|
|
|---|
Forthcoming BADAS Events
Keep watching for future events - if you're not a member and are interested in attending, please email the society -
info AT blackpoolastronomy DOT org DOT uk
~
Reports of previous BADAS events Listen again to Radio Lancashire items: Star of Bethlehem, and Gliese 581C (mp3 format)
|
|||||
|
Comet C/2009 R1 McNaught observing session 19 June 2010 This impromptu observing session was suggested by Claire, and it turned out to be a great evening. Claire was joined by Pete, Alison, Ryszard and Phil. Alison, using 15x70 binoculars was first to spot the comet which was by now fading into the twilight to the North, near the star Capella. The comet definitely had a green tinge to it. After a slightly traumatic hour trying to aim a telescope with no finder at an object that could really only just be made out in binoculars, Pete managed to capture this image (top) of the comet. He'll be better prepared next time! There was also a display of faint Noctilucent cloud, which so far at least has been disappointing this year. Just before everyone packed up to go home, the ISS made a bright, long pass. Here it is shown near Jupiter in a 30 second exposure.. |
||||
|
Star Party - Warton Bank Observatory 16 April 2010 Several members of BADAS met up at the invitation of fellow member Andrew Elliott to observe at his home at Warton Bank. The early challenge was to see Mercury which was getting rather low in a hazy sky after a recent conjunction with Venus. It was spotted (by Ryszard first I believe) in binoculars then Terry trained the society 8.5" dob on to it to reveal a beautiful tiny crescent - this was the first time many members had seen Mercury telescopically. Next up was the conjunction of the Moon and Venus. This was photographed by those who had brought along their DSLR cameras (newly acquired in many cases) with various lenses and tripods. While some members concentrated on observing and imaging deep sky objects, such as M44 The Beehive (undergoing a conjunction with a dimming Mars) and M13 the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, Andrew's 16" LX200GPS was put to work. First up was a view of the Moon occulting (passing in front of) a star, which could be seen on a video screen set up in the observatory. Later, the 16" Meade gave some mesmerising high magnification views of Saturn and several of its moons, and later some "DSO"s (whatever they are Andrew ;-) ) An excellent night, thanks very much to our host!
|
||||
 |
Mercury/Venus Conjunction observing session 10 April 2010 Chris, Pete and later Phil met up at Pilling to observe and photograph the conjunction of Venus and Mercury. A halo often formed around Venus as wisps of cloud passed in front of it. |
||||
|
|
The Universe - Yours to Discover 25 July 2009 BADAS pulled out all the stops to produce a free entry exhibition at Blackpool's Solaris Centre celebrating the International Year of Astronomy and the Apollo 11 40th Anniversary week. Funding for the event was gained through an application made to the RAS IYA2009 committee by members Paul Schofield and Pete Franklin. They and many other members worked for several weeks and months organising, promoting and preparing stands for the event, which covered the following topics: There were also displays of antique and modern telescopes; a "Martian landscape" with a remotely operated rover; a life size Buzz Aldrin tableau with a hole through which you could put your head (it's a Blackpool thing); a marvellous 6ft model of a Saturn V rocket and a large model solar system made to scale complete with rotating planets!
|
|||
|
Pete and Alison's Wedding 21 March 2009 A first for BADAS, two members tied the knot and were joined for the celebrations by several friends from the society. The webmaster and his wife thank everyone for helping to make it a very special day for us. |
||||
 |
PADAS, LAMAS, BADAS, Furness AS Christmas Meal 18 December 2008 About 17 members met up with colleagues from three neighbouring astronomical societies for a Christmas dinner followed by a talk by Dr Allan Chapman, this year on the subject on Thomas Hariott - "The man who beat Galileo". Many members showed off their rocketry skills by firing balloons at colleagues at the other end of the room!
|
||||
|
October Star Party - Pilling 24 Oct 2008 A BADAS first took place when several members met up for a "star-beque" at the PIlling observing site. There was some cloud moving quickly due to a stiff Easterly wind, but the sky remained fairly clear for most of the evening. The barbeque helped to keep out the cold. Thanks to Alison and Betty for sorting out the food, and to Simon for bringing the barbeque. The BADAS 8.5" dob and the big binoculars were in action, along with Chris Lord's finely made Galileoscope. Objects observed included Jupiter, M31, M32, M36, and M45.
