Come to our first
Starting from Scratch
meeting on
Saturday 23 February, 11 am - 5 pm
at Woodrow High House, near Amersham, Bucks
For full details of how to find the location, click here
Display of Celestron telescopes by David Hinds Ltd will be available
Speakers will include
Ian Crawford
University College, London. SPA President 2006-8
Francisco Diego
Physics and Astronomy, UCL. STFC Science in Society Fellow
Martin Lewis
Telescope expert
Robin Scagell
SPA Vice President
Jerry Stone
Space expert, popular lecturer
Topics to be covered:
Learning the sky
How to get your bearings, how to recognise the constellations, how the sky moves from night to night and month to month
Methods of observing – naked eye, binoculars, telescopes
What you can see and how to observe with various instruments. Setting up a telescope for the first time. How to align an equatorial mount. Basic GO TO rules. Using different eyepieces
What you can observe – Solar System and deep sky
Separate lectures on observing Solar System and deep-sky objects, with tricks and tips for observing each, plus basic sketching and imaging
The Solar System and its features
A professional's view of the Solar System and what we know about the objects within it, their origin and how their features were shaped
The Universe of stars and galaxies
How stars work, and how the Universe evolved over its lifetime
Detailed timetable
11.00-11.30 Preparing to observe – Robin
11.30-12.00 Using telescopes and taking images – Martin
12.00-12.30 Looking at the Sun – Jerry
12.30-1.00 Observing the deep sky – Martin
1.00-2.00 Lunch and tours of Wycombe Astronomical Society observatory.
Sandwiches and other refreshments will be available for purchase
2.00-2.30 Observing the Moon – Jerry
2.30-3.30 How the Moon and planets formed – Ian
3.30-4.00 Viewing the Moon and planets – Robin
4.00-5.00 Universe: Creation within Evolution: from the vast simplicity of pure energy to the tiny complexity of the human brain – Francisco
The event is open to all, whether SPA members or not.
Cost: £5.00 per person. To book, send £5 (payable to SPA) to 36 Fairway, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5DU.
Refreshments will be available for purchase.
