Society Talks – Archive
2026
- June 15 @ 8:00 pm - Workshops – Short Presentations By Members. View The Sun With A Solar Telescope
- May 18 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel – Space Sustainability And Space Domain Awareness
- April 20 @ 8:00 pm - AGM & Dr Steve Barrett – Exploring The Solar System I
- March 16 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – It’s Not Rocket Science
- February 16 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Gaia’
- January 19 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – Pluto
2025
- December 15, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - ‘Christmas Crackers’ Short Talks By Members
- December 1, 2025 @ 7:30 pm - Christmas Quiz At Court Leet
- November 17, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Gary Poyner – T CrB – The Jewel In The Crown
- October 20, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Ben Gompertz – Neutron Star Mergers: Nature’s Gold Factories
- September 19, 2025 @ 8:00 am - StarParty
- September 15, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘SouthWest Special – A Bluebonnet Eclipse’
- August 18, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Rob Januszewski – “Amateur Astronomy- The Future”
- July 21, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Ben Evans – ‘Spacewalking: 60 years Of Stepping Into The Void’
- June 16, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Astronomy Workshops
- May 19, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Simon Banton – ‘Astronomy Of Stonehenge’
- April 21, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - No Meeting – Easter Bank Holiday
- April 7, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - AGM followed by – Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Solar Max’
- March 17, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Nick Hewitt – ‘Edge Of Darkness – An Introduction To Dark Nebulae’
- February 17, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Dr. Andrew Thornett – ‘Radio Astronomy For Amateur Astronomers’
- January 20, 2025 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘The Ice Giants’
2024
- December 16, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Christmas Crackers – Members
- November 18, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Rob Januszewski – ‘Telescope Making From Past To Present’
- October 21, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Michael Morris – ‘Observing Double Stars’
- September 16, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘The Yerkes Observatory’
- September 6, 2024 @ 8:00 am - 2024 Star Party
- August 19, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Ingrid Pelisoli – ‘The Life And Death Of Stars: How Company Can Make A Difference’
- July 15, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Daisy Turner – ‘Beyond Earth: The Search For Life On Exoplanets’
- June 17, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Keith Middleton – ‘Voyager – The Great Explorer’
- May 20, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Ian Johnston – ‘Men In Sheds Rocket To The Moon’
- April 15, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - AGM Followed By A Short Talk By Andy Checketts – ‘Mt. Lemmon Sky Center, Arizona’
- March 18, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Cosmic Rays’
- February 19, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Gary Poyner – ‘Stella Nova : A Long Road Of Discovery’
- January 15, 2024 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘Asteroids’
2023
- December 18, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - ‘Christmas Crackers And Mince Pies’ – Short Talks By Members
- November 20, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Michael Morris – ‘Observing The Moon’
- October 16, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Professor Nial Tanvir – Gamma-Ray Bursts – The Biggest Bangs In The Universe
- September 18, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘The Pioneering Women Of The BAA’
- August 21, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Fiat Lux IV Colour In The Cosmos’
- July 17, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Sue & Rob Dipple – ‘The Leviathan Of Parsonstown – Lord Rosse’s Telescope At Birr Castle’
- June 19, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Dr. Leah-Nani Alconcel – ‘Goodbye Saturn, Hello Jupiter: Exploring The Outer Solar System With Robotic Spacecraft’
- May 15, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Jenifer Millard – ‘The Hidden Universe With JWST’
- April 17, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - University of Birmingham Space Society – ‘Exploring The Universe’
- March 20, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - AGM Followed By A Short Talk By Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Tri-Band Tribulations’
- February 20, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘The Planet Mercury’
- January 16, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The End Of Everything’
2022
- December 19, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Christmas Crackers – Short Presentations By Members
- November 21, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Alan Watson – ‘Astronomical Neutrinos And Neutrino Astronomy’
- October 17, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Professor Amaury Triaud – ‘The Ultracool Dwarf And The Seven Planets’
- September 19, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘Against All The Odds: A Patagonian Eclipse’
- August 15, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Lee Macdonald – ‘Kew Observatory And The Birth Of Solar-Terrestrial Physics’
- July 18, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Julian Onions – ‘Things That Go Bang In The Night (Sky)
- June 20, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Sue Dipple – ‘Proud, Thrilled And Happy – The Women Who Put A Man On The Moon’
- May 16, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Guest Speaker – ‘TBA’
- April 4, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - AGM + A Short Talk – Sue Dipple – ‘Hamburg Observatory: The Ancestral Home Of The Schmidt Camera’
- March 21, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Professor Nial Tanvir – ‘The Big Bang Theory In Practice’
- February 21, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘The Planet Venus: Earth’s Evil Twin Or Just Misunderstood.’
