Welcome to Letchworth & District Astronomical Society

Looking up
since 1985

Letchworth & District
Astronomical Society

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amateur astronomy sites

Honorary President Dr. Carolin Crawford of the Institute of Astronomy

Welcome to one of the foremost astronomical societies in the UK.
Have a look at our plans for the year on our Programme page
and also on our online Google Calendar.

* * * Next meeting : Wednesday, February 29, 7:30 pm Guest Speaker: Sheridan Williams * * * Next observing session : Friday, January 28, 7:30 pm * * * See below for details

Our Progamme for 2012 is now available

Listen here to our Chairman talking about our Star Party on 106 Jack FM

Would you like a group visit to the observatory? Contact us for details.

Main Meeting
Our next Main Meeting is on February 29 at 7:30pm
Guest speaker - Sheridan Williams
"Fascinating Astronomical Facts"

Additional Meeting
We hold these meetings four times per year
They feature talks by members of the society.

Our next Additional Meeting is on
April 11 at 7:30pm

We meet at the Elizabeth Howard Memorial Hall, Hillshott, Letchworth
All welcome. See the Meetings page for more details

If you enjoyed the BBC's STARGAZING LIVE
then why not join us for some live stargazing.
Read about our event on January 16

Come along to an observing session.
See below for details of our next event
If you are unsure if we are going ahead due to poor weather
then call the society mobile on 07751 315447.

Listen to our Chairman on BBC 3 Counties Radio
talking about our
Young Observers' Star Party and Black Holes.
You can also hear him talking about Saturn
Earth's second Moon and the eclipse of the Moon.

Observing Sessions

Our next observing session of the year is on
Friday January 28 from 7:30pm onwards.

To check if we are going ahead, call 07751 315447.

If you would like to come to our observing sessions
please contact us first (e-mail or phone).

If you would like to arrange a workshop for your school, scout / guide group, or any other organisation, then contact us.

Write to events-at-ldas.org.uk [Replace "-at-" with "@"]

* * * NEW * * *
Look at the images from our new
Astrophotography Group.

The 10" Newtonian on the observatory

Our 14" Meade LX200 on its equatorial mount

Spiral Galaxy M33
LDAS member David Davies produced this view of the great spiral galaxy M33, known as the Pinwheel.
This is based on a series of 20 5-minute exposures taken on October 1 using a modified Canon 450D on a SkyWatcher Equinox ED80.
Click on the image for a larger version.

Current Phase of the Moon

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If you would like to join us, write to events-at-ldas.org.uk

LDAS is affiliated to

Whatever the level of your interest in astronomy, welcome to Letchworth & District Astronomical Society.

The LDAS is based in Letchworth, at the north end of Hertfordshire. Although we have over 120 members, we are a very informal, friendly society and provide a service for the complete beginner as well as those with sophisticated home observatories. We hold regular meetings, star parties and other events for members and the public alike. We are also more than happy to present talks to clubs, schools and other organisations, and for them to visit our observatory.

We hold meetings with guest speakers on the last Wednesday of each month, except in December, when we hold our AGM and Quiz around the middle of the month. Four times a year we also hold meetings where members of the society give short talks on astronomical topics. We meet at the Elizabeth Howard Memorial Hall near the centre of Letchworth. You can find details of our meetings on our Meetings page, and a full listing of our events for the year on our Programme page.

We have an observatory to the north of Letchworth at the Standalone Farm Centre in Wilbury Road (SG6 4JN) where we hold observing sessions and other events. You can see the location in Google Maps, and you can find out more on our observatory page. The observatory was upgraded in 2010 with a 14-inch Meade LX200 computerised telescope.

You can find out more about the society on our "About us" page.

We invite everyone to join in our events in 2012.

Please look through these pages, and if you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact us.

Jerry Stone FBIS FRAS
Society Chairman

E-mail me at: chair-at-ldas.org.uk
For news about our events, and to book places, write to: events-at-ldas.org.uk
[Replace "-at-" with "@" - This formatting is to help prevent "spam' messages.]

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