Papers – Page 25 – British Astronomical Association

The brighter comets of 2004

This report describes and analyses observations of the brighter or interesting comets discovered or at perihelion during 2004, concentrating on those with visual observations. Details of other comets seen during the year may be found on the Section web page, though they have not been analysed to the same level.

Domes in northern Mare Tranquillitatis near the craters Vitruvius G & M

Morphometric analysis and mode of formation

Photometric and spectroscopic observations of the 2014 eclipse of the complex binary system EE Cephei

We report photometric and spectroscopic observations of the 2014 eclipse of EE Cep. This proved to be one of the shallower eclipses on record rather than one of the deepest as predicted.

Harold Knox-Shaw and the Helwan Observatory

Harold Knox-Shaw worked at the Helwan Observatory, Egypt, from 1907 to 1924. The Observatory was equipped with a 30-inch (76 cm) reflector that was financed and constructed by the Birmingham industrialist, John Reynolds (1874-1949), to benefit from the clearer skies and more southerly latitude compared with Britain.

A fireball over central Scotland on 2013 October 14

On the evening of 2013 October 14 several fireballs were reported over the British Isles. One was observed and imaged at 20:42 UTC over central Scotland and is notable for the smoke trail it deposited in the upper atmosphere. This trail persisted for at least 13 mins. and its evolution was recorded in a series of still images. This paper details the observations and provides an analysis based on the available imagery and witness reports. The possibility of a near simultaneous fireball over the Irish Sea is also discussed.

Eta Aquarids 2013 − Dual-station meteor videography

NEMETODE, a network of low-light video cameras in Cheshire and West Yorkshire operated by members of the BAA Meteor Section, monitors the activity of meteor showers, enabling the precision measurement of radiant positions and, from the best quality data, the altitudes and geocentric velocities of meteors and their solar system orbits. The results from dual-station observations of the 2013 eta Aquarid shower are presented and discussed.

The brighter comets of 2003

This report is the first of a new series that will describe and analyse observations of the brighter or more interesting comets discovered or at perihelion during the year.

Before Lunik: Imagination and the other side of the Moon

A brief history of the Hansen hypothesis, its effect on the literary imagination, and a short account of some pre-Lunik conjectures about the physiography of the Moon’s far side.

The Revd Walter Bidlake of Crewe and Espin’s ‘dark nebulae’

The Revd Walter Bidlake was vicar of Crewe in Cheshire for some 21 years at the start of the 20th century. He was a keen amateur astronomer with an interest in celestial photography, and took photographs of the night sky in support of T. H. E. C. Espin’s search for dark nebulae in the Milky Way. This paper describes Bidlake’s astronomical activities and life, including a high profile libel case he brought.

Reflecting the candle: 124 years of the Journal of the BAA

In her 2014 Presidential Address, Hazel McGee describes the story of the Journal of the BAA, and introduces some of the editors who have guided the publication through its first 124 years.