Karen and Chelsea give a talk to the Astwood Bank Beaver scouts

Karen asked me if I would help give a short talk to a local scout group which in some way scared the pants off me, it made me wonder if the 6 to 7 year olds might sit there arms folded and correct everything we tell them through what they have already learned on the discovery channel.

Not so! We blinded them all with pictures of our solar system, and even got them to participate in a walking model of our planetary line up, and as our confidence gained dizzy heights, we charmed them with descriptions of each planet and there deadly atmosphere's and explained how it would take so long to travel to them.

The look of awe on their faces turned Karen and I into God like story tellers who's power through our incredible knowledge raised us on a pinnacle such that we now charge good money for our short talks.

Truly however, we both had a good time with the scout group and surprised ourselves that we could in fact entertain such young people and teach them some thing about the other worlds in our solar system, we were shown a great welcome by Karen Wilmer and Sally, the scout leaders who even asked us to come back and give another talk some day.

- Chelsea Page

As seen at: http://www.redditch-astro.org.uk/NewsLetterDec.html

Adripio Caelum (Seize the sky) by Patrick Ward

For many people and especially those of us with an interest in science, astronomy is a truly rewarding hobby. Indeed, being under a clear dark sky stargazing with a telescope or binoculars is so inspirational that makes almost any inconvenience worth while.

As we know reaching the actual stargazing stage normally involves quite a lot of preparation. Getting our telescopes out from where they are stored, taking them outside (or into the car and then dark site), aligning the mount with the celestial pole, letting the telescope cool down, etc. All of this represents a significant investment in time and energy (astro-gear can be heavy!). Often this is compounded by our variable English weather. Many times you may have asked yourself: “How long will it stay clear?” or “Is it worth getting the telescope out?”

Any hobby you choose, from chess to Morris dancing, will have an “opportunity – preparation – execution – disassembly” cycle. For us amateur astronomers, opportunity means a simultaneous clear dark sky and free time combination. We then need to make a judgment on the weather. This equation usually tends to balance towards cloudy skies and no stargazing!

A good way to beat the weather and increase our quality telescope time is to minimize preparation and disassembly. If you have a reasonably dark sky at home and space in the garden you may think of setting a telescope up permanently. There are many ways to do this. From a “roll away” wooden shed to a purpose built room with a movable roof; it does not need to be expensive. Building your observatory can be a fun project to undertake and once finished it will allow you to seize the sky before the clouds do.

Clear skies and good observing!

Patrick Ward - Redditch Astronomical Society

Lunatick Astronomy - Andrew Lound

TO BE PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2008
Released to coincide with the bicentennial of Matthew Boulton’s death 1809

The Lunar Society was one of the most influential gatherings of intellectuals in the eighteenth century. The group of friends met informally every month on a Monday evening closest to the full Moon. It is this singular astronomical connection from which the group of friends developed their collective noun – although they often referred to themselves as the ‘Lunaticks’. Matthew Boulton was the prime mover behind the moonlit gathering and most people today know him as the great manufacturer of Birmingham and the partner of James Watt. His friend and fellow Lunatick James Keir once observed that electricity and astronomy were at one time among Matthew Boulton’s favourite amusements. The question for the author with an interest in astronomy living only a few miles from Boulton’s home was just how much of an interest in astronomy did Boulton and the other Lunar Society members have?
The book is an account of Andrew Lound’s research into Matthew Boulton’s and his friends’ interests in astronomy discovering Matthew Boulton’s design for an astronomical observatory as well as snippets of information on one of his favourite amusements. The write-up of the research has been produced on the urging of several experts in astronomy history and Professor Carl Chinn of the University of Birmingham, in order to assist those with an interest in the Lunar Society and to give wider public awareness of Matthew Boulton’s astronomical interests. This publication contains additional material that is aimed at a wider audience, placing together for the first time a complete ready reference to the Lunar Society’s astronomical interests.

An Odyssey Dramatic Lecture ‘Lunatick Astronomy’ is also available to accompany the book.

Published by Odyssey DL Publications. Softback. Colour cover. 99pp.
48 B&W illustrations. ISBN 978-0-9561111-0-4

Cheque or Postal Order for £10 Including P&P available direct from the author. Payable to Andrew Lound

110 Sandringham Road, Birmingham B42 1PQ Tel: 0121 356 5446
e-mail: odyssey@dial.pipex.com Web: www.odyssey.dial.pipex.com

As seen at Redditch Astronomical Society

November Meeting - Chris Livingstone

Yesterday we had another excellent lecture from Chris Livingstone (of Livingstone Telescopes in Worcester), this time recounting several trips he has made to Namibia, and showing us some excellent slides of astronomical photographs he has taken of the southern skies.

Personally I was amazed at the breathtaking images that are possible with a 50mm lens on a standard SLR camera and a home built Scotch mount constructed from a few scraps of wood!

In the Introductory course to Astronomy run by Richard Hendy we were shown a Scotch mount, and I have started to build my own out of interest, but I doubt I would have the patience to crank the handle at just the right speed for several minutes

Chris also gave us some excellent tips, in particular the idea of using a blackout cloth over the camera lens. Even remote shutter releases can induce some shake int he camera, so by using a fabric cover over the lens the shutter can be opened and the dark fabric can be removed from the lens once all camera shake has subsided. The same can be done when closing the shutter. I feel inspired to try harder

Chris's tales of Black Backed Jackals reminds me of one of my early attempts to take some astronomical images under dark skies. I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Utah Desert, in particular Bryce Canyon.

My results were less than ideal though...despite the darkest skies I had ever seen, the news that mountain lions had been seen in the area recently meant that I wasn't brave enough to stay outside alone for very long

Redditch Astronomy Society