We are privileged to have visiting speakers at our monthly meetings from organisations such as Portsmouth University, Mullard Space Science Laboratory and Oxford University. Members are also encouraged to research topics they are interested in and present a talk on them. Some of the talks are written up , see posts below.
Image credit : NASA /JPL-Caltech taken from talk on “How our Moon formed”
-
Top tips for photography
Top tips to improve your viewing and astrophotography John Axtell is an experienced astrophotographer with his CV including writing for the Sky at Night magazine and running nearby Astronomy groups.…
-
A new look at three familiar features
A new look at three familiar features There are three features in the night sky which most people can recognise : the Plough, Orion’s Belt and the Pleiades. But what…
-
The Winchcombe meteorite
Finding the Winchcombe meteorite It is the dream of every meteor-watcher to help retrieve a meteorite – ie a meteor which actually makes it all the way to the Earth’s…
-
The Discovery of Neptune
Who discovered Neptune? You might expect the answer to be a name, in the same way that Herschel is always credited with discovering Uranus and Clyde Tombaugh with Pluto. With…
-
About stars
Snippets from a talk by Colin Stuart Colin dispelled one common myth about sunlight, which is that light takes about eight minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun. This…
-
Lost Worlds of the Solar System
IntroductionOur November talk was “Lost Worlds of the Solar System” by Professor Hilary Downes of Birkbeck College and was a challenging combination of geology and astronomy. Her talk began with…
-
Is the Earth special?
It is a widely-held view that we are not alone in the Universe. There are so many billions upon billions of stars, many of which could have accompanying planets, that…
-
James Webb Space Telescope
Building and launching the JWS telescope Our May 2020 meeting was a first for us, our first on-line presentation given that our normal meetings could not happen because of the…
-
Mission to Touch the Sun
At the time of Andrew Collins’ May 2019 talk to the Farnham Astronomical Society about the Parker Solar Probe, the probe had just completed the second of 24 close approaches…
-
How our Moon formed
How our Moon formed – the least implausible theory It is a sobering thought that if it wasn’t for our Moon, Earth would be a very different place and we…
-
Galaxies and Superclusters
From sugar lumps to galaxies and superclusters FAS member Charles Dixon had the ambitious title of “Galaxies and Large Scale Structures” for his talk to us in November 2018 and…
-
Probing the Dark Universe
I approached our October 2018 meeting with some trepidation. The topic “Probing the Dark Universe” usually leaves me as much in the dark at the end as at the beginning.…
-
Gaia: mapping the Milky Way
Gaia: mapping the Milky Way and how you can take part. To an Earth-bound observer, the Milky Way looks like a band of light across the night sky. We know…
-
Using a DSLR camera
Astrophotography with a DSLR camera Our February meeting didn’t sound as if it would be a great success. We had known some time ago that the original speaker had postponed.…
-
The Twins Paradox
Another look at the Twins Paradox The Twins Paradox – aargh, the Twins Paradox! The familiar version of this is based on a thought experiment where one twin shoots off…
-
Pluto revealed
Many of us would have been amazed by the images of Pluto sent back during the fly-past of the New Horizon mission in 2015. We were even more amazed by…
-
Discoveries on the Milky Way
The Milky Way, from Herschel to Hubble Many of us attend the talks at the Astronomy Society to learn more and expand our knowledge of the universe. So at the…
-
Making a mirror for a telescope
Making a mirror for a telescope Are you looking for a hobby which will allow you to develop new skills, channel your inner Heath Robinson and lead to a useful…
-
Climate on exoplanets
Predicting the climate of exoplanets The weather – that favourite topic for small talk with the British. Most of us must listen to at least one weather forecast a day…
-
Astrochemistry : the start of life
The debate about the origin of life on Earth is having a bit of a moment at our Tuesday meetings. In September, member Mark Rumsby gave an excellent overview of…
-
Planetary imaging
Geof Lewis shares his imaging secrets Geof Lewis achieved a first in his recent talk – a gasp of astonishment. His theme was Planetary Imaging and the gasp came as…
-
The unsung heroes of the Big Bang Theory
If I were asked to name the scientists most closely associated with the Big Bang theory , I wouldn’t hesitate before saying Edwin Hubble and then, after a brief head-scratch,…
-
Constellations in 3D
Constellations as you have never seen them – or ever will see them The title of the September talk by member Danny Thomas was “Constellations in 3D” – intriguing, very…
-
Is Jupiter a planet?
Is Jupiter a planet? What a bizarre question. Of course Jupiter is a planet, it’s the biggest by far in our Solar System! And yet … as our speaker, Jerry…
-
Occultations and asteroid hunting
I am often amazed by the knowledge, skills and commitment of the so-called amateur astronomers who give presentations to us at our monthly meetings. An excellent example of this was…
-
Top Tips on using DSLR
Geof Lewis shares his top tips on DSLR astrophotography I am always amazed by the images of the night sky captured by society members. They seem to me to be…
-
UKMON update
UKMON Presents at Farnham Astronomical Society Many amateur photographers /astronomers would be very satisfied if they captured a picture of a meteor. Two Society members, Peter Campbell-Burns and Richard Kacerek,…
-
Einstein and tractor drivers
How Einstein helps tractor drivers“Turn off SATNAV” – advice during Farnborough Air Show to allow for the various road closures and diversions which are meant to facilitate traffic flow. Many…
-
Destination Moon
Destination Moon! – the title of our April talk by member Laurence Anslow. I arrived expecting a talk about the space race of the 1960s but it was much more…
-
Rainbows and astronomy
It is an unusual person who, on seeing a rainbow, does not take a moment or two to stop and admire it. I know I always look up at one…
-
One-way ticket to Mars?
Anyone up for a one-way ticket to Mars? Over 200,000 people around the world have said “Yes” to the chance of a one-way ticket to Mars. A Dutch entrepreneur was…
-
About black holes
About black holes – making the unbelievable believable As far as black holes are concerned, my mind is not unlike a black hole. It can swallow up information about them…
-
UKMON research on meteors
Where do meteors come from ? Two members of FAS aim to find out. “Where do meteors come from?” At one level that is an easy question to answer. Most…
-
Cosmic inflation
Our July talk was on “Inflation and the origin of cosmic structure”. Our speaker patiently presented a non-mathematical description of how in the early stages of the Universe (a fraction…