This page is updated as events are planned.  So please check back here.  Last updated 29th January 2009 18:55.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. It commemorates the exploration of the Night sky with an optical aid – the telescope. Galileo was the first person to use and to widely publicise the use of the telescope.

Although if is widely accepted that Galileo used a telescope on the night sky he was not the first to do so. That credit goes to Thomas Harriot who made telescopic observations from Syon House in September 1609 some months before Galileo. Syon House is situated in Syon Park and borders the Thames, looking across the river to Kew Gardens and belongs to the Duke of Northumberland.

2009 has been designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The inaugural meeting is to be held in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 15th and 16th January 2009.

The IAU website states "The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) has been launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) under the theme "The Universe, yours to discover". IYA2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observation through a telescope in 1609, an event that changed astronomy forever. IYA2009 will be a global celebration of astronomy and its contribution to society and culture, with strong emphasis on education, public participation, and the involvement of young people, and with events at national, regional, and global levels. Many thousands of individuals in over 130 countries around the world are already involved, forming the world's largest ever astronomy network. IYA2009 will portray astronomy as a peaceful global scientific endeavour that unites astronomers in an international, multicultural family of scientists, working together to find answers to some of the most fundamental questions that humankind has ever asked."

There are a number of "Cornerstone Projects" including "Cosmic Diary", "She's an Astronomer", "Universe Awareness" et al. A second strand titled "Special Projects" which includes "400 years of the Telescope", Exoplanet hunters", "1919 Eclipse" et al. For more information see the IAU/UNESCO website

The UK IYA 2009 is being co-ordinated jointly by the Institute of Physics, the Royal Astronomical Society and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. For further details see the United Kingdom National Node website

The ESAS programme in support of IYA 2009 is being coordinated by our treasurer, and by Simon Allen. Events so far planned are:

4th December 2008 ~ Royal Bicknell and David Pulley will present a programme on "Buying a Telescope or Pair of Binoculars" and "Measuring Stars before Galileo"

5th February 2009 ~ Andy Lawes and Lester Selmes present a practical session on "Build yourself a Galilian Telescope"

28th January to 1st. March 2009.  Just suppose you had at your disposal one of the World's most powerful telescopes that never had bad weather or poor seeing and you were wondering which of 6 locations to examine with a really long exposure then which would you choose? Would you choose the star forming region of NGC 6634 or the Planetary Nebula NGC 6072 or maybe the curious Nebula NGC 40. Perhaps the enticing Spiral Galaxy NGC 5172 or the enigmatic edge on Galaxy NGC 4289 or those two interacting Galaxies Arp 274. It is difficult to decide. Is this the stuff of dreams? No you really can do this. NASA is making the Hubble Space telescope available to look at one of these areas. Just take you web browser tohttp://youdecide.hubblesite.org/ and you can vote for the candidate that you would like explored. Cut off for voting is 1^st. March and the the results will be published at the beginning of April. This is one of the projects supporting the the International Year of Astronomy 2009. You can even enter a prize draw for the published image. Consider these areas and cast your vote. I just wonder what Thomas Harriott would have chosen.

In March we will take to the streets and conduct a Moon watch

For our Society we will be taking part in two Moon watches. One in the Spring from 28 March – 05 April 2009 with the Society taking telescopes to the South Terrace of the De La Warr Pavilion on 28th. 29th. 30th and 31st. March 2009 and where we will be studying the Moon and attempting to obtain photographs of it. We will be there from 1800 to 2200  on 28th and 29th and from 19:00 to 22:00 on 30th and 31st. The Moon will be a thinnish crescent on 28th. March with the Moon 2.2 days old.  Successive nights will see the crescent develop and the with Moon higher in the sky.  All members are welcome.  Please bring telescopes and binoculars.  This is a public event and we hope that many members of the public will join us and experience, some for the first time, something of the awe that gripped Thomas Harriot and Galileo Galilei

26 July 2009 is open day at Syon House which will celebrate the achievements of Thomas Harriot.

5th November 2009  is one of our monthly meetings when we are pleased to welcome Dr. Mitton and her talk entitled "A Womans Place Is In The Dome" ~ Women have played an important role in astronomy over the last 400 years much of which has gone unnoticed in popular astronomy. As part of IYA 2009, Dr. Mitton will explain the significance of their contribution. Dr Mitton was a researcher in astronomy at Cambridge University. She is now a leading author of adult and childrens books on astronomy. For more information please click here.

A second Moonwatch in the Autumn will take place from (24 October – 01 November 2009)

In addition to the Spring and Autumn MoonWatches (see front page) there will be an additional Schools Autumn from 19 to 29 November 2009 when the first quarter Moon can be seen, during which pupils will be encouraged to draw or photograph the Moon or the night sky. The Society of Popular Astronomy is promoting this events and wants images submitted to them.

How far we have come in 400 years may be judged by looking at the two ends of the scale. Astronomers first using a telescope 400 years ago could discern craters one the Moon and satellites around Jupiter. Gone at a stroke was the philosophical belief that the Earth was at the centre of the Universe. This year we will see the launch of Kepler a telescope that will look for the existence of extra-solar planets of nearby stars. This four year mission will use the transit method, noting the slight diminution in light as the orbiting body occults a star. The telescope uses a 1 metre diameter mirror and a sensitive photometer.