Analysis of lunar crater timings, 1842-2011

Crater timings are made during a total or partial lunar eclipse as the Moon slowly glides through the Earth’s central shadow cone, or umbra. We have gathered 22,539 observations made at 94 lunar eclipses since 1842 – the largest collection of crater and contact timings ever compiled. In this paper we analyse these timings to derive an improved characterisation of the umbra’s size, shape, and stability over time.

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The Waverton long pendulum experiment, 2009-2012

In 1851 Jean Leon Foucault demonstrated a proof that the Earth turns on its axis, by swinging a long (67m) free pendulum from the roof of the Pantheon in Paris. This paper describes attempts started in 2009 in a rural Cheshire church to repeat that experiment, and what those attempts revealed.

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Measurement of double stars

This short paper reports measurements of double stars made by BAA members, and aims to encourage double star observing by briefly describing the main observational ways of carrying out these measurements.

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