- January 17, 2022 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Dark Matter – Why Is It Dark? Does It Matter?’ – Zoom Meeting
2021
- December 20, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Informal Meeting outside.
- November 15, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Gary Poyner – ‘Variable Stars – How And Why They Vary’
- October 18, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Member’s Night – ‘Short Presentations By Society Members’
- September 20, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Sue, Rob & Steve – ‘Wild Astronomy’
- August 16, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Dr John Davies – ‘Sample Return Missions To Near Earth Asteroids’ – Zoom
- July 19, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘Isaac Newton And The Surrey Pumas’ – Zoom
- June 21, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Dr. Davide Gerosa, University Of Birmingham – ‘Hearing The Universe With Gravitational Waves’
- May 17, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Lee MacDonald – ‘From Cracked Mirror To Nobel Prize: The Story Of The Isaac Newton Telescope’
- April 19, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - AGM Plus Short Talk – ‘Apollo 13’
- March 15, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Nigel Ball- ‘Photographing The Northern Lights’
- February 15, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘ABC Of Galaxy Evolution’
- January 18, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘Search For Extraterrestrial Life’
2020
- December 21, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom – Covid-19 – Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Science Of Santa’
- November 16, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom – Pete Williamson – ‘The Sun And How It Works’
- October 19, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom – Covid-19 – Dr Paul A Daniels – ‘The Megaconstellation Threat’
- September 21, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom- Covid-19 – Mike Frost – ‘Gerhana Mata Hari’
- August 17, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – Lee MacDonald – ‘ The History Of The Isaac Newton Telescope’
- August 17, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom – Dave Jones – ‘Birth Of The Solar System’
- July 20, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – David Shayler- ‘The ISS-From Here To There’
- July 20, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Meeting Via Zoom – Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Unidentified Flying Objects’
- June 15, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – Martin Braddock – ‘Countdown To Mars – Challenges For Long Duration Space Travel & Colonisation’
- May 18, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – Nigel Ball – ‘Photographing The Northern Lights’
- April 20, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – AGM And Dr Steve Barrett – Apollo 13
- March 16, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Cancelled – Covid-19 – Dave Jones – ‘Birth Of The Solar System’
- February 17, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The Beginning Of Everything’
- January 20, 2020 @ 8:00 pm - George Carey – ‘Extra-Galactic Nova Patrol’
2019
- December 16, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘An Arctic Eclipse’
- November 18, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Peter Jenkins – ‘Deep Sky Astrophotography’
- October 21, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Sean McGee – ‘From Early Ripples To The Milky Way – The Evolution Of Galaxies’
- September 16, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Nigel Ball – ‘Nightscape Photography’
- August 19, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The Great Moon Hoax’
- July 15, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Richard Hendey – ‘Earth To Quasars’
- June 17, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Michael Bryce – ‘Celebrating Apollo: 50 Years Since The First Moon Landing’
- May 20, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Justin Bray – ‘Astronomy In The Fast Lane – Cosmic Rays And Other Sources Of Fast Pulses’
- April 15, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - AGM – Followed By Short Talks By Members
- March 18, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Peter Williamson – ‘Astrophotography With Public Access Telescopes’
- February 18, 2019 @ 8:00 pm - Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell – ‘Transient Astronomy, Bursts, Bangs And Things That Go Bump In The Night’
- January 21, 2019 @ 8:00 am - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Eclipse Of The Sun’
2018
- December 17, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘200 At 70’
- November 19, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Gary Poyner – ‘Variable Stars Around The Perseus Cluster’
- October 15, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Callum Potter – ‘Globular Clusters – Galactic Fossils’
- September 17, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Rob Januszewski – ‘An Amateur Research Programme’
- August 20, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘Radio Astronomy’
- July 16, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Richard Hendey – ‘Tycho To Picard (Moon Walk)
- June 18, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Ann Bonnell – ‘Percival Lowell & The Canals Of Mars.’
