[BAA-ebulletin 00854] Reminder of the May Ordinary Meeting including the George Alcock Lecture on Wednesday 27th May 2015

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BAA electronic bulletin
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I would like to remind you that the next Meeting and the George Alcock
Memorial Lecture of the BAA will be held on Wednesday 27th May 2015 in the
RAS lecture room, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London.

The Ordinary Meeting will be preceded by a Special General Meeting called
to vote on the revised Memorandum, Articles of Association and By-laws as
distributed with the April BAA Journal.

17.30         Welcome by the BAA President Mrs Hazel McGee, notices and
Special General Meeting.

17.45          Tony Freeth - "The Antikythera Mechanism: A Machine to
predict the Future"

18.35          Denis Buczynski - "Discovering Comets and Novae, Then and
Now"

19.25         Sky Notes - Nick James

19.50         Close

Doors open at 17.00 and the meeting will start at 17.30 and is due to
finish by 20:00. Tea will be served outside the lecture room from 17:00.

Hope to see you there

Hazel Collett, Meetings Secretary

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*Hazel Collett*
*Meetings Secretary For the British Astronomical Association*
*Burlington House*
*Piccadilly*
*London*
*W1J 0DU*
*Tel: 07944 751277*
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BAA-ebulletin mailing list visit:
http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin
(c) 2015 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
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-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

[BAA-ebulletin 00853] COSMONAUT ALEXEI LEONOV IN LONDON

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BAA electronic bulletin
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COSMONAUT ALEXEI LEONOV IN LONDON

BAA members are invited to join special guests Dr Brian May and Professor
Stephen Hawking listening to former Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. 50 years
after his death defying first spacewalk,

Alexei Leonov is to speak at an event hosted by Starmus and the British
Interplanetary Society (BIS) at the IMAX Theatre, The Science Museum,
Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD at 7 pm on Thursday 21st
May 2015.  Doors open at 6.30pm.

In March 1965, Alexei Leonov stepped out of his Voskhod 2 spacecraft and
into the history books as the first human to walk in space. His spacesuit
became overinflated and he could not get back into the capsule without
deflating it, at the risk of his blood boiling. The return to Earth went
wrong, stranding Alexei in a remote Siberian forest, where he survived
freezing temperatures for two nights before skiing to the nearest point
where a helicopter could land. He was then to have been the commander of the
first Soviet Moon mission, cancelled after the success of Apollo 11, but
went on to command the Apollo-Soyuz mission linking Soviet and American
spacecraft. He has come close to death many times, and the story of Alexei's
life - as an athlete, fighter pilot, artist, scientist, cosmonaut, and world
statesman - is one of breath-taking heroism, intelligence, integrity  and
luck!

Admission is by ticket only. Tickets are available at the discounted price
of £45 for BIS/BAA Members, (which is admittedly rather higher than BAA
members are used to paying). To book, please visit:

www.bis-space.com/2015/01/28/14087/alexei-leonov-in-london

BAA members may claim the discount by ticking the 'BIS member' box on the
website.

After the lecture which is expected to finish at around 8pm, Leonov will be
signing copies of the book "Starmus: 50 years of Man in Space", edited by
Garik Israelian and Brian May, which is also available at a discount on the
BIS site.

This e-bulletin issued by:

John W. Mason, Press and Publicity Officer

British Astronomical Association

2015 May 15


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BAA-ebulletin mailing list visit:
http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin
(c) 2015 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
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-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (May 12, 2013)

Dear comet observers,    We have prepared the following new charts for our homepage:    C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy):    - a 4.5x6.0 degrees chart for the period 14 - 23 May 2015  - a 3.9x5.2 degrees chart for the period 23 May - 2 June 2015     88P/Howell:    - two 4.5x6.0 degrees charts for the period 15 May - 1 June 2015    These new charts are now available in the charts section of our  mainpage at: http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro    Reinder Bouma/Edwin van Dijk  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (May 7, 2015)

Dear comet observers,    We have prepared the following new charts for our homepage:    C/2015 G2 (MASTER):    - two 24x32 degrees charts for the period 8 - 21 May 2015    These new charts are now available in the charts section of our  mainpage at: http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro    Reinder Bouma/Edwin van Dijk  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

X2-class Solar Flare Causes Radio Blackout

Space Weather News for May 6, 2015
http://spaceweather.com

X-FLARE: Emerging sunspot AR2339 unleashed an intense X2-class solar flare on May 5th at approximately 22:11 UT.  Radiation from the flare caused strong radio blackouts on the Pacific side of Earth, interfering with communications at frequencies below ~20 MHz.  The blast also hurled a CME into space, but not toward Earth. This event could herald a sustained period of high solar activity, as AR2339 appears to be large and explosive. Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

SOLAR FLARE ALERTS:  Did you miss the flare?  Subscribers to our space weather alert service received text messages and phone calls while the flare was still in progress.  Sign up for your own solar flare alerts at http://spaceweathertext.com (text) or http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (May 2, 2015)

Dear comet observers,    We have prepared the following new chart for our homepage:    C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy):    - a 4.5x6.0 degrees chart for the period 4 - 14 May 2015    This new chart is now available in the charts section of our  mainpage at: http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro    Reinder Bouma/Edwin van Dijk  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

[BAA-ebulletin 00852] METEOR SECTION MEETING IN BIRMINGHAM THIS SATURDAY

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BAA electronic bulletin
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METEOR SECTION MEETING IN BIRMINGHAM THIS SATURDAY

Members are reminded that there will be a meeting of the BAA Meteor Section
in Birmingham this coming Saturday, 9th May 2015.

