Older Events

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2006-15

PRE-2016 EVENTS
Monday 14th December Christmas Quiz & Geminids Meteorwatch – 8pm at the Observatory. With mince pies and mulled wine.
Monday 9th November “My Journey Into Astrophotography” – a talk by Graham Caller – 8pm in the Science Lecture Theatre
Monday 12th October “Minimal Access Surgery” – a talk by Mr. Roy Isworth, Consultant Surgeon – 8pm in the Science Lecture Theatre
Monday 21st September Autumn Equinox Skywatch – Guided outdoor observing (weather permitting) – 8pm at the Observatory.
Monday 14th September Our AGM, plus a talk “Astro Photographs & Aurorae” – 8pm in the Science Lecture Theatre.
Monday 11th May “Radio Astronomy and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)” – Lecture by Dr Michelle Lochner from UCL – 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre “Thank you Michelle Lochner. Excellent presentation. Go South Africa and Radio Astronomy!”
Monday 13th April “Space Art” – Lecture by Greg Smye-Rumsby – 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre
Friday 20th March Spring Equinox Skywatch – Outdoor Guided Observing – 7.30pm at the Observatory. IMPORTANT: Weather Dependent. Check this website for the “Obsevatory is Open” message.
Monday 9th March “Pollination: Bees and Beyond” – Lecture by Dr Sarah Arnold from University of Greenwich – 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre
Monday 9th February Professor Alan Aylward – “His Spectroscopic Work on Exoplanet Atmospheres” – Lecture 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre.
Monday 12th January “The Cosmic Inflation Conundrum” – Lecture by Colin Lally – 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre.
Monday 8th December Christmas Astro Quiz – Quiz night with wine and mince pies – 8pm at the Observatory.
Monday 10th November Lightning – Lecture by Nick Vinall – 8pm in the Cranbrook School lecture theatre.
Friday 24th October ‘Orionids’ Meteor Watch – Guided outdoor observing (weather permitting) – 8pm at the Observatory. Free
Friday 26th September Autumn Skywatch – Guided outdoor observing (weather permitting) – 7.30pm at the Observatory.
Monday 15th September Our AGM, plus a talk about recent progress with the Alan Young telescope.
Monday 12th May “Colour”, a talk by Andrew Hills – 8.00 pm in the Science Lecture Theatre. “How our eyes and brain manipulate the images we see, including many remarkable demonstrations involving the audience”
Monday 14th April “Star Formation in Nebulae”, a talk by Thomas Bisbas, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL. – 8.00 pm in the Science Lecture Theatre. “Excellent insight into multi-dimensional computer modelling and the current research on star formation. Thank you.”
Monday 10th March “Climate in the “Garden of England”: optimism and opportunity for sustainable agriculture.” with Christopher J. Atkinson BSc (Hons), PhD, FI Hort, FSB. Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change – 8.00 pm in the Science Lecture Theatre.
Monday 10th February “Bringing Fusion Down To Earth!” with Robin Stafford-Allen from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy – 8.00 pm in the Science Lecture Theatre.
Monday 13th January “Aurora” with Bruce Abbott – on his recent experiences of the ‘Northern Lights’ – 8.00 pm in the Science Lecture Theatre.
Monday 16th December Wine, Mince Pies And Quiz – Our annual pre-Christmas meeting. Join us for a fun astronomy and science quiz (with prizes!), plus mince pies and wine. – 8.00 pm at our Observatory.
Friday 13th December Meteor Skywatch – “Geminids” meteor shower skywatch and guided outdoor observing – 7.30 pm at our Observatory. Free. All welcome.
Monday 11th November Absorption Spectra, Red Shift and the Age of the Universe – November lecture by Rod Smith. 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Friday 4th October Autumn Skywatch – guided outdoor observing – 8pm at our Observatory. Free. All welcome.
Monday 9th September “Emission And Absorption Spectra For Measuring Distances In Space” plus AGM – talk by Rod Smith, plus our (short) Annual General Meeting – 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2)
Monday 20th May “End In Fire: The Ultimate Fate of the Earth?” a talk by Dr Robert Smith of the University of Sussex. 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2)
Monday 15th April “Our Universe – What We Know..” – Ed Copeland, Professor of Cosmology at Nottingham University. 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2)
Friday 22nd March Spring Equinox Skywatch – outdoor observing session, 7.30 pm at the Observatory (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2) PLEASE NOTE: Weather dependent. Check this website for latest information.
Monday 11th February “The Hunt for Dark Energy” – a talk by Dr Barnaby Rowe (post Doctoral Research Associate at University College London, working with the Dark Energy Survey), 8.00 pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. “the story of our ever receding (and accelerating) horizons – told entertainingly, without incomprehensible maths”
Monday January 14th “ET are you out there?” – a talk by Dr David Mannion (Head of Science, CATS College, Canterbury). 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. “not as likely as the audience thought before”
Friday December 14th Pre-Christmas Social- mince pies and mulled wine (plus a fun astronomy quiz). 8pm in the Observatory. Please note change of date. “scrumptious”