- May 21, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Justin Bray – ‘The High Energy Universe’
- April 16, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - AGM Followed By A Short Talk – Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The Lighter Side Of Astronomy’
- March 19, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Professor Ian Robson – ‘Active Galaxies And Supermassive Black Holes’
- February 19, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Alan Watson – ‘The Hunting Of The Quark (And Other Fundamental Particles)’
- January 15, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Fiat Lux III’
2017
- December 18, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Andrew Lound – ‘A Fire In The Sky’
- November 20, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Frost – ‘Jeremiah Horrocks – A Very Curious Astronomer’
- October 16, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Fiat Lux II’
- September 18, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Callum Potter – ‘Galaxies’
- August 21, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Dave Jones – ‘New Perspectives On The Solar System’
- July 17, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Mike Leggett – ‘From Salyut To The ISS’
- June 19, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Mark Gibbons – ‘Johannes Kepler – Why Are Things As They Are, And Not Otherwise?’
- May 15, 2017 @ 8:00 pm - Dr. Colin Steele – ‘Sundials – The Sky As A Clock’
- April 24, 2017 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- March 20, 2017 @ 7:45 pm - Astronomy Workshops
- February 20, 2017 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘Fiat Lux’
- January 16, 2017 @ 7:45 pm - Dave Jones – ‘Blackholes: The Answer To The Ultimate Question?’
2016
- December 19, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The Star Of Bethlehem’
- December 9, 2016 @ 7:30 pm - Annual Quiz
- November 21, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Will Gater – ‘The Science And Spectacle Of The Northern Lights’
- October 17, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Mark Gibbons – ‘Tycho Brahe’
- September 19, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Gary Poyner – “OJ+287 – The Monster In The Crab”
- August 15, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Gemma Lavender – ‘Misson To Mars’
- July 18, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Damian Peach – ‘Photographic Highlights’
- June 20, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Members Talks
- May 16, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Guy Hurst – ‘UK Nova / Supernova Patrol – From Visual To Laptop’
- April 18, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- March 21, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Frost – ‘Beneath The Shadow Of The Moon’
- February 15, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – Warping Space And Time
- January 18, 2016 @ 7:45 pm - Open Evening
2015
- December 18, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Inter Society Quiz
- November 16, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Gabby Provan – ‘A Demonstration Of Aurora Planeterrella’
- October 19, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Guy Hurst – ‘Transients Of The Night Sky’
- September 21, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Julian Onions -‘Galaxies – One Gigayear At A Time.’
- August 17, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Mark Gibbons – ‘Beyond Neptune’
- July 20, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Dr. Steve Barrett – “Legacy Of The Hubble Space Telescope”
- June 15, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Workshops
- May 18, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Frost -‘The Arms Of Buddha’
- April 20, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- March 16, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Damian Peach – ‘The Giant Planet Jupiter’
- March 2, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Telescope Clinic
- February 16, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Open Evening
- January 19, 2015 @ 7:45 pm - Members Evening
2014
- December 15, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Paul Money – ‘Images Of The Universe’
- December 5, 2014 @ 7:15 pm - Inter Society Quiz
- November 17, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Leggett – ‘The Apollo Years’
- October 20, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Callum Potter – ‘Globular Clusters – Galactic Fossils’
- September 15, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Malcolm Mitchell – ‘Magnetism Of The Planets & The Sun’
- August 18, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Dr. Frazer Clarke – ‘Why Size Always Matters’
- July 21, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - David Whitehouse -‘Galileo – The Real Story’
- June 16, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Merrifield – ’21st Century Telescopes’
- May 19, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – “Dark Matter – Why Is It Dark? Does It Matter?”
- April 21, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- March 17, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Professor Sandra Chapman -‘The Complexity Of The Solar System’
- February 17, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Members Evening
- February 3, 2014 @ 7:45 pm - Telescope Workshop
- January 13, 2014 @ 7:00 pm - Open Evening
2013
- December 16, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Andrew Lound – ‘To See The Beginning Of Time’
- December 6, 2013 @ 7:30 pm - Annual Quiz
- November 18, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Bob Mizon – ‘Ten Targets For Light Polluted Areas’
- October 21, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - David Whitehouse -‘Galileo – The Real Story’
- September 16, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Frost – ‘Rainbows’
- September 14, 2013 @ 8:00 am - Society Trip – Leicester Space Centre
- August 19, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The ABC Of Stellar Evolution’
- July 15, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Gary Poyner – ‘Historical Novae’
- June 17, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Workshops
- May 20, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Bob Marriott – ‘The Silver On Glass Revolution’
- April 15, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- March 18, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Our Active Sun – Professor Philippa Browning
- February 18, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Members Night
- January 21, 2013 @ 7:45 pm - Mark Gibbons – ‘Has Saturn Eaten His Own Children’?
