Items in red are ESAS events or have ESAS involvement

2nd September 2010 ~  'Faces of the Moon' ~ David Hardy ~ Space Artist.

For our September meeting we welcome back the renowned space artist David Hardy.  David will cover all aspects of the Moon, with an accent on the Moon and trips to it in art, movies and science fiction: Fact, Fiction,Past, Present and Future.   David’s talk will contain a lot of material which  has not been seen before including  clips from the 1929 German film 'Frau im Mond'(on which Hermann Oberth worked as scientific adviser), Chesley Bonestell space art from obscure books, and so on. Also David will talk on how we reached the Moon, with early US and Soviet probes and landings, Apollo, etc.

4th/5th September 2010 ~ Herstmonceux Astronomy Festival.

This is the annual get together and we will need about four members each day to man the ESAS stand.  If you are amongst the lucky few helping out your admission is free! Please contact Lester or Rosemary Selmes or a committee member.

15th September ~ Dark Site Observing

Come and Join Roy Bicknell for a spot of observing at our Dark Site from 8 pm.  The first quarter Moon will be visible early on and then we have opportunity to view some of the Deep Sky galaxies, star clusters and nebulae together with a very prominent Jupiter.  We are now moving into a very interesting period of deep sky observing with plenty of old friends. 

27th September 2010 ~ Astronomy for Beginners

ESAS member Elisa Krauss will be running her "Astronomy for Beginners" course at Bexhill College. This six week course is designed to stimulate enthusiasm for astronomy and to be enjoyable as well as educational.  The course is at beginners level and starts of 27th September 2010.  The course fee is £50.  For more information contact Behill College Adult Education, 01424 215746 ext 208.

7th October ~Sophisticated Small Satellites From Surrey

A light hearted look at current and future missions using small satellites, with an emphasis on activities at SSTL and the space-science missions that are now becoming possible as small satellites become increasingly sophisticated.

Dr Stuart Eves is part of the business development team at the world-leading small satellite company, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in Guildford.  Previously, he spent 16 years with the UK Ministry Of Defence, in various space-related posts, before joining SSTL in January 2004.

During his time with the MOD, Stuart initiated the TopSat satellite programme, which is currently conducting its Earth-observation mission.TopSat established a new world record for “resolution per mass of satellite”, and has now been operating on-orbit for more than 4 years.Indeed the mission has been so successful that the engineering model ofthe satellite now forms part of the space gallery at the Science Museum inLondon.

Stuart has an MSc in Astrophysics, a PhD in constellation design, andhas been a fellow of the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society for nearly 20years. He takes an active interest in all things space, and over the past 18 months has been involved in media stories as diverse as:-William Herschel’s observations of the Rings of Uranus; a space experiment competition for UK schools;  the Chinese and US ASAT missile tests;  a novel scientific theory involving eclipses and ultrasound; an article on the large-scale structure of the universe; and the possibility of detecting earthquake precursor signals from space. 

14th October ~ Visit to Herstmonceux Geodsy Centre Meeting at 7.45pm

TheSpace Geodesy Facility (SGF) exists to support geodetic and geophysicalr esearch through satellite tracking data and related products. It is operated as one of the ResearchFacilities of the Natural Environment Research Council, which funds the facility in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence. Facility staff are based at Herstmonceux in East Sussex in the grounds of the Bader International Study Centre. Oversight of the work of the Facility is the responsibility of the S&F-appointed NERC Space Geodesy Steering Committee.

On site at Herstmonceux is a state-of-the-art satellite laser ranging (SLR)system, permanently operating Global Navigation Satellite Systems(GPS and GLONASS) receivers, an absolute gravimeter and meteorological and local water-table monitoring equipment.

16th October 2010 ~ SAGAS Meeting