|
||||
 |
September Star Party - Pilling 26 Sept 2008 Chris Lord, Brian, Ryszard and Claire enjoyed very good sky conditions at our Pilling observing site. There was a slight mist, though the seeing was very good. Brian brought his 10-inch f/4.7 Dobsonian, and Chris brought his Megrez 90 apo and his replica of Galileo's telescope. Objects observed were Jupiter, M31, the double cluster, M45, and finally M81 & M82. The Pleiades in Chris' Galileoscope was a beautiful sight, just filling the field. |
||||
|
Partial Solar Eclipse Observing Session Warton Bank Observatory 01 August 2008 Tony, Claire and new member Gary met up at Andrew Elliott's to observe the partial solar eclipse. "The morning started" Andrew says "with a completely clear blue sky, but spode's law prevailed and clouds rolled in before 1st contact. However, there were some reasonably long gaps through which Tony obtained some images and I managed to record some video footage. It went solidly cloudy again just before 4th contact, so we didn't see that either! But it was an enjoyable morning anyway." A couple of other BADAS members managed to see the eclipse though as Andrew says despite the optimistic start to the day the cloud nearly scuppered all attempts at viewing this one! |
||||
 |
BADAS @ Red Ass Summer Meal 08 19 June 2008 BADAS had it's second summer meal on 19th June. After meeting at the Auctioneer, twenty members in all enjoyed an asian buffet including duck, venison and kangaroo, at The Red Ass restaurant, on Bond Street.
|
||||
 |
Star Partius Interruptus 10 May 2008 In spite of mixed weather forecasts, four members of BADAS met up at our Pilling observing site around dusk on Saturday 10 May. Brian's 10" dobsonian had it's first official BADAS outing, Gary brought along his Megrez 80, and Pete and Ryszard had binoculars. We observed the crescent moon, crater Theophilus was the highlight, being just on the terminator. Mars was seen as a small reddish disc, about 3 degrees West of the moon. Earlier in the day Mars had been occulted by the moon. Saturn was visible through thickening cloud, it's rings clearly becoming ever closer to edge on. It wasn't long though before the few gaps that there were in the cloud were filled in, and about half past ten we packed up and went home. |
||||
 |
Post-meeting visit to Carleton House Observatory 07 May 2008 A few members of BADAS met up at Pete and Alison's house after the normal monthly meeting, to take advantage of a clear night. After a tour around the facilities, Saturn, Epsilon Bootes, M3 and M13 were observed. Later on, Pete demonstrated deep sky imaging. Despite a few technical gremlins, including a now resolved autoguiding error, this image of M13 was obtained. (click image to see the full resolution version)
|
||||
 |
Observing session and get together - Warton Bank Observatory 22 March 2008 Several members of BADAS met up at Andrew Elliott's house, after much delay due to bad weather and despite the poor forecasts for the night. The sky was not good, but a good view of Saturn was had during a brief clear interlude. Sadly the group photo was lost due to technical difficulties. But this photo of Pete washing up at the end of the night is rare enough to justify publication! |
||||
  |
Two-night Star Party 15/16 February 2008 - Pilling observing site Friday Also on view was Saturn, whose rings are rapidly closing, the Plieades and several of the brighter Messier objects. New members Ian and Phil brought along their telescopes for their first official BADAS outings.
|
||||
 |
PADAS/LAMAS/BADAS Christmas Meal 2007 13 December 2007 There was again a joint meal with neighbouring Preston and Lancaster societies, held at the Garstang Hotel and Golf Club. The ever impressive Dr Allan Chapman was on hand to give a talk on Edmund Halley. Nice hat Paul!
|
||||
|
Perseids Star Party 07 12 August 2007 - Pilling observing site Twelve of us in all met up at Lane Ends Amenity Area in Pilling, despite mixed skies, to view what turned out to be the best meteor display seen by BADAS members for many years. Between 1am and 2am BST we counted 68 meteors, 60 of which were Perseids. Definitely one of the best BADAS star parties ever.
|
||||
 |
Inaugural BADAS Summer Meal 21 June 07 17 members of BADAS met up for a chinese meal in Poulton. As you can tell from the photograph there was not much food left by the end of the banquet!
