Check out these online astronomy events taking place in 2024
To register for these fascinating talks please click on the links below.
We will regularly update this page as details of more events become available.
Members will also continue to receive email invitations to join our SWHAS monthly meetings.
December 2024
Online Event: Black Holes and Bangs by Professor Lintott
Wednesday 04 December 2024
19:00 – 20:00 GMT
Space itself is wobbly. We exist on a choppy sea, its surface roiled by disturbances caused by the movements of black holes hundreds of millions of light-years away. The recent detection of these ‘gravitational waves’ by a completely novel type of observatory is a story of scientific persistence and precision engineering, resulting in a completely new way of looking at the cosmos. The lecture highlights results from the last year of observations, discuss the nature of black holes – the most mysterious of astronomical objects – and explain how the gold in your jewellery was made.
Gresham Professor of Astronomy
Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.
Having been educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and University College London, his research now ranges from understanding how galaxies form and evolve, to using machine learning to find the most unusual things in the Universe, to predicting the properties of visiting interstellar asteroids. He is Principal Investigator of the Zooniverse citizen science platform, which provides opportunities for more than two million online volunteers to contribute to scientific research, and which was the topic of his first book, ‘The Crowd and the Cosmos’.
Professor Lintott is best known for presenting the BBC’s long-running Sky at Night program, and as an accomplished lecturer. Away from work, he cooks, suffers through being a fan of Torquay United and Somerset cricket, and spends time with a rescued lurcher, Mr Max, with whom he presents the Dog Stars podcast.
To watch this event online simply register here:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/black-holes?mc_cid=1da3902dfb&mc_eid=d25c0e416e
SWHAS MEMBERS MONTHLY MEETING
Friday 13 December 2024
20:00 – 22:00 GMT
Members Images
For our last meeting of 2024 we will be showing a selection of members images in the Cadogan House Hall, Royal Masonic School For Girls, Rickmansworth.
We will also be holding a Bring and Buy event. This is a great opportunity to pick up a bargain or a chance to find a new home for equipment or accessories that you no longer use.
The meeting will also include a news item of interest and a tour of the night sky.
We look forward to seeing you.
Revised RMS meeting protocols now in place
In order to keep everyone safe we still need to adhere to the school guidelines following the relaxation of rules regarding the COVID situation.
We ask you to respect social distancing where appropriate, as not everyone is comfortable in crowds.
Use good hygiene and the wearing of face coverings is a now a personal choice.
We will endeavour to keep the hall well ventilated at all times and this may mean some doors need to be left open from time to time.
1. We will ask you to collect your own chair from the back of the hall and take it to a place in the hall where you would like to sit. This can be either near friends/family or well away from everyone else – the choice is yours, but we encourage you to respect social distancing where appropriate. Be aware that some doors may be left open to aid better ventilation, so bear this in mind when you choose a seating location. It might be advisable to wear layers ! Sanitising wipes will be provided when you collect your chair for you to wipe down your seat.
2. In addition to the school cleaning regime, we will, prior to the meeting, wipe down all accessible surfaces including the handrails, door handles and toilets.
3. All beverages will be dispensed in paper cups and consumables (such as sugar, UHT milk and biscuits) will be supplied as individually sealed packs. After use, please dispose of these items in the rubbish bags provided.
4. After the talk is over, please return your chair to the back of the hall where it will be wiped down and stacked away.
5. For the time being, we will not be holding planetarium visits – because the space in there is too confined to safely ventilate it. Instead Richard will do a summary of the upcoming night sky in the hall.
Members will be advised of the RMS gate code nearer the date of the meeting.
Keep safe and we look forward to seeing you in person.
