South Cheshire Astronomical Society (SCASTRO) Meetings

All are welcome from novices to the experienced (Juniors should be accompanied by adults).
We are very short of helpers so if you have organisational skills and would be willing to help then please contact us.

For Full programme and venue details scroll through this page.

SCHEDULED SCASTRO MEETINGS

 Sept 2018-2019 Season Club Meetings and Public Talks Dates

Notice Issued 10/03/2019 13:04
Extra speaker info added: 21/03/2019 12:31

 

 

Come and enjoy monthly talks given by experienced astronomers and leading research scientists, and learn about the latest developments and projects in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology.

We also hold monthly club meetings at which we view the stars, talk to each other, question, demonstrate, explain and present.

Next Meeting: -

Public Talk

Thursday 21st Mar 2019

7:00pm for 7:30pm start

Please arrive soon after 7pm to book your place and pay entry or membership subscriptions.

 

Venue: Cheshire College - South & West
previously named South Cheshire College.
(location and entry fee details further down the page)

Speaker: Dr Tom Williams

- Research Associate - Solar Physics group
University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN)

Talk Title: “The Sun, it’s Atmosphere and Solar Flares”

Composite Image elements credits & extra Information related to the speaker's work and the talk (follow the links):

Main background from: Solar Storm and Space Weather - Frequently Asked Questions | NASA

Image of Dr Tom Williams cut out from : Dr Tom Williams's ResearchGate Profile;

 

Further Information about the speaker, his work, and the talk gathered by our SCASTRO Secretary/Talks Arranger, Mike Maunder and issued in his meeting reminder email heralding the talk:-

The main aim of Tom's work at UCLAN is to understand the ongoing processes within the solar atmosphere that may be responsible for heating the solar corona to several million degrees. Additionally, his work involves working with international colleagues at NASA, where he collaborates with the science team on sounding rocket missions.

Unlike the atmosphere of the Earth, the temperature of the Sun’s atmosphere increases with altitude, to the point where temperatures exceed 1 million degrees. This discovery in the early 20th century led to the greatest mystery in solar physics, “What is heating the corona?” and remains unsolved to this day. Currently there are two schools of thought on what may be heating the Sun’s atmosphere: magnetic waves and small-scale (nano)flares. It is believed waves are dominant in regions where the Sun is not very active, whereas in regions of high activity, nanoflares are the dominant source of heating. This talk will primarily focus on these nanoflare events, and a couple of sounding rocket missions, which are a collaborative effort between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, UCLAN, and other institutions.

We hold two main types of meetings :-

Sept 2018- May 2019 Season Meetings

Further details will be added before we meet in September

Thu 06 Sep 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 20 Sep 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at CCSW
Speaker: Dr Steve Barrett - Dept of Physics - Liverpool University
Topic: Warping Space and Time
Extra: i

Thu 04 Oct 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 18 Oct 2018, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Dr Chris Arridge - Reader in Planetary Physics Lancaster University
Topic: The JUICE mission to Jupiter and Ganymede
Extra: i

Thu 01 Nov 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 15 Nov 2018, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Dr Stuart Harper - Research Associate Manchester University
Topic: The Light of Long Dead Stars: What synchrotron radiation tells us about the history of galaxies.
Extra: i

Thu 06 Dec 2018, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Professor Ivan Baldry - Prof of Astrophysics Liverpool John Moors University
Topic: From cosmic latte to unusual galaxies
Extra: i

Thu 20 Dec 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 03 Jan 2019, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 17 Jan 2019, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Dr Joana Oliveira - Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astrophysics Keele University
Topic: Star formation to the chemistry of life.
Extra: i

Thu 07 Feb 2019, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 14 Feb 2019, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Professor Albert Zijlstra - Professor of Astrophysics Manchester University
Topic: “Kathryn’s Wheel: Giving a loved one a galaxy”
Extra: i

Thu 07 Mar 2019, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 21 Mar 2019, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Dr Tom Williams - Research Associate (Solar Physics) Solar Physics group - University of Central Lancs
Topic: The Sun, it’s Atmosphere and Solar Flares

Thu 04 Apr 2019, 7pm for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at:
Cheshire College - South & West (CCSW) Crewe
Speaker: Dr Licia Ray - Lecturer Space and Planetary Physics Group Lancaster University
Topic: Auroras Abound: Auroral emissions throughout the Solar System

Thu 25 Apr 2019, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 09 May 2019, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

PAST 

Sept 2017- May 2018 Season Meetings

PAST

Sept 2016- May 2017 Season Meetings

PAST

Sept 2015- May 2016 Season Meetings

PAST

Sept 2014- May 2015 Season

Thu 11 Sep 2014, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 25 Sep 2014, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Dean McLaughlin - Keele University
Topic: Supermassive Black Holes and the Formation of Galaxies

Thu 09 Oct 2014, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 23 Oct 2014, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
CANCELLED
Thu 06 Nov 2014, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 20 Nov 2014, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Matt Darnley - Liverpool John Moores University, Astrophysics Research Institute
Topic: Novae!