Monday November 12th “Photographing the Night Sky” – with Nik Szymanek (superb astro-imager). 8pm in the Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre. “imagination”
Monday October 15th “The Electron – A Centenary” – a talk by Humphry Evatt. 8pm at the Lecture Theatre.
Friday September 21st Equinox Skywatch – outdoor observing
Monday 11th June Our AGM, followed by “Desperately Seeking SUSY – searching for supersymmetry at the LHC” – a short lecture by Dr Colin Lally – 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 14th May “Radio Communications” – Lecture at 8pm – by Alistair Hamilton
Wednesday 11th April “Archaeoastronomy – The Dawn Of Science” with Charles Barclay – 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 12th March “Guide to the Spring Night Sky” – outdoor observing – 7pm (note new time) at the Observatory.
Monday 13th February Some Things You Might Like To Know About ASTROLOGY (but are too scared to ask)… Our speaker team will bring their best science to horoscope casting – 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 16th January “Guide to the January Night Sky” – outdoor observing in support of BBC Stargazing LIVE – 8pm at the Observatory. (Open to all and free of charge)
Monday 9th January 2012 “An Introduction to the Large Hadron Collider, and some Recent Results” – a talk by Colin Lally – 8pm at the Lecture Theatre. (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2)
Monday 12th December Pre-Christmas Gathering (mincepies etc) – 8pm at the Observatory. (members/accompanied under16s – free, others £2)
Friday 4th November Fireworks! (indoor lecture and show) – by David Turner – 8.30pm in the Queen’s Hall, Cranbrook School. Note: £3 per person admission (free for accompanied under-16s, CADSAS members and Cranbrook students)
Monday 10th October Relativity For The Non-Mathematician – a talk by Konrad Malin-Smith – 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 26th September Observing the Autumn Night Sky – 8pm at the Observatory.
Monday 12th September AGM (Annual General Meeting), plus a talk about the Sun – 8pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 13th June Endangered Marine Species – a talk by marine biologist Ryan McDonald, 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 9th May Astrophotography – My Journey, by Steve Wellsted, 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 11th April Astrology and Indian Observatories by Rod Smith, 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
NEW DATE
Monday 28th March
An Appearance by NASA Astronaut Dr Piers J Sellers OBE (free, but advance ticket-only entry), 7.00pm in the Queen’s Hall. To be followed by observing (if clear) at the Observatory.
Monday 14th March The Global Energy Challenge by Bill Guest, 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 14th February Observing the Dark Sector: The What, How and Why of Modern Observational Cosmology by Dr A Kathy Romer, senior lecturer at the Sussex Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 17th January 2011 REPLAY (weather) Stars Of The Southern Winter Night Sky
Guided outdoor observing session, starting at 7.30pm. Part of the BBC Stargazing LIVE series of events. ALL welcome (especially beginners). We will help you navigate around the sights of the January Night Sky. 7.30pm at the Observatory.
EVENT CANCELLED
Monday 17th January
CANCELLED An Appearance by NASA Astronaut Dr Piers J Sellers OBE (free, but advance ticket-only entry), 7.00pm in the Queen’s Hall. To be followed by observing (if clear) at the Observatory.
Wednesday 12th January 2011 Stars Of The Southern Winter Night Sky
Guided outdoor observing session, starting at 8pm. Part of the BBC Stargazing LIVE series of events. ALL welcome (especially beginners). We will help you to navigate around the sights of the January Night Sky. 8.00pm at the Observatory.
Monday 13th December The Star of Bethlehem (plus mince pies and mulled wine). Indoor presentation and outdoor observing (if clear), 8.00pm at the Observatory.
Monday 8th November Beginners’ Guide To The Winter Night Sky, Outdoor guided observing (if clear) or indoor presentation (if cloudy), 8.00pm at the observatory.
Monday 11th October Talk by Dr Robert Smith, ‘Stars that go Bang in the Night,’ (cataclysmic variables) at 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Thursday 1st July SCIENCE EXTRAVAGANZA DAY Thursday July 1st at Cranbrook School.
Monday 14th June Geophysics: Exploration, Preservation, and Innovation. A talk by Adam Carrizales at 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre, covering petroleum exploration, archaeological preservation, and new innovations in techniques for studying the Earth’s interior….
Monday 10th May AGM followed by Video and Talk about Cranbrook School alumnus and NASA Astronaut Piers Sellers at 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Monday 19th April Talk “Also Viewing the Aurora in Alaska” with Bruce Abbottat 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.
Friday 19th March Spring Guide to the Night Sky and Moonwatch (guided observing, weather permitting) at 7.30pm in the Observatory.
Monday 8th March Mark Baldwin with “The Story of the Enigma Machine” at 7.30pm in the Queen’s Hall.PLEASE NOTE.. Because this is a Queen’s Hall event, you will need to show your membership card to get in free (non-members £6)
Monday 8th February 2010 “Diamond Volcanos: a journey from the Earth’s mantle to the village of Urambo, Tanzania” – a talk by Richard Brown, in the Lecture Theatre at 8.00pm.
