Items in red are ESAS events or have ESAS involvement
Items for Sale
25th February 2012 ~ Stargazing Live at the Horns Lodge Pub
ESAS member Richie Jarrvis is arranging a night of stargazing at the Horns Lodge Pub, South Chailey, BN8 4BD. All are welcome and helps needed to assist Richie. If you would like to assist on the night please contact Richie on 07702 705427
1st March ~ ESAS Meeting ~ "Hubble in Orbit - Two Decades and Counting" ~ Dr Bob Fosbury
At our March meeting we welcome Dr Robert "Bob" Fosbury who will talk on the Hubble Space Telescope legacy.
Hubble imagery has both delighted
and amazed people around the world and has rewritten astronomy textbooks with
its discoveries. Dr Fosbury, a leading
member of the Hubble team since 1985, will describe how HST has change our view
of the Universe and provide an insight in to its contribution to science as
Hubble comes to the end of its operational life.
During
May 2009, the Hubble Space Telescope was subject to the most intense overhaul
of its life with astronauts from the Space Shuttle Atlantis performing
engineering feats far beyond what was originally envisaged for orbital
servicing. Instruments were repaired and replaced during the most complex human
process that had yet been performed in space. The telescope is now some hundred
times more powerful than when it was launched in 1990. This is the story of
Hubble, looking back on the revolution in astrophysics that it has achieved and
forward to what it is achieving now in its probings of the early history of the
universe to the study of the atmospheres of extrasolar planets.
Astronomer Dr. Robert Fosbury has led the Space
Telescope - European Coordinating Facility in Garching, the European Part of
ESA/NASA Cooperation of Hubble Space Telescope
Robert has published over two
hundred scientific papers on topics ranging from the outer atmospheres of
stars, the nature of quasars and active galaxies to the physics of forming
galaxies in the most distant reaches of the Universe. He started his career at
the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) in Herstmonceux,
England in 1969 and was
awarded his PhD by the nearby University
of Sussex in 1973. He
then became one of the very first Research Fellows at the newly constructed
Anglo Australian Observatory 4 metre telescope in New
South Wales, Australia
before going to ESO while it was based at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
He then had a spell of 7 years as a staff member at the RGO, working on
instruments for the new observatory on La Palma
in the Canary Islands and on the pioneering
Starlink astronomical computer network.
3rd March 2012 ~ Dark Site Observing
Join Chris Woodcock and his team to view the heavens with our 16" scope. Stunning views of the 1st Quarter Moon and Jupiter together other deep sky objectsvisible in the winter night sky e.g., Orion nebula M42, the Pleiades M45 and a sprinkling of distant galaxies. See M1, the Crab nebula, the final death throws of a star.
10th March 2012 ~ ESAS Quiz Night
It is surprising how quickly this event comes round. It only seems a
short while ago that we had our last annual Quiz. We have retained the
formula of 6 rounds of 6 questions with tie breakers and prizes. We
have the usual mix of subjects of Music, History, Geography, Science,
Sport and TV, Radio and Film and of course a round of general
knowledge. So sharpen your wits and come and support this fun event.
It takes place at St. Mary’s School on 10th March 2012. Please arrive
for 7pm with the Quiz starting at 7:30. After many years of hard work
Andy Lawes has decided he needs a rest and your new Quiz Master and
final arbiter of speculative answers is Simon Allen no doubt assisted by
some IT.
Please put this in your diary and get your teams of 6 together.
Cost is £6 per adult and £3 per child. The cost includes a light Ploughman's type refreshment in the interval.
You are encouraged to bring your own drinks for yourself and your guests.
We look forward to seeing you and wonder if the Speccys will retain their status of the most successful team.
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