy inevitably came together.
After completing the Introduction to Radio Astronomy course run by the University of Manchester Brian used his 3.7m EME antenna to study the radiation from Neutral Hydrogen in our Galaxy. The Hydrogen Line Observing Group was established giving it's members the opportunity to make their own observations controlling Brian's telescope remotely. Recently, with support from the RSGB and the BAA Brian has led a group of volunteers who are building a bi-static radar system to study meteors entering the earths atmosphere over the UK.
Please book with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
Tuesday 3rd December 2024
7:30pm - The Observatory
CARS #20 - Cosmology, Astronomy & Rocket Science
CARS are informal gatherings to watch videos related to cosmology, astronomy, rocket science and other topics of mutual interest, and to chat about them.
The videos for the 20th CARS will be:
Physics: Are All Forces Illusions?
Astrophysics: Why Do All Planets Orbit In The Same Plane?
Astrophysics: Introduction To Comets – How They Form And How They Work
Astronomy: Universe Map – Euclid’s First 3D Section Reveals 14 Million Galaxies
Rocket Science: Too Cool To Survive? How Britain's Air Breathing Rocket Engine Would Have Worked
There are only 20 seats so please book early with Phil Alner Please click here to reserve your place.