|
||||
|
23 March 2007 Several of us met up at fellow BADAS member and BAA Merlin award winner Andrew Elliott's observatory, after much delay due to bad weather and despite some poor forecasts for the night. However, keen observers Pete and Bob gave the go ahead after checking out all the available forecasts (including Dianne Oxberry!) and a good night was had by all.
|
||||
 |
PADAS/LAMAS/BADAS Christmas Meal 2006 Again BADAS joined up with members of PADAS and LAMAS for Christmas meal and a talk by Dr Allan Chapman. This year the meal was at the Garstang Hotel and Golf Club. |
||||
|
September Star Party 21 Sept 2006 - Pilling observing site An excellent turn out were rewarded with a sky dark enough to see the dust lanes in the Milky Way, despite some light pollution from nearby Blackpool, Heysham and Barrow. Three telescopes were in use - the society 8.5" f/7 Newtonian on its Dobsonian mount, Pete's 8" f/4 Meade Schmidt-Newtonian, and Tony' s 6" f/6 Newtonian, the latter two on driven equatorial mounts. Almost everyone brought binoculars as well. With no moon or planets visible, an evening of deep sky observing took place. Several Messier objects were observed - M57 the Ring Nebula, in Lyra; M27 the Dumbell Nebula, in Vulpecula; M31 the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellite galaxies M32 and M110; M33 the Triangulum Galaxy; M13 globular cluster in Hercules; M92 globular cluster also in Hercules and M45 the Pleiades, in Taurus. Also observed were NGC 869 and NGC 884 - the Double Cluster in Perseus; the Western loop of the Veil nebula in Cygnus (both with and without UHC filter) and finally Observing finished around midnight, when we were beaten by cloud.
|
||||
 |
Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 observing session 5 May 2006 - Pilling observing site Bob, Tony E, Ray, Alison, Pete and Paul met up at Pilling to observe comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. Main instrument was the society's 6" newtonian. The first quarter moon was the first object observed, then Saturn. Seeing was good early on. Once dark, the hunt was on for the Comet, Pete was first to spot it with his bins. It was then tracked in the society 6". Other objects observed were M13 and M92.
|
||||
 |
Saturn Occultation observing session 25 January 2006 - Pilling observing site Terry, Bob, Alison and Pete observed the occultation of star SAO 98054 (BY Cancri) by the Saturn system. Through not very patchy cloud, the end of the event was witnessed by all, and Terry managed to get some camcorder video through the Society's 8.5" dobsonian telescope. The animation at left shows SAO 98054 moving away from Saturn's South Polar Region. |
||||
|
15 December 2005 For the first time BADAS joined PADAS along with LAMAS for a joint Christmas meal, held at the Crofters Hotel, Garstang. After the meal we were treated to a talk by
|
||||
|
BADAS Christmas Quiz Night 2005 07 December 2005 Andrew's team narrowly beat Terry's team 101-93. Subjects ranged from orbital mechanics to "Top Cat". Santa was in attendance, skilfully played by Alison, who bleached her beard for the occasion. (Sorry Alison!)
|
||||
|
Two-night Star Party 16/17 November 2005 - Pilling observing site Wednesday Arrived onsite to hazy skies but a brilliant full moon and beautiful 22° ice halo - first time Rysard and Alison had seen one. Thursday Much clearer than the night before. The main instrument tonight was the Society 6" - this offered excellent views of the Moon and Saturn, though Mars was lacking detail. Other objects observed included the Great Orion Nebula (M42) and the double cluster (NGC 869, NGC 884) in Perseus. Bob guided members through the constellations that were on view. Paul brought along his lx200 again and Pete took some images of constellations with a digicam and had a go with film. BADAS star parties are traditionally scheduled to coincide with meteor showers and this night saw the peak of the Leonids. Although we didn't stay for the usual peak in the early hours, Alison did see two Leonids and Pete observed one once back in Blackpool.
|
||||
 |
Perseids observing session 12 August 2005 - Pilling observing site The cloud was rolling in... but (r-l) Chris P, Tony and Pete did see 5 or so Perseids, quite fast with long trails. Observed a satellite passing over the zenith. Pete was experimenting with listening for meteor scatter. We packed up around midnight, when the cloud beat us. link: International Meteor Organisation
|
||||
|
|||||
| © Blackpool & District Astronomical Society. Reproduction of any part of this site without express permission is prohibited. Site maintained by Pete Franklin. | |||||
