BAA Meeting
Wednesday 30th Mar 202215:30
If you wish to attend then please book your place via the link in the booking information.
PLEASE NOTE THIS MEETING WILL BE IN OUR NEW MEETINGS VENUE IN THE INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS, 37 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9BUU
Doors will open at 17:00, Meeting will start at 17:30 in the lecture theatre and will be finished by 20:00.
Refreshments will be served outside the lecture theatre at 17:00
Programme:
17:30 BAA President – Welcome and notices etc
17:50 Dr Jacqueline Mitton “Maria Mitchell, the Danish comet medal and early American astronomy”
Bio. Jacqueline Mitton, a BAA member since 1966, is a former Editor of both the Journal and the Handbook. She also served for several years as the first press officer of the Royal Astronomical Society. She is the author or co-author of over 30 books on astronomy. Beginning when she was a PhD student at Cambridge in the 1970s, she has had a long-standing interest in the history of women in astronomy. Her latest book, written in collaboration with her husband Simon, is a biography of the astronomer Vera Rubin, published in 2021.
Synopsis. The first American woman to become an astronomer, Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), shot to international fame in 1849, after the King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal by special royal favour for her discovery of a comet in 1847. The story behind the medal is an intriguing and fascinating one. Why was the Danish king awarding such medals? How did Mitchell come to receive one? Why was it such a big deal? In her talk, Jacqueline will explore the answers to these questions.
The great daylight comet of 1843 as seen from Kent (Public domain, unknown engraver)
18:40 Martin Lewis – “Imaging the Night side of Venus”
Bio. Martin Lewis is a professional engineer and part-time planetary imager, telescope builder and deep sky sketcher. He images using his home-built 444mm and 222mm Dobsonian telescopes on a home-built equatorial platform from his garden in St.Albans , Hertfordshire. Martin has been a prize-winner at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year for the last four years – winning first and second prize in the Planets category in 2018. He is an equipment advisor in the Equipment and Techniques section of the BAA.
Synopsis. In spring 2020, Venus was very well placed for evening observation from the UK. This talk describes how Martin used his 444mm Dobsonian telescope to capture thermal surface details on the night-side of the planet, working in a narrow window in the infra-red at around 1000nm. He shows results and discusses the methods and techniques developed to succeed at this demanding imaging project, giving tips that will help others attempting the same.
19:30 Sky Notes – Callum Potter
20:00 Close
Organiser: Mrs Hazel Collett
Book ticket using eventbrite, click here.
Venue
Institute of Physics, 37 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London, N1 9BU