Update Archive
8th November
Well, work pressures means it has been a little while since the the last website update. The main news is the report from the Astroblast day. Unfortunately, I was not able to make the day, but the pictures and reports suggests it was a great success!
I've done a little tidy up of the Latest News below and archived some of the older stuff off
Remember, there is no BAS Observing on Wednesday 19th, as the Planetarium is in use on that evening, and the we'll be hosting the next dark site session at Daisy Banks on the 24th. See the Events page for more details and a map.
As always, if you have any pictures or articles for the website, just drop me an email - clear skies for now...
ASTROBLAST COMES TO BEDFORD!!
Click on the logo to find out all about it....
16th October
Just a short update today - added a picture I took last night of the moon, a stack of 19 images taken through a William Optics 66mm telescope. Makes an ideal zoom lens!!
Not long now till Astroblast, so just a short reminder to get your 3-course lunch booked with Green Witch, but more importantly, to offer your services to BAS with helping out on the day. Please contact Linton, or any other committee member if you are able to assist in any way.
13th October
Have added some pictures from last years Astroblast event, so you can see some of what the event is all about! We hope to see plenty of you there, it should be an excellent day out! Remember, if you want to book a 3-course lunch (for the bargain price of £5), you need to do so before Monday 27th October. Contact Green Witch for more details
I've also added in the next date for Daisy Bank dark site observing, and created a map showing you where it is. No excuse for not seeing you there!!
Remember that our observing season has started again, and so far, a 100% record on clear skies! Will we get 3 out of 3??
Finally for this update, your Committe has reduced the membership fees for the 2nd half of the year. Note, that this is for NEW members only!! See the About Us page to download the form
8th October - Supplement
Final update from today.....
As some of you may know, Andrew and I were invited to Sir Patrick Moore's for the filming of the Autumn Equinox programme. As you might imagine, there were plenty of amateur astronomers at Patricks home, including Pete Lawrence, Damien Peach, Nick Howes and a guest appearance by Jon Culshaw. Andrew, using a friends telescope, took some lunar videos and produced a number of images, one of which was used in the programme! So, here is the image, and a big well done from a proud dad!!
8th October
Just a minor change today on the Lunar page - you can now view the Rise/Set times and Phase data as a PDF document, and print it out if you wish.
And a couple of pictures from Dave Eagle from Kelling have been added to the Kelling report page here. More pictures to follow at Octobers members evening.
Also, I've added the horizontal lines to hopefully make reading a little easier - as always, appreciate any feedback!
Observing tonight, and if the forecast holds, we should be in for a good evening! See you all later!!
5th October
This morning I have uploaded the "Lunar Legacy" images and data. However, it is a little sparse, so we are looking for some assistance in researching the lives of our famous astronomical forefathers. If you think you can help, please get in touch with one of the committe members - all efforts are greatly appreciated!
And I have finally written my report for the Kelling Heath Star Camp - you can read it here. As always, if anyone else has more images, please let me have them and I'll get them uploaded
Spookily, as I was uploading my report, Linton sent his over, so that has also been added to the page! Anymore reports?
Well, a busy day indeed! I have added some more data to the Lunar Page (Rise and Set data) which will automatically change as the month changes.
At least, that is the plan! If there is any more data you would like to see on these pages, please let me know.
4th October
I have finally got round to uploading Linton's and mine photo's from the day trip to the RGO - as usual, click on the thumbnails images to see the bigger versions
If anyone else has any more from the day, let me know and we'll get them uploaded as well
2nd October
As reported in previous meetings, the observing season got underway tonight, and amazingly, the sky was clear! Is this an omen?? Some nice clusters were observed (M15, M92, M13) and at least one galaxy NGC7331. Unfortunately, I needed to leave early, but several members stayed on to enjoy the night sky. Let's hope for more of the same in the coming weeks!!
A full list from Linton:
- Jupiter
- Open Clusters: M11(Wild Duck)
- Globulars: M13, M92, M56, M71 NGC 6229
- Planetaries: M57 Ring Neb, NGC7662 (Blue Snowball)
- Other Nebulae: M16 (Eagle Neb), M17 (Swan Neb)
- Galaxies: M31, NGC185 a feint outer companion to M31 (Thanks to Peter H for this, I had not seen this before. There was another one listed near by but too feint to see, though we tried!) NGC7331 Galaxy with structure.
29th September
Well, back from an excellent weekend at the Kelling Autumn Equinox Star Camp. Warm, sunny days and clear nights saw a hive of activity for all the attending astronomers. Yes, you read it right! Warm days and clear nights!! I was there from Thursday to Sunday morning and had 3 clear nights! More than the last 3 months!! For more reports and pictures, see here
24th September
24th saw an excellent talk (again!) from Dr Carolin Crawford on X-Ray astronomy. As with previous talks, Dr Crawford makes it easy to understand
some of the more complex aspects of our hobby. Dr Crawford brought one of the mirror sections for us to look at and that generated a great deal of
interest and questions. 
We look forward to welcoming her back in the near future
15th September
Well, we had a great day out at the RGO on Sunday - keep your eyes open for a report coming soon! In the meantime, I have loaded a couple of images on the Past Events page
12th September
More images uploaded to the Gallery, taken by Olly Penrice and Linton Guise at Les Granges - and very nice they are too!! Olly is the proprietor of Les Granges and has kindly agreed to allow to show the images that he and Linton processed there. I feel a holiday coming on..........
I have added Les Granges on the Links page if you want more information
The October members evening will (hopefully!) be extended slightly to include a roundup of events at the Autumn Equinox Star Camp at Kelling Heath. Fingers crossed we shall be able to show images of the night sky as well as the huge range of telescopes that will be on display!
11th September
The Events page has been updated with dates for the new observing season and the first dark site evening. Come along and see what a difference getting away from the town lights makes!
As many of you will know, Dr Evens (HeadMaster of Bedford School) has retired. Your Committee sent Dr Evans a letter thanking him for his vision and efforts in promoting astronomy within the local community, and offering him and his wife an Honorary Membership of BAS. I am pleased to report that Dr Evans has accepted the invitation and looks forward to seeing BAS continue to grow and prosper. Dr Evans will be relocating to France, where we hope his weather is better than our recent spate of cloud!!
9th September
Some spectacular images have been uploaded to the Gallery tonight. Firstly, the Helix Nebula from Linton and while he did not take the image himself, he was
present at Les Granges while it was being captured, and assisted in the post processing. A stunning image with excellent detail!
Secondly, Philip Merryman was fortunate enough to be in China for the August 1st Eclipse - and a stunning set of images he has produced indeed! They really show the corona superbly, and there are lovely prominances showing as well. The "Diamond Ring" is a superb capture - very well done Phillip and many thanks for sharing them!
Again, if you have any images you would like us to display, contact Darren
Please note in your diaries that November 19th will not be available for observing, due to the school hosting a group that night. This is noted on the events page as well
8th September
The planned trip to Greenwich is this Sunday, and all those attending should now have received an email with instructions. Let's hope the weather is kind to us!
Sometime in September, we will be starting our observing programme again - keep your eye on the website for when we announce the actual date. As you will know from previous meetings, we are aiming to start two observing programmes - The Lunar 100 and Variable Star estimations. Peter Hudson has the offical Lunar 100 cards, priced at £3.00 from the BAA, and successful observers will receive a BAS Certificate and the satisfaction of completing the challange!
Variable star estimations is one area of astronomy in which amateurs can still play an important part. Our estimations will be submitted to the BAA VS Section and the more eyes we have the better!
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