Thu 04 Dec 2014, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 18 Dec 2014, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Prof Tim O'Brien - University of Manchester & Jodrell Bank
Topic: Exploding stars : an ultra-panchromatic view

Thu 08 Jan 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 22 Jan 2015, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Dimitris Stamatellos - University of Central Lancashire
Topic: The formation of stars and planets

Thu 05 Feb 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 19 Feb 2015, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Joanne Bibby - University of Central Lancashire
Topic: Massive Stars as Supernova Progenitors
(see also an earlier presentation:
Exploding Stars -- Where the Elements Come From on Vimeo)

Thu 05 Mar 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - AGM & Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 19 Mar 2015, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Prof Derek Ward-Thompson - University of Central Lancashire
Topic: The Herschel Space Telescope and what it taught us about star formation

Thu 20 Mar 2015, 8:00am till 11:00 or later - Solar Eclipse Observation at:
The Brittles Eric Swan sports field, Wistaston
for SCASTRO Members and for guest staff and children from the neighbouring junior school.
Follow-up News Link

Thu 16 Apr 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

Thu 30 Apr 2015, 7:00 for 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Ros Flinn MSc Astronomy - Chester Astronomical Society
Topic: Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Thu 14 May 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston

THIS IS THE LAST SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SEASON
We startup again in September

2013-2014 Season

provisional dates

Thu 12 Sep 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Show-and-Tell Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 26 Sep 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Prof Bill Chaplin University of Birmingham
Sounding stars and the search for new planets
(Listen to related podcast: Asteroseismology: using the natural music of the stars)

Thu 10 Oct 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 31 Oct 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Dr Peter Branson
Topic: 'Back-garden Astrophotography'
The talk will describe the decisions made about equipment and techniques used over an eighteen month period, and will be liberally illustrated with photographs of star clusters, nebulae and galaxies that can be seen in Derby's light polluted skies.

Thu 14 Nov 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 28 Nov 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC

Dr Colin Steele University of Manchester
The Solar Neighbourhood - A guide to the nearest stars
One of a set of topics

Thu 12 Dec 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 09 Jan 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall
see top of page for event details

Thu 30 Jan 2014, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Prof Rob Jeffries Keele University Astrophysics Dept
Peering into the Cosmic Furnace

Thu 13 Feb 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall
With a special guest astrophysics postgraduate speaker/presenter from Keele University

plus the usual stargazing and discussion activities

Thu 27 Feb 2014, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Prof Albert Zijlstra University of Manchester
History of the Earth

Thu 13 Mar 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Practical astronomy including observation if conditions are right;
+ Keele Post grad speaker on "- "Mass loss of sun sized stars and bigger during their 'superwind' phase."

Thu 27 Mar 2014, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Dr Jacco van Loon Keele University Astrophysics Dept
Galaxies - islands in the sky

Thu 10 Apr 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 24 Apr 2014, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
SCASTRO President: William Stewart
'Shooting while you Sleep - Modern Methods for Detecting and Analysing Meteors'

For detailed information, and how you can join in, see www.nemetode.org

Thu 08 May 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 22 May 2014, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
An illustrated talk by accomplished amateur astronomer Nigel Ball, who is a founder of SCASTRO.
Subject : His recent trip to view and photograph the Northern Lights.

Thu 12 Jun 2014, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - AGM & Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

The Sept 2013 to June 2014 Season has finished.
We will be arranging some inter-season events and publishing them here.
Our Next Season starts in September 2014.

PROGRAMME
2012-2013 Season :

Thu 27 Sep 2012, 7:30pm to 9pm - OPEN NIGHT

Thu 18Oct 2012, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Dr Colin Steele, University of Manchester
Meteors - From Comet to Camera
(one of a set of talks that Dr Steele gives)

Fri 26 Oct 2012, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Fri 9 Nov 2012, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 29 Nov 2012, 7pm to 9pm -Public Talk at SCC
Professor Albert Zijlstra, University of Manchester
Planetary Nebula of the Galactic Bulge

Fri 7 Dec 2012, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Fri 4 Jan 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 31 Jan 2013, 7pm to 9pm -Public Talk at SCC
Presenter: Prof Rob Jeffries, Keele University Astrophysics Dept.
New Discoveries in Exoplanetary Systems
See also the following link to this event: SCASTRO - BBC Star Gazing Live Event

Fri 22 Feb 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 28 Feb 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Professor Carole Mundell, Liverpool John Moores University
Big Bangs & Black Holes
See also the following link to this event: SCASTRO - BBC Star Gazing Live Event

Fri 8 Mar 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Fri 12 Apr 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

Thu 25 Apr 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Prof Jim Wild, Lancaster University
In Search of the Northern Lights

Fri 3 May 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall

23May 2013, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Dr Althea Wilkinson, University of Manchester
The Planck Mission
See Also: Planck unveils wonders of the Universe

+ Planck HFI mission draws to a close

Thu Fri 21 June 2013, 8:00pm till 10:30 or later - Club Night at:
St Peter's Community Hall.
Summer Solstice special - SCASTRO's project 'Bringing The Sun Down to Earth'.
&
Short AGM (for members: Agenda)

Please get in touch for enquiries.

A SELECTION of PAST SCASTRO MEETINGS (in reverse date order)

these are kept in order to preserve the links if you want to follow up.

Thu 28 June 2012, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Planetary Nebula
Presenter: Dr Myfanwy Lloyd -
of The University of Manchester

Thu 31 May 2012, 7pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
How I Wonder What You Are: The Birth and Life and Death of Stars
Presenter: Dr Paul Ruffle
of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The University of Manchester