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Welcome to the web-site of the Cotswold Astronomical Society.

New members and visitors are always welcome.

 
CAS September 11th meeting: Change of Speaker
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Unfortunately Dr Peter Hargrave, who was to be the speaker at the next CAS meeting, can't make it. He has very kindly found someone to speak in  his place. Professor Matt Griffin has agreed to give the talk on September 11th. Matt is the principal investigator for the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory, and will give a talk on Herschel and it's science results.
 
Mercury July/August 2010
Sunday, 04 July 2010
The July/August 2010 Mercury is now available for download.

pdf_small.gif Read Now... (PDF,1.06 MB) (access restricted to CAS Members Only)

CAS Members - please contact the \n This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it who will be able to advise the password if you do not know.  

Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 July 2010 )
 
Noctilucent Clouds viewed from Gloucestershire
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
nlc_20100614_jw.jpg CAS Member James Weightman viewed and recorded a display of Noctilucent Clouds last night (or more accurately 2.00 a.m. this morning), from his location near Cirencester. James made this video by using a time-lapse  switch with a Canon DSLR with 85mm lens to take a series of 72 images at 10 second intervals.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 June 2010 )
 
C/2009 R1 (McNaught)
Monday, 10 May 2010

c2009r1_tn.png At the Society meeting on Saturday, I mentioned the possibility of this comet reaching naked eye visibility in late May, early June. I have collated an overview chart and ephemeris from the BAA in this pdf ,

Note that this will probably be a challening object to see, and probably even harder to image. It will be low in the north-east, and it will be around mid-summer, with bright skies. However, I hope some members will be up for the challenge! 

Also I read today that Comet 2009 K5 is also moderately bright, not naked eye, but possibly within range of binoculars. 

A good place for comet information is the BAA Comet Section website .

Last Updated ( Monday, 10 May 2010 )
 
Now on Facebook
Wednesday, 21 April 2010

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The Cotswold Astronomical Society now has a Facebook group.

If you already use Facebook why not become a fan.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 April 2010 )
 
New CAS Officers
Tuesday, 13 April 2010

At the annual general meeting of the Society, Peter Cadogan was elected as new Coordinator and Rik McRae as new newsletter editor. Tony Ireland was appointed Secretary and Callum Potter as Website Manager - both these are single year co-opted positions.

 If any members have articles, news items, or pictures for Mercury, please send to Rik via the email address This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 April 2010 )
 
APOD - Double Black Hole
Monday, 15 March 2010
Following Saturdays fasciinating talk about the center of the galaxy, members may be interested to view Sunday's Astrophoto of the Day (APOD), which shows a double/binary black hole.
Last Updated ( Monday, 15 March 2010 )
 
Messier Observing Programme
Monday, 07 July 2008

In order to encourage Society members (new and old, beginners and experienced) to spend more quality time at the eyepiece, we are launching a new Observing Programme based on the 110 Messier objects.

he aim of the Programme is to provide a structured approach to finding and observing these most spectacular of deep-sky objects. In addition, the Society will confer Awards (Silver, Gold and Platinum) on members who achieve certain observing goals and submit their completed observation logs to the Observing Director. A “roll of honour”, listing those who have received Awards, will also be maintained and published on the Society web site.

Star-hopping hints and tips for finding well-placed objects will be included in issues of Mercury throughout the year, and it is envisaged that helping observers hunt for their as-yet-unseen Messier objects will form a part of Society Observing Evenings during the winter months.

You can dowload here:

pdf_small.gif Programme Rules

pdf_small.gif Messier List

pdf_small.gif  Observing Log

 

 

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