Our local friends at Ashford Astronomical Society are hosting the 2015 One-Day Spring Meeting of the British Astronomical Association at The Stour Centre in Ashford on Saturday 25th April 2015.

The theme is ‘Amateur and Professional Collaboration’.  The meeting has been designed to help us find out how we can be involved in real science, working as an amateur with professionals.

There will be a series of talks throughout the day, on how amateur astronomers can work in tandem with national and international projects.  The ticket price includes refreshments and a buffet lunch.

Download the booking form here:  Ashford BAA Spring Meeting Ticket Booking Form

On POSTPONED TO Monday 18th March at 8pm, Dr Robert Smith of Sussex University is visiting to give us a lecture on the end of the world.

The lecture is titled “End in Fire: the ultimate fate of the Earth?“.

CADSAS members and under 16s – free.  Others £2 on the door please.

More details..

“This talk is a popular account of a paper I wrote with a colleague in 2008. It follows the evolution of the Sun to the red giant stage and beyond and explains what will happen to the Earth as a result. It also looks at the more immediate future, asking whether we need to worry about what the Sun will do in the very distant future.”

Join us for a lecture by Dr. David Mannion titled “ET are you out there?”.

8pm Monday 14th January 2013 in the School lecture theatre.

Come to the Observatory on Friday 14th December 8pm for a pre-Christmas social gathering.

There will be mince pies and mulled wine.

Also….  a fun Astronomy Quiz! (easy questions, with a few harder ones)

As usual, members/accompanied under 16s – free, others £2 on the door please.

We are very pleased that well-known astrophotographer Nik Szymanek, will be giving us a talk on Monday 12th November at 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre.

Nik Szymanek

The title of Nik’s talk is ‘Photographing the Night Sky’ and covers the use of modern equipment to photograph the deep sky.

The talk is suitable for all levels and features basic camera-on-tripod sky photography, film, DSLRs and more-complex methods of colour CCD imaging.

It features many pictures taken in exotic locations like La Palma and Hawaii and at the end is a short film showing what it’s like to visit professional observatories.

As usual, Members/Under 16s – free, others £2 on the door please.

Please join us in the Lecture Theatre on 15th October at 8pm for a lecture by Humphry Evatt.

His talk  is titled “The Electron, A Centenary”

Here is a taster..

“It is about 100 years since Robert Millikan measured the charge of the electron, e and proved (very controversially at the time) the unique and discrete nature of the electronic charge. His experimental technique was a work of genius and had many important ramifications in a historical and modern context in physics, chemistry, atomic theory and of course electronics. For example, it enabled Avogadro”s Number (used every day by chemists) to be measured for the first time, demonstrated and used the theory of Brownian motion, as theorised by Einstein.

Millikan was a fascinating man. He bicycled from Paris to Berlin to see the lecture when Roentgen demonstrated X rays, for example, and knew Einstein, Michelson and other famous people of the period well.”

Free for members and under 16s.  Others £2 on the door.

Join us at the Cranbrook Observatory on Friday 21st September at 7.45pm for a guide to the Autumn night sky, on the day of the equinox.

This will be outdoor observing (if clear), so bring appropriate clothing. If the weather is poor, we will move inside the Observatory for computer-based presentation.

DOWNLOAD: Equinox Skywatch meeting script. Do use the guide yourself.. Equinox Skywatch Guide