Contents include:

• The Cheltenham Science Festival June 2008
• Observing Directors Notes
• Dates for your Diary
• Details of Asteroid 6137 

Read Now... (PDF, 1.2MB) (access restricted to CAS Members Only)

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:

Programme Rules

Messier List

  Observing Log

A bright sunny day greeted the Cotswold AS astronomers at the Cheltenham Science Festival this year, attempting to observe sunspots, although the weather was fine, the Sun was in a 'quiet' period and no sunspots were to be seen.

Click on through the pages to see some more pics.

Last Tuesdays observing evening was cancelled due to bad weather prospects, and the fact that I could not unlock the gate! So should the conditions be favourable we will go again tomorrow evening (April 8). Due to the switch to BST and the longer evenings, will plan to start at 9.00 pm. BST rather than 8.00.

Venue: Bredon Cricket Club
Start time: 9.00 pm BST

2008 March 1

Deep Sky Section Annual Meeting

This years BAA Deep Sky Section annual meeting is being hosted by the Cotswold Astronomical Society.

The programme, which has a galaxy flavour to it, includes the following talks: ‘Bringing the Deep Sky down to Earth - Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network’ by Paul Roche; ‘From the Moon to the Deep Sky - Sketching with a PDA’ by Peter Grego; ‘Galaxy Far, Far, Away’ by Gain Lee; ‘Wide Field DSLR Imaging’ by Callum Potter and ‘Galaxy Interactions and Peculiarities’ by Paul Downing . It is also hoped to have a talk on the Galaxy Zoo Project by a member of the Zoo Team.

Admission to the meeting is £7 (payable at the door) which includes refreshments throughout the day and a leisurely buffet lunch with time for socialising. Display material is welcome from Section members and both the BAA sales stand and the Webb Deep Sky Society will be present, along with telescope dealers SCS Astro and Aurora Books. Doors will open at 10:00. All BAA & CAS members and their friends are welcome to attend.

Venue: Century Hall, Shurdington, Cheltenham, GL51 4TB

See http://www.shurdington.org/SocCtr/Location.htm for a map and directions.

CAS observing evenings are now scheduled for 2008 Feb 5, 2008 Mar 4, and 2008 Apr 1 with Feb 12, Mar 11, and Apr 8 being backup dates should conditions not be suitable on the first of these dates.

These observing evenings will be held at Bredon Cricket Club, from 8.00 pm to 10.30 pm.

All members welcome. Please bring warm clothes, red torch, binoculars and/or telescope.

For those starting out in astronomy, we will be able to give a tour of the constellations, locate some of the easier objects, and provide some views through the telescopes.

Download the flier (pdf - 40kb)

A couple of clear nights recently, and this unusual comet has been well observed by members.

On the 29th Martin Sinton made the image to the right.

It is an easy naked eye object, and almost looks like a planetary nebula with binoculars.

A gallery has been started for images.

This nice finder image is from SpaceWeather.com and a diagram from Sky & Telescope will help you locate it.

Gallery has had a couple of nice deep sky images by Les Dickens added today.

M45 (The Pleiades) and The Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC  869/884).

The Cotswold Astronomical Society will be present on Saturday 8th September at the Sue Ryder Autumn Fayre being held at  Leckhampton Court Hospice, Church Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL53 OQJ. Hopefully if the sun peeps out, we will be able to look for some sunspots. 

Many members enjoyed good views of the Perseid meteor shower over the weekend of 11/12 and 12/13 August. Press Read More.. to see all of the Gallery of images.

Image by John Rock - Canon 350D with  kit lens at 18mm 1600 ASA and 30 sec at f3.5.