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Meetings
2012
Monday, 11 June: AGM and Planetary Imaging with a Dobsonian
Our June meeting is the date for our Annual General Meeting, at which we give you a summary of the previous year's activities, ask you to elect a new committee and present the society's accounts. This is intended to take a short time only, though of course you are welcome to ask questions and make comments on the running of the society. The AGM is held at the beginning of the meeting, and we can then get on with something more astronomical.
Following the AGM Martin Lewis will take the stage. Most of you who come to meetings will have seen Martin’s superb planetary images, which are often the equal of those taken with much larger apertures, But even more remarkable is they they are taken with Martin’s home-built 222 mm Dobsonian telescope, an altazimuth design not normally suitable for tracking planets which requires a motor drive. And such results are not a matter of good luck. Martin has put a lot of effort into making sure that he gets the very best out of his telescope.
Martin will be telling the inspirational story of his path to top-quality planetary images after the AGM at our meeting on Monday 11 June at Christ Church, Redford Way, Uxbridge. The meeting begins at 8 pm.
Monday, 9 July: Voyager – Humanity's Greatest Journey
The two Voyager spacecraft are truly ranked alongside the historic voyages of exploration of such people as Magellan and Cook. They took advantage of a rare alignment of the planets to travel to all the outer planets – we used to say all except Pluto, but today, with the demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet, we can make this claim. Not only that, but the images they took and the measurements they made are still at the heart of our understanding of the giant planets.
Nor is their mission over. For an amazing 35 years they have been faithfully reporting back to Earth, and even now, as they travel through the outer solar system, they are both still transmitting. This is a good time to stand back and list their achievements, and at the July meeting our member Susan Rowe will be presenting the story of the Voyager spacecraft and will show us just what they have achieved to justify the claim that they have made humanity’s greatest journey. The meeting is on Monday 9 July at the St John’s Ambulance Hall, North Harrow, at 8 pm.
Future meeting dates
10 September TBA
8 October – Uxbridge. Louise Alexander – The Legacy of Apollo
12 November – North Harrow TBA
10 December – Uxbridge. Dr Leigh Fletcher – The Atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn
Meetings
Meetings are held every month (except August) alternating between Christ Church, Redford Way, Uxbridge and St John's Ambulance Hall, North Harrow. Admission to meetings is free to members, and non-members are welcome to attend one or two meetings before deciding if membership is for them. Meetings begin at 8 pm sharp and finish at 10 pm.
Each meeting begins with the talk by the main speaker, which usually lasts 60-75mins. This is followed by a slot where we show astronomical observations made by members. The meetings close with society notices and we often have time for refreshments afterwards. Here you can socialise with other members, speak to WOLAS committee members, or even talk directly with the main speaker.
As an incentive for members to contribute their observations to the monthly observing slot, a small prize is awarded by a process of a lucky dip. We also run an observing competition over the year and whether you win the lucky dip or not, each month's entry also adds a point to a member's points tally. Attendance at a Piggotts observing night also adds a point. In September of each year, a trophy is given to the member with the most points. This is the Geoff Smith Award which commemorates a former secretary of WOLAS who was a very keen observer of the night sky.
