Bulletin – December 2020

Notes on YAS Zoom Meetings 2020, compiled by Paul Thornley

Friday 4th September 2020

  • Neil Haggarth (Cleveland and Darlington AS) – How Big is Space? Presentation on the historical development of measuring distances to near and distant astronomical objects. Cepheids. Planets to galactic clusters. Hubble Constant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder

Friday 18th September 2020

Friday 2nd October 2020

  • Dave Armeson YAS – Mars the red planet. Viewing Mars, history of observation, exploration, geology and climate. Mariners, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Curiosity. Features to examine through a telescope and his extraordinary photographs. https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/facts/

Friday 16th October 2020

YAS All Members Meeting

  • Andrew Stephenson – OSIRIS Rex. The NASA OSIRIS Rex programme, part of the New Frontiers programme, to collect a geological sample from asteroid Bennu. Spacecraft was about to make a touch and go sample collection event. Return 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/planetarymissions/newfrontiers.html
    https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
  • Martin Dawson – Space models. Martin demonstrated his collection of rocket planes and rockets, spacecraft and space-suited figurines.
  • Gerry Fisher – Simple astrophotography from Turkey. Astronomy on a shoestring, how to construct and adapt equipment.
  • Graham Moore – Synguiders with a DSLR for astrophotography. Using Sharpcap. Asiair.

Friday 6th November 2020

  • Mark Kidger ESA – PLATO and exoplanet survey. PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars. To be launched in 2026. Looking for a second Earth. Few of the discovered exoplanets have confirmed mass and only 30 have less than 3 earth masses. ESA v NASA on reports. Kepler, TESS, Cheops, PLATO, ARIEL. PLATO to look at sun-like stars and Earth-like planets. Position and duration of the mission. https://sci.esa.int/web/plato/home
    https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/personal-profiles/mark-kidger

Friday 20th November 2020

  • YAS AGM on Zoom. Annual Reports, Election of Committee 2020/2021.
  • Paul Thornley YAS – Skylark, Britain’s First Space Rocket Part 1. Congreve Rockets, V2, post-war redistribution of German engineers/designers and rocket equipment. Operation Backfire in the UK, experimental launches in the US, USSR and development of R-1, R-2 and R-5 rockets. Nuclear deterrence: move from bombers to ballistic missiles created need for research on the atmosphere and solid v liquid fuel. Science Museum audio and visual presentation of their exhibition on Skylark. TBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/jgKCHlcjnepTKQ41945654

Friday 4th December 2020

  • Annual Christmas Lecture by Dave Armeson YAS – Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). History of Lunar observation, Luna, Ranger, Apollo. LRO One year primary mission in 2011, but still going strong. Instruments for physics and topography. Lunar features and photographs. Crater formation. Rilles.
    https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html

Friday 18th December 2020

Christmas Informal Meeting on Zoom

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