The past 12 months have been just great for astronomy in the Stour Valley area. I refer, of course, to the formation of the S.A.S. !

The attendance at our meetings has been a clear indication of the immense interest in the night sky and it has been very satisfying seeing the membership steadily increase and the constant stream of visitors to our talks.

Our thanks go to Kevin for providing the bulk of these and for giving us such an interesting insight into our Universe. It has been good too to welcome specialist guest speakers and we shall continue with more into the future.

Our field trip to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich was very well attended and the reports suggest that the day was both interesting and enjoyable. We have a short list of locations for our next trip and expect to be able to make an announcement as soon as the warmer weather arrives. Our members’ evening demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm and photographic ability.

With plenty of interesting events coming up, get shooting and we’ll have another evening of 15 minute presentations in the Summer.

Hopefully during 2004 we will be able to commence observing evenings. This will require a suitably portable telescope but more importantly a nice dark site. If we have any among our members with a dark and accessible corner of a field that we can use it would be good to hear from you.

And don’t forget, Dark Matters !

Mars has pretty well stolen the limelight over the past 6 months with excellent views during its close proximity last summer, stunning pictures from the two NASA landers, data returned from Mars Express and the sad tale of Beagle2.

However, this year Venus is set to make the headlines with, in June, the first transit in current lifetimes. It already dominates the evening sky with magnitude –4.3.

This month we celebrate the first anniversary of the Stour Astronomical Society. So, congratulations to you all! And what a year it has been. There are now two robots roving around the surface of Mars uncovering daily more of the secrets of the Red Planet.

We also know now, due to the observations of the WMAP satellite that we live in a universe which is flat, infinite and which was formed 13.7 thousand million years ago. For the first time in the history of humanity we are able to say what kind of cosmos we live in.

For the March meeting we have a special guest, Dr. Lisa Wright of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, who has been engaged in front-line research with Professor Jerry Ostriker on the formation and evolution of galaxies. How heartening it is to see that after one year's hard

work we are able to attract such eminent speakers.

And, of course, thank you to you all, without whom there would be no society and for whom it exists!

"Space & Time in the Modern Universe" - Dr. Kevin Marshall.

"Hunting for Supernovae"

Guest Speaker - Tom Bales, Supernovae spotting champion !

"The Transit of Venus"

– Dr. Kevin Marshall.

"Star Clusters" – Dr. Kevin Marshall

Members’ Evening with 15 minute presentations. Plus :-

"How to Become an Astronomer"

– Dr. Kevin Marshall.

"The Astronomy of the Greeks"

- Dr. Kevin Marshall.

"Constellations of the Autumn Sky"

- Dr. Kevin Marshall

"Variable Stars" – Dr. Kevin Marshall.

"Constellations of the Winter Sky"

- Dr. Kevin Marshall.

We very much look forward to receiving contributions from members. These could include observational experiences, technical articles or just why you enjoy astronomy. Anything from 150 to 1500 words would be fine.

We will soon be coming to the time for membership renewals. Members have joined at different times over the course of the year and we will have to find a way of renewing memberships which is both fair and easily administered. More news on this at the April meeting.

For those interested in purchasing a telescope there are a couple of good suppliers in the area :-

Green Witch,

Unit 6, Dry Drayton Industries, Scotland Road, Dry Drayton, Cambridge, CB3 8AT

Tel: 01954-211288

Sneezums,

10 Cornhill,Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk,

IP33 1BH

Tel: 01284-755210

Beagle 2

NASA

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

European Space Agency

Institute of Astronomy

Mullard Radio Astronomy Laboratory

Jodrell Bank

Royal Observatory, Greenwich

European Southern Observatory

National Space Centre

Secretary – Geoff Burling

01787-281584

Chairman – Kevin Marshall

01787-249534

Webmaster – Chris Strellis

Treasurer – Colleen Sarratt

Stour Astronomical Society meets on a monthly basis in the Jubilee Room of Cavendish Memorial Hall on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 p.m.

At each meeting an illustrated talk will be given either by Dr. Kevin Marshall or by a guest speaker. Dr. Marshall is a lecturer with the University of Cambridge board of continuing education, an Open University tutor and is a founder member of the Stour Astronomical Society.

The Society was founded in 2003 to provide a focal point for amateur astronomers of all levels of interest and ability to meet and share their enjoyment of the night skies. It is anticipated that members will be drawn from nearby towns and villages in the Stour Valley area.

It is hoped that at future meetings some observation will be possible on clear nights and members are invited to bring telescopes or binoculars when weather conditions permit.

Membership - £12.00 per year.

Visitors & Guests - £1.50 per evening.

"Dark Matters" is the newsletter of the Stour Astronomical Society (S.A.S.) and is published 4 times per year.