The meeting is open to all and admission is free of charge.

The meeting will take place in the John Lee Lecture Theatre of the
Birmingham and Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS.

The venue is only a short walk from Birmingham New Street and Snow Hill
stations.

Please visit http://bmi.org.uk/location.html for directions to the venue.

Doors will be open from 10:00am and the meeting commences at 10:30am.  There
will be breaks for lunch and afternoon tea.

No lunch is provided so people are advised to either bring a packed lunch or
eat at one of the many eating places within a short walk of the meeting
venue.

The planned meeting programme is as follows, but late changes may be
necessary depending upon the travel situation on the day.

Morning Session

Dr John Mason - Welcome and Introduction to the Work of the Meteor Section

Nick James - 40 Years of Meteor Imaging

William Stewart - DSLR Meteor Imaging: Advantages, Analyses and Challenges

Paul Hyde - New Opportunities for Meteor Scatter

Afternoon Session

Alex Pratt  - Showers, Sporadics and Sprites: 3 Years of NEMETODE Science

William Stewart - Meteor Videography: Overview and Opportunities

Tony Markham  - The New IMO Fireball Report Form: A Case Study

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, Queens University Belfast -

The Chelyabinsk Impact: Lessons Learned

The meeting is expected to end at around 5pm.

I look forward to welcoming you there on Saturday.

This e-bulletin issued by:

John W. Mason, Director, BAA Meteor Section

2015 May 06
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BAA-ebulletin mailing list visit:
http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin
(c) 2015 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Deep Quiet on the Sun

Space Weather News for April 30, 2015
http://spaceweather.com

DEEP QUIET: Everyone knows that high solar activity has a profound effect on the space around Earth.  Less well known is that *low* solar activity can be equally transformative. This week, the sun is plunging into a quiet state with almost no sunspots and a vanishing chance of flares. Find out what this means on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

OTHER STORIES we are following on http://spaceweather.com today: (1) A 10,000 km-long plume of sulfurous gas from Chile's Calbuco volcano is now crossing the Atlantic Ocean en route to Africa; and (2) On April 28th, microbes sent to the edge of space to test their response to cosmic radiation crash-landed in the California desert--and it did not go well for the microbes.

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Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

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Blog: http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (May 1, 2015)

Dear comet observers,    We have prepared the following new charts for our homepage:    C/2015 G2 (MASTER):    - a 18x24 degrees chart for the period 1 - 8 May 2015    88P/Howell:    - a 4.5x6.0 degrees chart for the period 3 - 11 May 2015    These new charts are now available in the charts section of our  mainpage at: http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro    Reinder Bouma/Edwin van Dijk  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

[BAA-ebulletin 00851] Mercury in the Evening Sky - Observing Opportunity

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BAA electronic bulletin
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See Mercury in the Evening Sky

Mercury can be a difficult planet, not because it is faint, it can be an easy naked eye object, but rather because being so close to the Sun it only pops in to view for short periods in the morning or evening sky.

At the end of this month and beginning of May there is an opportunity to see it during its best evening apparition of the year (it reaches greatest eastern elongation on May 7). Also, on the evening of April 30, it passes within 2 degrees of the Pleiades star cluster (Messier 45) making an ideal observing and imaging opportunity.

To find Mercury on that date (binoculars will help here) follow the ecliptic down through Jupiter and Venus towards the horizon and once the Sun has set (around 19:20UT, 20:20BST) Mercury, shining at magnitude -0.4, will be found around 18 degrees up.

Do make sure the Sun has set before you scan for the planet using any optical aid, as even the briefest accidental view of the Sun through binoculars could result in blindness.

As the sky darkens Mercury should become an easy naked eye object and around 20:00UT it will lie about 11 degrees above the horizon at an azimuth of 293 degrees. If you use a telescope it will show a phase of 56% and a disk diameter of 7 arcsec. By comparison, Venus will show a diameter of 16.7 arcsec and the giant planet Jupiter a diameter of 38 arcsec.

If you fail to see it on April 30 because of the fickle British weather all is not lost as Mercury and the Pleiades remain within a few degrees of each other for the next couple of days. On May 7, date of its greatest eastern elongation, at 19:30UT it will lie exactly midway between Venus and the point on the horizon where the Sun sets, although by now no longer close to the Pleiades.

If you are successful with your observations do remember to send them in to the BAA.

Stewart Moore
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BAA-ebulletin mailing list visit:
http://lists.britastro.org/mailman/listinfo/baa-ebulletin
(c) 2015 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

-- 

Good Clear Skies

--

Astrocomet

--

Colin James Watling

--

Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

--

Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera

--

Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)

--

Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/