2012
- December 14, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Inter Society Quiz Night
- November 19, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Michael Morris ‘Webcam Imaging – Equipment & Capture’
- October 15, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Public Open Meeting & Exhibition
- September 17, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Steve Barrett -“The Beginning Of Everything”
- August 20, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Rob Dipple – Basic Image Processing
- July 16, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Martin Griffiths – “Charles Messier & His Objects”
- June 18, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Nick Hewitt – ‘Exploring The Shapes Of Planetary Nebula’
- May 21, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Telescope Clinic / Mini Workshops
- April 16, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - AGM & Member Speaker
- March 19, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Roger Dymock – “Asteroids And Beyond – A Personal Journey”
- February 20, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Member Speaker Night
- January 16, 2012 @ 7:45 pm - Roger Pickard “Stellar Evolution” (Part 1)
2011
- December 19, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Quiz Night / Social Night
- November 21, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - William Edmondson – “How To Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence”
- November 17, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - ‘Leonids And Cocoa’ At Avoncroft Museum
- October 17, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Public Open Meeting & Exhibition
- September 19, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Nik Szymanek – ‘Photographing The Night Sky’
- August 22, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Extra Meeting – Observing Night
- August 15, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Michael Morris – ‘Observing The Planets’
- July 18, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Guy Hurst – “Comets – Visitors To The Solar System”
- June 20, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Rob Januszewski – “35 Years An Astronomer”
- May 16, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Telescope Clinic / Practical Session
- April 18, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - AGM
- April 4, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - *Extra Meeting* – Observing Evening
- March 21, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Geoff Mansfield – ‘The Antikythera Device’
- February 21, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Sheridan Williams – “Fascinating Facts About Solar Eclipses”
- February 14, 2011 @ 7:30 pm - Inter Society Quiz Night
- January 17, 2011 @ 7:45 pm - Rob Januszewski – ‘Variable Star Observing’
2010
- December 20, 2010 @ 7:00 pm - Christmas Buffet / Quiz Night – CANCELLED
- December 6, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - *Extra Meeting* – Observing Night – *CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER*
- November 15, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Nick Hart – ‘A Handful Of Stars’
- October 18, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Public Open Meeting / Exhibition
- October 4, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - **Observing Night**
- September 20, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Chris Livingstone – ‘Beneath Southern Skies’
- September 18, 2010 @ 7:00 am - Royal Greenwich Observatory Trip
- August 16, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Two For One! Dr Steve Barrett – ‘The Great Moon Hoax’ And ‘The Astrophotograhers ‘Tracker’
- August 15, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - Summer BBQ 2:00pm – 10:00pm Adults £2 Children £1
- July 19, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Telescope Clinic – Hands On advice – Bring Your Scope / Polar Aligning etc.
- July 15, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - Summer BBQ 2:00pm – 10:00pm
- June 21, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Chris Baddiley – Light Pollution And The Blight Of Stray Light
- May 17, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Dr Mike Leggett – Pluto & The Outer Solar System
- April 19, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - AGM / Short Presentation By Members
- March 22, 2010 @ 8:00 pm - *Extra Meeting* – Observing Night
- March 15, 2010 @ 8:00 pm - Society Quiz Night
- February 15, 2010 @ 7:45 pm - Martyn Filsak – Aurora In The UK
- January 18, 2010 @ 8:00 pm - Member’s Night (Short Presentations)
2009
- December 21, 2009 @ 7:45 pm - Andrew Lound – Uranus – George’s Planet
- November 16, 2009 @ 7:45 pm - Mike Frost – Guest Speaker (TBA)
- October 19, 2009 @ 7:45 pm - BASOC – Happy Birthday – Celebrating One Year
- September 21, 2009 @ 7:30 pm - Paul Edwards – How I discovered The 9th Planet
- August 17, 2009 @ 7:30 pm - Ann Bonell – Ladies of the Night
- June 15, 2009 @ 7:30 pm - Roger Pickard – Making & Recording Observations
- May 18, 2009 @ 7:30 pm - Dr Nick Hewitt – Deep Sky Observing Projects
- February 16, 2009 @ 7:30 pm - Gary Poyner – Variable Stars – How And Why They Vary