Reading AS Celebrate Grant

The Awards for All certificate

Reading AS recently celebrated the awarding of a grant of £4,797 from the Awards for All Lottery grants scheme. The scheme can fund projects that enable people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community.

The grant was used to purchase and hire equipment in support of our involvement in National Astronomy Week (NAW).

Specifically a data projector and laptop computer were purchased which were used by our speakers during NAW. We hired a hall for our exhibition and talks and we hired a planetarium. The projector and laptop is now available for future community projects and is used at our main and beginner meetings to facilitate multimedia presentations.

In addition a low light camera system has being purchased which will enable us to show live telescopic images during our public observing events. This will be ideal for disabled people who would not normally be able to use a telescope in the field and for live demonstrations to groups of people.

Mercury transit

Members of Reading Astronomical Society were at the Oracle shopping centre on Wednesday 7th May 2003 showing interested members of the public the Mercury transit. This experience will prove invaluable during our planning of events for this years transit of Venus.

Press coverage of the Mercury transit

Event Report - Dinton Pastures - Mar 2002

Friday 23rd March
Due to the solid cloud cover which seemed to be developing most people stayed away, but thanks are due to Martin Burger, Damian and Francis for bringing telescopes. And to Val, Martyn Blanke and Chris Menmuir for being my bodyguards. A few people were intending to wait for any clearance and the park staff produced a bat listening device and entertained about a dozen on the bridge for a while.

The clouds remained thin enough to get a worthwhile view of the Moon. And later even Saturn and Jupiter gave us brilliant views for those that remained. The last person left about 21:10 and some RAS membership details were handed out.

I know a greater number of you are hoping to come tonight (Saturday) and even if there is only an intermittent Moon there will be significant public attendance. Please come, even peering through thin cloud can get a "Wow" out of a first timer's view of the Moon.

Total number of punters tonight about 20 (but keen)

Thanks are due to the park staff as usual.

Saturday 24th March
I left home at 1830 to go up to the park expecting to tell those few who came out that our telescope helpers would be put off by the solid cloud cover. On glancing upwards I saw the Moon just getting through the clouds. By the time I reached the park the cloud was thin enough to "see" Jupiter and that was enough to realise that cancelling was not an option. 15 telescopes arrived and the usual hundred or so visitors. We were still there at 21:30 and many visitors went home with a very good experience.

Thanks everyone, you are too numerous to mention, and thanks to the park staff for their time too.

Gerry Bond - Event Organiser

1999 Solar Eclipse Trip

Nineteen society members and families and friends went to Krapets on the NE coast of Bulgaria for the 1999 eclipse. Virtually on the centre line we had a perfect view under a cloudless sky. The solar corona was seen in all it's glory for 2mins 20secs before the shadow cone was seen rushing away across the Black Sea to Turkey. The corona contained a lot of complicated detail and in binoculars could be seen stretching about 1 diameter from the surface. Just before totality there was a period of faint shadow banding. The sky was cloudless but hazy and was too bright for stars to be seen. Venus could be seen but not Mercury. The following night we arranged a site to observe the Perseids but it was clouded out and was cancelled.

We spent the day in a "very" local cafe with a terrace overlooking the sea. We were staying at a hotel in Varna and our Bulgarian friends arranged a coach and cooked lunch at the eclipse site. There were unlimited supplies of the usual refreshments and a few bottles of a Bulgarian drink which can only be called Champagne outside of the EU. In fact I think that the French should go there for lessons:-) We would all like to thank Stefan Kazandshiev of Vectra Travel, Varna, for the very smooth operation of all the events.

Gerry Bond. Eclipse trip organiser