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What has been happening in the 2012 meetings can be found here. March April June September December MINUTES | 2012 2nd March 2012 March Members present:- Talk was by Geoff Flood entitled ‘Living and Working in Space’ A really enjoyable and informative talk and was thanked by everybody. Secretary was absent therefore no minutes from the previous meeting. The new venue,has been confirmed from April. The next meeting of ADAS will be held at Timperley Community Centre 121 Park Road Timperley at 8pm. This will be an open telescope night where members may bring their own scopes and get advice and instruction from more experienced members and share knowledge. Other events:- Wythenshawe Park Stargazers meeting Wednesday 7th March 6-9pm near to the horticultural centre in the park. Jodrell Bank imaging workshop 21st April Merseyside Astronomy group 12th May Other news and events have all been circulated by email previously but if any more information needed then please contact Geoff. Treasurers report:- We are £1300 in credit, although we have some bills to pay. AOB :- Keys for the Scout Hut need to be collected in and returned before we officially change premises. A volunteer is needed to move the metal cabinet from the Scout Hut to the Community Centre (Karin Rodgers volunteered her husband Kevin and car if needed ) - to be co-ordinated between Chris, Geoff and Kevin if needed. A reminder to those who wish to be kept on the email circulation list to make sure they give their email addresses to Geoff Flood to ensure they don’t miss out. Graham Cliff reminded everyone that it is the WWF Earth Hour on March 31st and a request was made for people to consider turning their lights off from 8.30pm – 9.30pm on this evening to support this. Chris thanked everybody for coming and the meeting was officially closed at 9.27pm 6th April 2012 April Present Chris Suddick (Chairman), Geoff Flood, Graham Cliff, Tony Aremia, Roger Thorp, Karin Rodgers, Brian Warrier, Kevin Rodgers, Eddie Bruce, Ben Gribbon, Stephen McHugh, Margaret Masterson, Michael Masterson, Norman Thurston, Geoff Walton, Peter Baugh, Ged Burbeck Total 16 Correspondence. A number of notices which have been circulated to members about various events, including Notification of Keele Observatory’s 50th birthday celebrations on 19th May and Wythenshawe Stargazers meting on TUESDAY 17th April. We were advised of the Neighbourhood Voluntary Sector Grant Scheme where grants of £200,000 are available in £50,000 lots with the suggestion that we might be able to make use of some of this money. It was decided, not to apply as we have no project in mind, however it might be worth considering in future years. Treasurer Funds are now transferred to the Barclay’s account. The FAS e-mailed to say that because we had missed the deadline for payment our subscription would be increased to £28, however Richard pointed out that the cheque had been posted prior to the deadline - we only paid £14. We were unable to have a tea/coffee break because although we had all the brewing materials there were no cups. We will have to remedy this situation. This evening was devoted to telescopes, an opportunity for more experienced members to illustrate the possibilities with somewhat more upmarket scopes and for the less experienced to get help with setting up their own scopes and learning about how best to use them. Some 6 or 8 scopes were on view from tiny portables to large heavy ones some with go-to’s others being purely DIY. A thoroughly enjoyable and, for most, profitable evening. Sadly, as might have been expected, there was a heavy layer of cloud making viewing impossible. The next meeting will be held on Friday 4th May 2012, 8:00pm at Timperley Community Centre when Graham Cliff will speak on the subject of Light Pollution. 