Hello, and welcome to our first newsletter which we hope to produce regularly.

The newly formed Stour Astronomical Society has arranged to meet 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 and is a founder member of the Stour Astronomical Society.

The Society was founded this year 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.

The first meeting was held on 4 March with a talk on the Solar System and at the following meeting on 1 April, Dr. Marshall presented "From Technology to the Stars", an overview of observational techniques from Galileo to the present day.

The talk for 6^th May will be on the "Constellations" and that of 3^rd June will be "Observing the Night Sky with Binoculars and Small Telescopes". Future subjects will include :-

*    Moon

*    Sun

*    Stars and Galaxies

*    Asteroids, Comets, Meteors

*    Deep Sky Objects

*    Black Holes, Quasars, Super-Novae

*    More Constellations

*    Telescopes & Observing

*    History of Astronomy

*    Cosmology, Space & Time

*    Radio Astronomy

*    Satellites & Space Craft

But please feel free to suggest additional topics of interest.

Future meetings have been arranged for the following Tuesdays at 7.30 p.m. :-

* 6 May

* 3 June

* 1 July

* 5 August

* 2 September

* 7 October

* 4 November

* 2 December

* 6 January

* 3 February

* 2 March

* 6 April

In addition to formal talks, there will also be opportunities for members to present their own observing experiences with photographs and drawings.

Contributions from members are also very welcome for inclusion in the newsletter.

Of course, questions are invited and encouraged at the end of each talk.

In time, we expect to be able to organise trips to places of astronomical interest, possibly including the Lords Bridge radio astronomy site of the University of Cambridge, the Royal Observatory Greenwich and the National Space Centre, Leicestershire.

The Stour Astronomical Society (S.A.S.) is a non-profit organisation. The annual subscription is £12.00 payable on 1^st April each year. This will entitle members to attend the monthly meetings and will include occasional newsletters and information sheets. Guests and visitors are welcome to meetings at a charge of £1.50 per meeting.

Our aim is to break even on the costs, the most significant of which is the hire of the meeting room.

Trips and other activities may require additional contributions but these will be announced where appropriate.

We expect to hold the first A.G.M. in April 2004 and a statement of accounts will be made available to members.

Contacts:-

Chairman:

Dr. Kevin Marshall 01787-249534

Secretary:

Geoff Burling 01787-281584

Treasurer:

Colleen Sarratt

We will need additional volunteers to assist with committee work in the future and would certainly appreciate assistance from 7.15 p.m. on the meeting evenings to put out chairs and to tidy up afterwards – thank you.

Each month we will be drawing members’ attention to the interesting objects in the night sky for the time of year. This may include the positions of planets, prominent constellations, meteor showers, comets, eclipses and transits.

For example, May brings three significant phenomena for the early risers !

On 7^th May, starting at just after 6.00 a.m. and lasting for around 5 hours, the planet Mercury will pass in front of the Sun. This is known as a transit and will be visible from the U.K. Mercury may be seen as a small black dot crossing the disk of the Sun.

On 16^th May, there is a total eclipse of the Moon, again visible from the U.K. Commencing at around 3.00 a.m. as the Moon is close to setting on the South West horizon. Totality starts at 4.14 a.m. with completion by 5.06 a.m., just as the Sun rises.

The Moon is safe to view through telescopes and binoculars, albeit rather bright at full Moon, but remember, do not swing the instrument round to look at the Sun ! SEE WARNING NOTE

On 31^st May, the Sun itself will be the subject of an eclipse. This will be visible as an annular eclipse in the North of Scotland and Islands and as a partial eclipse at Sunrise in other parts of the U.K.

An annular eclipse occurs when the apparent diameter of the moon at eclipse is smaller than that of the Sun.

Jupiter still dominates the evening sky and is a superb object for the beginner. The disk is very clear together with its bands and it should be possible to see several of its moons with even a modest telescope.

Some star charts for May are included with this newsletter.

Jupiter remains a bright object in the evening sky during June but the lenthening hours of daylight will reduce its contrast against the twilight.

Mars, however, increases in brightness very rapidly over the course of the month. Starting the month in Capricornus and moving on to Aquarius eventually appearing near to midnight low in the South East. Observers with large aperture telescopes at high magnification may be able to detect the disc of the planet and possibly, martian storms permitting, the polar ice caps.

Also appearing in these two constellations are Neptune and Uranus respectively, although as very faint objects in the early hours. Probably lost in light pollution and haze during June, Uranus in particular is likely to be more easily visible in July.

On no account should the Sun be observed directly or with a telescope or binoculars as this will cause permanent damage to your eyesight.

The best method is to project an image of the Sun onto a white card but first ensure that your telescope’s optics, particularly the eyepiece, will withstand the focusing of the Sun’s rays.

One of the major obstacles to present day astronomy is the presence of light pollution from street lighting, security lights, floodlit buildings, car parks, factories and sports stadiums. Haverhill and Long Melford are particularly affected by the latter two and we even had to choose our meeting evening carefully to avoid the floodlights of the Cavendish football pitch.

Probably the best U.K. monthly for amateur astronomers is "Astronomy Now" but there are several other excellent magazines available at good newsagents. From time to time we will draw your attention to books and in future it may also be possible to set up a lending library as funds permit.

One excellent book for the beginner is "Turn Left at Orion" by Guy Consolmango & Dan M. Davis and published by Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 78190 6 HB. It provides a very easy to follow guide to finding constellations and objects in the night sky throughout the year.

We are the S.A.S. but there is also a thing called the F.A.S., The Federation of Astronomical Societies. It is our intention to affiliate the S.A.S. to the F.A.S. and thereby to benefit from its resources, including the annual conference in the Autumn – more news of this later.

Other organisations which individuals may find of interest are :-

The Society for Popular Astronomy, 36 Fairway, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5DU

Web sites which may be of interest :-

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

There are a number of astronomy evening and weekend courses run by the University of Cambridge board of continuing education and the new academic year commences in September. Most of these courses allow the student to accumulate points towards a degree.

Distance learning courses are also available from a number of universities including The Open University, again with a points system towards a degree.

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

Rather than just "Newsletter" it might be nice to have a name for this publication. Please give this some thought and let us have suggestions over the next few meetings.

If you like what you have seen so far, please tell your friends and welcome them along to future meetings.

And Finally !

Hello,

Just a few words to welcome you to the Stour Astronomical Society.

The Stour Astronomical Society aims to fill a void in the county of Suffolk where there is a lot of interest in astronomy but very few places to go and meet other amateur astronomers and listen to talks given by expert speakers, receive advice on what equipment you perhaps would like to buy and what to observe in the night sky. At the moment one either has to travel over to Cambridge or Orwell, both having first-class astronomical societies but nevertheless quite some distance away. So please come along on the first Tuesday of the month to meet fellow amateurs and to deepen your love of the wonders of the night sky. And please don’t forget to tell any friends you have who might also be interested in astronomy!

Don’t forget either to observe the total lunar eclipse visible in the early hours on May 16. Despite the low altitude of the Moon above the horizon, we should be able to see most of this beautiful natural phenomenon. The eclipse starts at 01 hr 05min, reaching its maximum at 03hrs 14mins.

So have a good month observing the night sky!