Monday 14 December “Geminids” Meteor Watch (and mince pies!) outdoor observing (weather permitting), 8pm, Cranbrook School Observatory
Tuesday 17 November “Leonids” Meteor Watch outdoor observing (weather permitting), 8pm, Cranbrook School Observatory
Monday 9 November Informal observing
Monday 19 October “Orionids” Meteor Watch outdoor observing event and short Meteor talk, 8pm, Cranbrook School Observatory
Monday 12 October Informal Observing Session, 8pm, Cranbrook School Observatory
Monday 28 September Guide To The Autumn Night Sky and “Moonwatch” guided outdoor observing event, 7.30pm, Cranbrook School Observatory
Monday 8 June Lecture on “Dark Matter” with Colin Lally, 8pm, Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre
Mon 11 May AGM, followed by “Radio Astronomy”Annual General Meeting of the Society, followed by a lecture, 8pm Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre.
Thursday 2 April “Moonwatch 2” 7.30-9.30pm, Cranbrook School ObservatorySecond “Moonwatch” observing session – in support of IYA 2009.
Mon 30 March “Moonwatch 1” 7.30-9.30pm Cranbrook School ObservatoryFirst “Moonwatch” observing session – in support of IYA 2009.
Mon 23 March “Spring Guide To The Night Sky” Cranbrook School ObservatoryA guided tour of visible stars and constellations.
Mon 9 March “The Day They Launched a Woodpecker” – 8pm Cranbrook School Lecture TheatreA talk by Jerry Stone about strange space stories.
Mon 9 February “A Celebration of Galileo” – 8pm – Cranbrook School Lecture TheatreA talk by Humphry Evatt. Listen to the recording
Mon 12 January “New Year Observing Evening” – 8pm – Cranbrook School ObservatoryA practical guide to the January Night Sky,
with a back-up “what you should see tomorrow or the next day” talk, if it’s cloudy.
Mon 8 December Christmas Observing Evening (weather permitting) – 8pm – Cranbrook School ObservatoryWith mince pies and refreshments
Mon 10 November “Types of Stars” – 8pm – Cranbrook School Science Lecture Theatre
Tues 14 October “Beyond Top Secret” with Timothy Good – 8pm – Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre
Mon 22nd September “The Autumn Night Sky” by Rod Smith
Mon 14th July “Astronomy By Internet”Kevin Brown demonstrated websites and other internet resources, providing enjoyable astronomy whatever the weather.
Mon 9th June “Space Rubbish” – 8pm – Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre
Mon 12th May FILM “In the Shadow of the Moon” – 7.30 for 8pm – Queens Hall. FREE Entry, No Booking.Documentary film. Original moon landing footage. NASA’s Apollo astronauts tell their stories in their own words.
Mon 28th April CADSAS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – 8pm – Coach House followed by Demonstration/Training With Various Telescopes
Mon 14th April Beginner’s Guide To The Spring
Night Sky.
A Rod Smith presentation, DIY planisphere making, clear skies (eventually) and practical observing with telescopes and binoculars. This had it all!
28th March High Energy Physics for the 21st
Century
The Atlas Experiment and the Large Hadron Collider.
Mon 10 March MARCH MONTHLY Meet
at 8pm – including a talk by Martin
Frey
“Some Adventures With Parallax” Martin Frey gave an excellent, entertaining and informative talk on how Parallax has been used throughout the history of Astronomy, to measure the Universe and shape our current understanding. His computer-generated animations of the movements of stars, planets and galaxies, were particularly helpful illustrations.
Mon 11 Feb THIRD Beginners’ Event – “The
Big Bang and Black Holes”
Alistair Hamilton spoke to an enthralled, full
lecture theatre about the Big Bang theory of how the
universe was created. He also discussed Black Holes.
His demonstrations of Universe creation using a balloon,
a spinning sound generator and a cylinder of compressed
gas, were especially entertaining!
After the talk, about 35 people walked to the Observatory
where there was a tour of the Night Sky and a chance
to observe Mars, the Orion nebula, the Moon and other
objects, through telescopes.
Mon 28 Jan SECOND Beginners’ Event – Galaxies
and Nebulae
” (click for image)
Dr A Hills gave a really
entertaining talk to an audience
of 50 people
. We got a sense of the sheer
vastness of Space and an insight into the formation
of galaxies. We also touched on theories of gravity
and possible “parallel” universes. The talk
ended with the intriguing idea that there is probably
a very large number of star and planets systems in our
Universe, capable of supporting intelligent life!
Mon 14 Jan 2008 NEW YEAR Meeting and FIRST Beginners’
Event
Mon 10th Dec DECEMBER MEMBERS
Mon 12th Nov NOVEMBER MEMBERS’ – featuring
Telescope House, on “Buying Your First Telescope”
Mon 8th Oct OCTOBER MEMBERS’ – featuring Humphry Evatt on
“Chinese Astronomy”
Mon 10th Sept SEPTEMBER MEMBERS’ – 8pm at the
Cranbrook School Observatory
Mon 13th Aug AUGUST MEMBERS’ – 8pm at the Cranbrook School
Observatory
Mon 9th July JULY MEMBERS’ – 8pm at the
Cranbrook School Observatory
featuring… “Using The Alan Young Telescope”
Mon 11th June JUNE MEMBERS’ – including a
talk by Guy Hurst on “Researching Guest Stars Using
Ancient And Modern Archives”.
“Guy entertained and informed the audience.
He also gave us an excellent insight into Alan Young
– the man, his telescope and his work.”
(CADSAS is of course, now restoring the Alan
Young Telescope in our observatory)
Mon 14th May