1st June 2012 June Present Chris Suddick (Chairman), Geoff Flood, Colin Eaves, Kath Scott, Steve Holt, Peter Baugh, Christine Lavender, Tony Aremia, Stephen McHugh, Ben Gemmel, Richard Bullock, Phil Leigh, Graham Cliff, Andy Greenhow, Joshua Broomfield. Total 15 Richard Bullock spoke about what will be seen in the night sky in the coming months. The Transit of Venus, on 6th June, was discussed with illustrations of is path across the face of the Sun. To get a good view one needs to be high up because the sun will be close to the horizon. Various locations for viewing were mentioned. On July15th almost a grazing occultation with Jupiter passing close to the moon but we are too far North get the images of the Moon Mountains. Artificial satelites can be seen and the ISS will be around in the late evening. Have a look at “heavensabove”for more info. Saturn will be around for some time over the summer but Mars is moving away. August 12th is the annual visit of the Perseids when the shower of meteors will hopefully be visible. Cygnus and Lyra will be directly over head - lie on your back with your feet facing South. So there is plenty to see even if viewing conditions might not be ideal at this time of year. Richard was thanked for his talk by Chris. Items of business included: The monthly list of FAS meetings East Sussex Astronomy Festival, 5th June Transit of Venus 6th June, Windgather Rocks (03:30hrs) Dark Sky Society AGM, 16th June in Cambridge Wythenshawe Stargazers meeting, 12thJune There was a discussion about the website. The current website is now in order and looking quite good, however Ged and Chris will discuss the way forward for the future. The FAS has proposed having time on the 250 mm Telescope in Spain. Costs would depend on take up but could be as little as £13 p/a if all member societies contribute, this would give us around 6 - 7 hours scope time. We would need a free WiFi venue for members to view. It was agreed that we would show interest in principle, up to £30 - £40 p/a. The Secretary to inform the FAS of our interest. The Chairman then closed the meeting. 7th September 2012 September ADAS - MINUTES OF 48th AGM (477th Society meeting) Held on Friday 7th September 2012, at Timperley Community Centre. PRESENT Chris Suddick (Chairman), Geoff Flood, Graham Cliff, Steve Holt, Tony Aremia, Raj Goel, Peter Baugh, Stephen McHugh, Joshua Broomfield, James Brown, Eddie Bruce, Ewan Hill Norris, Phil Reilly, Richard Bullock, Geoff Walton, Phil Leigh, Andy Greenhow. APOLOGIES Brian Warrier, Graham Sinagola. APPROVAL OF 2011 AGM MINUTES The minutes of the 2011 Minutes which were circulated electronically and were approved. MATTERS ARISING There were no arising matters ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Chairman thanked the outgoing Officers for their services over the past year. The following Officers were then elected for the year 2012 -2013. Chairman: Chris Suddick Secretary Geoff Flood Treasurer Richard Bullock Speakers Secretary Peter Baugh Minutes Secretary Graham Sinagola. All the above elected unopposed CORRESPONDENCE The Federation of Astronomical Societies supplied: • FAS Society programmes for September • Public Liability Insurance - we do not have it and although enquiries regarding cost have been made it is felt that we probably do not need it. This matter will be discussed at a later meeting • Details of the FAS Annual Convention in Cambridge • Liverpool AS sent a list North West Events (all from LAS!) Geoff informed the meeting that, former member, Dave Timperley's wife recently died suddenly. a number of members asked for Dave's contact details. TREASURER'S REPORT Richard presented the Accounts (attached to hard copy) and reported that He had made a loan to the Society to tide us over the period when a large payment had to be paid to First Timperley Scouts for back rent at a time when the funds were being moved from the Yorkshire Bank to Barclays. No interest is charged on this money. We have still not arranged regular payment to G Force for the rent of the room at Timperley Community Centre. (Geoff was asked to provide Richard with contact details) Fortunately we had speakers expenses of only £10 last year compared with £90 the previous year, this was because we had a number of talks from members thus making cost savings. ADAS running costs include £20 per month for room hire plus FAS fees plus speaker expenses. Richard reported that we only had 12 paying members last year which at current rates is not really sufficient to break even on the year. In reply to a question he estimated that we would need probably 15 members to break even. It was agreed that Annual Subscriptions should remain at £20 per annum for senior members and £1 fore junior members aged 16 and under. ANY OTHER BUSINESS There was some discussion about having active astronomy. