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.
April 2024
SWHAS MEMBERS MONTHLY MEETING
Friday 26 April 2024
20:00 – 22:00 GMT
Frozen: Icy Wonders of the Solar System – Karen Anne Devoil
For this talk we will take a grand tour of the solar system from a new perspective -a virtual voyage to visit frozen worlds and mysterious icy wonders.
On this journey we will encounter amazing landscapes, exotic ice forms and hear about some of the processes involved drawing on the latest research and hear about the space missions involved in exploring these icy bodies. Ices are found from the innermost planet -Mercury, right through to the icy far outer reaches of the solar system-the Oort Cloud, these ices encompass not only water ice but also many other ‘volatile’ species including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, methane, and nitrogen ice. Along the way, we will explore some key questions such as how different ices behave, what active processes are driven by ices and also consider their significance for Astrobiology and the search for life by exploring the potential habitability of some of these icy worlds.
Speaker: Karen Anne Devoil
Karen is a marketing professional with over 40 years’ experience in the music industry. Recently retired, she now focuses on her other interests including planetary science, outreach and public engagement, the preservation of dark skies and the conservation of green spaces.
Karen studied Astronomy for 2 years at UCL (Certificate/Diploma), then Planetary Science at Birkbeck University Of London for 2 years and is now Marketing and Outreach Officer at The Centre for Planetary Science UCL/Birkbeck, Communications Officer for Orbyts (researchers /schools partnership project), Outreach Officer for the UK Planetary Forum and is on the organising committee for ASB9 (Astrobiology Society of Britain conference). She is also a Fellow of The Royal Astronomical Society and an active STEM Ambassador contributing to outreach events such as UCL’s Your Universe Festival and International Asteroid Day. Karen is also involved in marketing and public engagement at the Colne Valley Country Park in Denham.
Some of you may have already met Karen through her work with UCL’s Your Universe public outreach festival, where she has contributed for several years and run her own presentation stand (Is There Life on Mars) in 2020, as well as assisting Mark Fuller and Francisco Diego in promoting the event using her professional marketing skills. She has also taken part in many other outreach events, including International Asteroid Day 2021.
The meeting will also include a news item of interest and a tour of the night sky.
This will be presented on Zoom for those that cannot attend in person. Zoom details will be emailed to members a few days before the meeting.
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.
