South Cheshire Astronomical Society
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
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Scroll down this page for: Next Meeting details; Venues, times and
how to get there; List of meetings and events for this season; List of
past meetings.
Keep visiting this page for updates.
Notice Issued 27/05/2018 20:36
For summer events, before our new season starts in September, we will be adding to our External Events page.
First Regular Meeting in the new season:-
SCASTRO Club Night
Thursday 6th September 2018
7:45pm till 10:00 or later at The Brittles Pavilion in Wistaston village.
For further details of this and our other meetings, including how to get there scroll lower down on this page.
Anyone interested in astronomy is invited to attend.
This is the 1st regular meeting of the season - a good time to join as a full member or renew your membership.
In case the weather is suitable for some star gazing, if you have binoculars or any other astronomical equipment, bring it along to use, discuss or demonstrate. The club also owns a range of astronomical equipment for you to see.You are also welcome to bring media material which can be displayed using the digital projection system, Whatever the weather there will be plenty to do. In case of poor weather we have intersting material that we can present to you and discuss with you indoors.
ENTANCE FEES: For those who have paid this period's annual membership fees, or are honorary members, entrance to our regular club meetings and public talks are free. Entrance is also free for under 18 year olds but note that those under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible paying adult. Otherwise there is an entrance fee for each meeting (Currently: Club Night £3; Public Talk £5).
In order to keep in touch with our activities and other information about astronomy please visit this our website regularly.
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For further information, or if you would like to receive emailed
announcements:
email enquiries@SCASTRO.org,
or phone 01270 663678
Summary details of meetings for the Sept 2017 - May 2018 season, including venue directions, are to be found below followed by summary details of past seasons' meetings
We hold two main types of meetings :-
Doors open 7pm and talks start at 7:30pm, but please arrive early so that you can be met in the entrance hall, booked in, and conducted to the meeting room. There are refreshment facilities where you can chat until we start. Venue/Location:South Cheshire College (referred to as SCC).
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Venue/Location :
The Brittles Pavilion, (Grid Ref: 53°04'51.6"N 2°28'43.5"W = 53.0810125, -2.4787645);
The Brittles Pavilion (with car park and Eric Swan sports grounds) is at the end of a driveway leading off Church Lane and running along the left hand side of the junior school which is almost opposite Kings Drive where there are a few village shops. The postal address of the nearest of the shops is: 1 Kings Drive, CW2 8HY
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Address: Dane Bank Avenue, Crewe, Cheshire,
CW2 8ABSept 2018- May 2019 Season Meetings
Further details will be added before we meet in September
Thu 06 Sep 2018, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 20 Sep 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Steve Barrett - Dept of Physics - Liverpool University
Topic: Warping Space and Time
Thu 04 Oct 2018, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 18 Oct 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Chris Arridge - Reader in Planetary Physics - Lancaster University
Topic: The JUICE mission to Jupiter and Ganymede
Thu 01 Nov 2018, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 15 Nov 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Stuart Harper - Manchester University
Topic: The Light of Long Dead Stars : What Synchrotron Radiation tells us about the History of Galaxies
Thu 06 Dec 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Professor Ivan Baldry - Prof of Astrophysics - Liverpool John Moores University
Topic: From cosmic latte to unusual galaxies
Thu 20 Dec 2018, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 03 Jan 2019, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 17 Jan 2019, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: -
Topic:
Thu 07 Feb 2019, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 14 Feb 2019, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: -
Topic:
Thu 07 Mar 2019, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 21 Mar 2019, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: -
Topic:
Thu 04 Apr 2019, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: -
Topic:
Thu 25 Apr 2019, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
Thu 09 May 2019, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion, Wistaston
PAST
Sept 2017- May 2018 Season Meetings
Thu 07 Sep 2017, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 21 Sep 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Steve Barrett - Dept of
Physics University of Liverpool
Topic: Dark Matter. Why is it dark? Does it matter?
