2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy,
marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo's investigations with his telescope.

We will be presenting a majour outreach programme during the year,
and we invite everyone to join us in these activities.

The beautiful M57 - the Ring Nebula in Lyra.

M27 - the Dumb-bell Nebula

Close-up of the Moon

The Planet Mars

The telesope is one of the most amazing inventions.  Using it, we have been able to probe the universe, seeing out to its farthest reaches, and also looking back in time, for the farther we look in distance, the more we are gathering light that started out more and more millions of years ago.

Internationally the focus is on Galileo, though Thomas Harriot in England was actually the first to observe the Moon through a telescope.

The LDAS is a very active society, and we intend to be even more so for this special year.

Among our activities planned for the IYA are:

•  4 Public Star Parties
•  4 "Sidewalk Astronomy" events, featuring solar observing and daylight observation of the Moon
•  2 Meteor Watches
•  An Eclipse Watch
•  At least 2 public displays
•  Plus : Viewing the Messier Objects throughout our observing programme
•  And our annual members' Star Party & Bar-B-Q - "The Star-B-Q" and our annual quiz

We also plan to be involved in the "Galileoscope" project. Would you like a telescope for your school? Contact us for details.

In addition to all this, we will be inviting schools, scouts, and others to come out to our observatory for daytime or evening visits.

If you are interested in all this, then why not come along to one of our meetings. We meet from 7:30 on the last Wednesday of each month at Plinston Hall in the centre of Letchworth. You can see our events programme here.

A full programme of events for the IYA will be posted in due course.

If you are interested in a presentation on astronomy or space exploration for your school, scout or guide group, or any other organisation, then contact me by writing to chair-at-ldas.org.uk. (Replace "-at-" by "@" in the address.)

Jerry Stone, Society Chairman.