Francis Wollaston and the Transit of Venus
July Society News
Martin Boddy
The summer twilight has finished with darkness returning at night. The end of July sees the start of the annual Perseid meteor shower which peaks on the 13th of August. Once the Moon is out of the way we should have a really good display this year.
Late evening Saturn rises in the east, giving a great target for telescopes of all sizes. Later in August we can look forward to Jupiter's return.
Telescope Donation
We have had an amazing telescope donation from two of our members. This is an 8inch mounted Celestron telescope on a computerised mount. We will use this at GFO but it will be perfect for our outreach events.
As reported before we have been busy at the observatory with various projects.
Calver telescope
The mirrors have been re-coated, fitted back and collimated. We will get some spectacular views through this telescope now.
Radio Telescope
We have had some great results this month, the telescope was left running for 24hrs tracking the path of the Milky way passing through its field of view. With more fine tuning we hope for even better results. We can now do astronomy in all weathers! Sitting in the warm!
The dish in action ploting the Hydrogen line, overcast skies, wind and rain....No Problem!.
Image: K. Jones
Update 30/07/2023:
GFO 2053hrs 28/07/23 to 2032hrs 29/07/23 (24h Observation time lapse)
The dish was pointing due South and the two peaks of hydrogen emissions occured at 2152hrs (28/07) and 1032hrs (29/07).
The signal level drops substantially as the Milky Way moves away from the view of the dish. The large spike to the right should be ignored as this is a terrestrial signal.
Meteor Detector
This is still operating well.
Di-Pole Aerial
This has been tested and we are just waiting for Jupiter to be in a better position than at present.
All Sky Camera
This is operational.
New Meeting Room
This is now in use, the electrics have been installed, a new window has been fitted and work top, the carpet has been laid.
The concrete pad next to the meeting room has been completed, we now have the imaging centre ready for members to bring their own equipment. Next we have to lay a path to the meeting room, which is planned to be completed soon.
Green Farm Observatory
The observatory is open most Friday evenings to full members.
The observatory offers various options which include viewing if clear, imaging and processing, plus radio astronomy.
Our main source of society information is via Facebook and on the Website at (nnas.org). On the website under articles we will post the monthly society news to keep you up-to-date.
We are there Friday evenings at 7.30-8.00pm weather permitting.
We will indicate on the website if we intend to be there, you are welcome to pop along and if clear viewing will take place.
Please remember to bring a torch, ideally one with a red light.
Events
17th August Binham Village Hall
Talk: A Brief History & Science of Comets. - John Ramm
7.30pm-10.00pm,
Entry £2 for members, £4 for non-members. Children up to sixteen free.
October we are planning a members weekend with a full programme of events at the observatory, during the day and evening. More details will follow soon.
SpaceX Update
21/07/2023
Only 3 months from the first Starship launch which resulted in the destruction of the launch pad, SpaceX have completely rebuilt the pad and added a water deluge system. The deluge system looks like an upturned shower head with many thousands of gallons of water being sent into the air under the super heavy boost to suppress the heat and sound of the 33 Raptor engines. On 17th July the system was tested for the first time and it was a complete success. They are still talking about another launch in August however there is some legislation to overcome from the green brigade!
As always, watch this space.
Keith Jones (TBFS)
