Bradford
Astronomical Society
Welcome to Bradford
Astronomical Society - we are a friendly group of people who all share a common
interest in the universe and its many wonders. Some are more interested in
observing using either the societies or their own telescopes and equipment,
whilst others are more at home with the study of various aspects of the technical
side of astronomy. Whatever your interest may be, and no matter whether you
are an expert or a complete beginner you will be made most welcome. We have
a very active observing section of the society, and this is complemented by
our regular meetings with excellent speakers giving talks on a wide variety
of subjects, often with slide shows or video presentations - there really
is something for everyone no matter what your particular interest in astronomy.
Site Updated May
11th 2008
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Space
Missions - May
The
Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft is due to land
on the Red Planet on May 25 at 23:36 UT.
Mission
overview:
Mars is a cold desert planet with no liquid water on its surface, but in the
Martian arctic, water ice lurks just below ground level. Discoveries made
by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002 show large amounts of subsurface water
ice in the northern arctic plain. The Phoenix Lander targets this circumpolar
region using a robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to
the water ice below and ultimately, to bring both soil and water ice to the
spacecraft platform for sophisticated scientific analysis. (http://www.nasa.gov/)
May
31 (Targeted
date) - Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-124) which will transport
the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the
Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) to the International Space Station.
Launch Time: 21:01 UT.
Moon & Mercury
shot
from Tony West's Garden
on May 6th at 9:30 pm -
Pic by Andy H
Important Announcement
- Tony West has decided to retire from the BAS
committee and as the Newsletter Editor. After performing this valuable service
to the society for so many years I am sure you will all join with me in saying
a big thankyou to Tony for all his hard work, his Newsletter will be sadly
missed, as will his presence at the committee meetings, however Tony now wishes
to take a well earned rest in order to allow him to pursue other interests.
Future enquiries shoud be directed to Hilary Knaggs
(Chairperson) with regards to meetings and general information about the society.
Andy
Hatfield Webmaster
