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April 2022
Monthly Meeting – The Vera C. Rubin Observatory: The Greatest movie ever made!
Tonight's talk will be given by Dr Verma Aprajita. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe in numerous ways. Its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), with an unprecedented combination of areal coverage and sensitivity, will make the first 10-year movie of the sky. Among its science goals, LSST will open new scientific endeavours in the transient Universe, the study of our own galaxy out to some of the first galaxies formed less than…
Find out more »May 2022
Baldock Festival
LDAS will be in the rear garden of the White Lion in Baldock where we hope to show you views of the Sun. We will have solar telkescopes on hand and, weather permitting, will be able to show you views of the Sun like those below. The event is from 1200-1600. Caution: we will be using specially designed solar telescopes which make it safe to look at the Sun. Do not use a telescope you have at…
Find out more »Monthly Meeting – Thomas Cooke: Telescope Maker to the Empire
Tonight's talk will be given by Martin Lunn and is a rags to riches story about a self-taught man, born into a poor family, who would go on to become one of the greatest telescope makers. He built what was at the time the biggest telescope in the world, made a telescope for Prince Albert and even built steam cars. There will be as break after the talk and then an astronomy news update from Gordon Ewen. The talk is…
Find out more »June 2022
Letchworth Festival – June 25
Members of LDAS will be in Leys Square on June 25 with solar telescopes to allow safe viewing of the Sun, weather permitting of course! As of Wednesday evening the forecast is for sunny spells so we should be able to see the Sun some of the time. lease come and see us and have a look at the nearest star to the Earth, you will be amazed - honest! With luck the Sun will look something like this, taken…
Find out more »Monthly Meeting – a talk by our Honorary President, on the Cosmological Expansion Dilemma.
Tonight's talk is by our Honorary President, Dr Matt Bothwell from the University of Cambridge. This will be an actual meeting in a hall and will be our first get together for a talk in over 2 years so make sure to come along. Any requirements to meet the latest Covid guidance will be provided beforehand. There will be a break after the talk and then an astronomy news update from Gordon Ewen. The talk will be £2 for members…
Find out more »July 2022
Monthly Meeting – Herschel and the Rings of Uranus.
Tonights talk will be given by Stuart Eves. It is generally believed that the rings around the planet Uranus were discovered during an occultation experiment in 1977. Remarkably, however, the first possible observations of a ring around Uranus may have been made by William Herschel some 180 years earlier. This talk discusses the evidence, and then considers the factors that might have changed to prevent further observations of the rings. There will be a refreshment break and an astronomy news update…
Find out more »August 2022
.LDAS Monthly Meeting – How to Build a Mars Rover, a talk by Paul Meacham.
Paul Meacham is the Engineering Manager for the ExoMars Rover Vehicle Project at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage. As his job title suggests, Paul is responsible for all engineering aspects of the ExoMars Rover - a project he has been involved with since 2011. His talk will cover the main engineering aspects and challenges that need to be overcome in order to design, build and test a Martian Rover, drawing examples from the various Mars Rovers that have been targeted…
Find out more »September 2022
Monthly Meeting – Discovering and Imaging Planetary Nebulae
Tonight's talk will be given by Peter Goodhew. Peter is part of an international pro-am collaborative network dedicated to discovering and imaging planetary nebulae. He will talk about how planetary nebulae are being discovered, and will present the techniques used for imaging such challeging objects. There will be a short refreshment break followed by an astronomy news update from Gordon Ewen.
Find out more »October 2022
Monthly Meeting – Transits
Mike Foulkes will give a talk on transits in general and will talk particularly about transits of Venus anbd Mercury. There will be a short break and an astronmomy news update from Gordon Ewen. Costs: £2 for members and £3 for non-members.
Find out more »November 2022
Telescope Workshop
LDAS will host a telescope workshop at Standalone Farm from 1500-1700. So, if you have a telescope you're not sure how it works and would like some help, bring it along and we will get you started. There is no charge for the event but donations would be most welcome - we hope will will have a new observatory in the hear future!
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