Extra:
Thu 05 Oct 2017, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 19 Oct 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr David
Sobral - Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Lancaster
Topic: Time travelling across the Universe
Extra:
Thu 02 Nov 2017, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 16 Nov 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Prof Andreas
Freise - Professor of Experimental Physics and Astronomy at
Birmingham University
Topic: Shining a light on Black Holes
Extra:
Thu 07 Dec 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: William
Stewart - President & Founder of SCASTRO; B.Sc in Astrophysics;
Regular author and speaker
Topic: Shooting while you sleep – modern methods of detecting and
analysing meteors
Extra:
Thu 21 Dec 2017, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 04 Jan 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 18 Jan 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Professor Ian
Robson - Director of James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
Topic: The changing scene in astronomy
Extra:
Thu 01 Feb 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 22 Feb 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Steve
Williams - Research Associate at Observational Astrophysics Group
Lancaster Uni
Topic: Dark Energy and the Expansion of The Universe
Extra:
Thu 01 Mar 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night CANCELLED due to bad weather at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 15 Mar 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Professor Nial Tanvir -
Professor of Astronomy at Dept of Physics and Astronomy University of
Leicester
Topic: Short Gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae and gravitational waves
Extra:
Thu 05 Apr 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 19 Apr 2018, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Jacco Van Loon - Keele University
Topic: Creation and destruction in cosmic explosions
Extra:
Thu 10 May 2018, 7:45pm till 10:00 or later -
AGM & Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
PAST
Sept 2016- May 2017 Season Meetings
Thu 08 Sep 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 22 Sep 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Richard Parker -
Liverpool John Moores University
Topic: The cradle of the Sun: was our Solar System born in a star
cluster?
Thu 06 Oct 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 20 Oct 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Megan Argo - Jodrell Bank Centre
for Astrophysics
Topic: When Galaxies Collide
Thu 03 Nov 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 17 Nov 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Raphael Hirschi
- Keele University
Topic: Cosmic Furnaces and Extreme Physics
Thu 01 Dec 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Stacey Habergham -
Liverpool John Moores University
Topic: Exploring the Universe with Exploding Stars
Thu 15 Dec 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 12 Jan 2017, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 26 Jan 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Mark
Norris - uclan
Topic: The Largest Star Clusters & the Smallest Galaxies
Thu 09 Feb 2017, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
TALK CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER
Speaker: Prof. Andreas Freise - B'ham Univ.
Astrophysics and Space Research Group
Topic: Shining a Light on Black Holes
Thu 16 Mar 2017, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 30 Mar 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Professor Nye
Evans - Keele University Astrophysics Group
Topic: Why should we care about dust?
Thu 13 Apr 2017, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 27 Apr 2017, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Prof. Prof.
Michael A. Garrett - University of Manchester School of Physics and
Astronomy
Topic: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) efforts and how
we can do better…
This replaces:-
Speaker: Dr Chris
Arridge - Lancaster University
Topic: The JUICE Mission
to Jupiter and Ganymede
Thu 11 May 2017, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
AGM & Club
Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
PAST
Sept 2015- May 2016 Season Meetings
Thu 10 Sep 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 24 Sep 2015, 7:00pm to 8:30pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Timo
Laitinen - UCLAN
Topic: Sun and Sun-Earth Connection
see also: Dr Timo Laitinen's Research
web pages
Thu 08 Oct 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later - Club Night
Thu 22 Oct 2015, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Victor
Debattista - UCLAN
Topic: Dark Matter. Changed to: Migration of stars in galaxies
see also: Victor Debattista's Research
Website
Thu 12 Nov 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 26 Nov 2015, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Giovanni
Natale - UCLAN
Topic: Radiation Transfer in Galaxies
Thu 03 Dec 2015, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 17 Dec 2015, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Rene Breton -
University of Manchester
Topic: Testing Einstein's Relativity Using Pulsars
Thu 14 Jan 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 28 Jan 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Torsten
Henkel - University of Manchester
Topic: Presolar Grains - Stardust from before the solar system
formed.
see also:
Dr Torsten Henkel | The University of Manchester | School of Earth,
Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
and
BBC - Science and Nature - When the cosmic dust settles
Thu 11 Feb 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 25 Feb 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Jacco Van
Loon - Keele University
Topic: Spaceship Earth
see also: Jacco's
Planet
Thu 17 Mar 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 31 Mar 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Dr Althea
Wilkinson - University of Manchester School of Physics and
Astronomy
Topic: Square Kilometre Array
Thu 14 Apr 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
Club Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
Thu 28 Apr 2016, 7:30pm to 9pm - Public Talk at SCC
Speaker: Rosalind Flinn MSc Astronomy - Chester Astronomical Society
Topic: Stellar Evolution
Thu 12 May 2016, 7:30pm till 10:00 or later -
AGM & Club
Night at:
The Brittles Pavilion,
Wistaston
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
Meteorites and the Early Solar System
Presenter: Prof Jamie Gilmour -
Professor of Planetary Science at The University of Manchester
| Thank-Yous