MAY MEMBERS’
including… A talk by Greg Smye-Rumsby
(Planetary Images In 3D)

Mon 23rd April

AGM MEMBERS’ MEETING – 8pm at the Cranbrook
School Lecture Theatre

followed by… A talk by Dr Robert Smith on
“Astronomical Distances”

“And jolly good it was too! Robert Smith gave
us a very entertaining explanation of the various techniques
astronomers have used over the past 300 years or so, to
work out how far away the objects in the Night Sky actually
are.”
Kevin Brown

Mon 12th March

MEMBERS’ MEETING.
Including a talk “COSMOLOGY”
– by Prof. MacCallum

Mon 12th February MEMBERS’ MEETING – 8pm at the Cranbrook School
Lecture Theatre.
Including “NEUTRON
STARS” – a talk by Rod Smith
Mon 8th January 2007 JANUARY MEMBERS’ MEETING – 8pm
at the Cranbrook School Observatory
Mon 11th December DECEMBER MEETING – 8pm at the Cranbrook School
Observatory
Mon 13th November NOVEMBER MEETING – 8pm at the
Cranbrook School Observatory
Wed 8th November Dr Andrew Coates of the Mullard Space Science
Laboratory, gave a very entertaining lecture on “
The
Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan” to
an audience of about 50 people.
Mon 9th October OCTOBER MEETING held in the
Cranbrook School Lecture Theatre.

Andrew Hills gave an excellent
lecture on the Sun entitled “Sunspots, Solar Flares
And Aurorae”

Mon 11th Sept SEPTEMBER MEETING Guest Speaker – David Heath gave a talk entitled,
“(Why) Is Cosmology Important?”.
Mon 14th August AUGUST MEETING
Mon 10th July JULY MEETING
Mon 12th June JUNE MEETING
Mon 10th May MAY MEETING
Mon 10th April APRIL MEETING
Mon 13th March MARCH MEETING
Mon 13th Feb FEBRUARY MEETING
Wed 8th Feb NANOTECHNOLOGY. What Does
It Mean?
Public Event, 7.30pm Vickers Auditorium,
Cranbrook School, entry £3
Mon 9th January 2006 JANUARY MEMBERS MEETING –
Fri 2nd December DECEMBER COMMITTEE MEETING
Tue 22nd November The GM CONTROVERSY – With Professor
Vivian Moses, visiting Professor of Biotechnology, King’s
College London and Chairman of CropGen.Public Event, 7.30pm Queen’s Hall,
Cranbrook School, entry £3, wine and nibbles included
Sat 12 November BURWASH TELESCOPE
further assembly work, to include attempting to assess
its optical condition.
Mon 7th November NOVEMBER COMMITTEE MEETING
Wed 2nd November PUBLIC EVENT –
Astronomy And The Chemistry Behind Fireworks

– 7.30pm in the Queens Hall, Cranbrook School.Including a chance to use the school telescopes (if
clear) at the Observatory.Entry £3.
Sat 29th October PRELIMINARY ASSEMBLY OF BURWASH
TELESCOPE
– 9am at the observatory for the
volunteer committee members