Norwich Astronomical Society

All events are held at the observatory. [Finding us]
Doors open at 7:30 with talks starting at 8:00 unless the room fills up earlier in which case the talk will start sooner and be repeated.
Admission is Adults £2.50 Children £1.50 Adult members £1.50 Children £1.00 there is no need to pre book, just turn up on the night.
Teas and coffee are available at the end of the talk and there will be a chance to observe through the telescopes, if the skies are clear.
Talks vary in length but generally last approximately 40 minutes and are aimed at those with a general interest in astronomy. Children are welcome (from about 8 years upwards)

Further information from the Secretary [Contact details] Posters available for advertisement

This talk will introduce the night sky and how to find your way round and identify some of the spectacular sights. It will also touch on advice for the beginner on choice of equipment. After the talk, weather permitting there will be practical sessions using various telescopes.

For thousands of years, mankind has peered at the Universe through the limiting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere. In later years, the damaging effects of lighting on the night sky has pushed astronomers to launch telescopes into space. Now, with exciting new developments, telescopes are orbiting high above our heads, allowing unprecedented views of the Universe, from the high energy Gamma Ray Observatories to the more familiar Hubble Space Telescope. In this lecture, Mark will take us on a fascinating tour of the Universe through the eyes of a space telescope.

A guide to the planets of the inner solar system, (Mercury to Mars). Looking back to ancient Greece and Rome, myth and legend as well as more recent knowledge and images gained from space probes. Information no space tourist should be without!

This talk will briefly look back to the major discoveries in the 20th Century then look at the range of satellites and telescopes available to professional astronomers and the science objectives.

The moon is probably the most well known astronomical object. Everyone knows about the incredible achievement of mankind during the later stages of the 1960’s when man’s first step was made on another world; but what else do we know about the Moon? How does it have a profound impact on the Earth’s eco-system’s? Its not made of cheese, but what is it made of? What are those vast dark patches visible from the Earth and what are the causes of phases and eclipses? These and many other questions will be answered in this lecture.

Everyone knows that direct observation of the Sun is exceedingly dangerous however over the years, astronomers have developed safe methods of solar observation. With these new techniques we have started to unravel some of the mechanisms that drive the Sun. Drawing analogies with other stars in our galaxy, Mark will take us on a fascinating journey from the extreme temperatures and pressures in the very core of the Sun to the Observation of it from the Earth.

Launched in 1997 we had to wait for 7 years for it to go to work. This is a look at the 4 years already spent in orbit around the giant ringed planet Saturn. From the first arrival when it launched Huygens towards Titan up to the end of its original mission in 2008.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing this talk will look back to the Apollo missions and what we have learned from them. We will also look to the future and the proposals for sending men back to the moon. The talk will be followed by the chance to observe the Moon through telescopes under the guidance of our members.

The view we see today of the night sky is very different to that a few million years after the big bang this talk will show how the objects we see today evolved and slowly formed the view we see now. From nearby planets to deep sky objects each class of object will be described so that we can understand what we observe. We will also look at how the sky is expected to change over the next few billion years.

As children, most of us were bought up learning about the Star of Bethlehem; many of us now put a star on the top of the tree at Christmas too. Over the years, there have been many suggestions about the true nature of the star of Bethlehem and in this lecture, Mark takes a look at the most likely theories and tries to unravel this age old mystery.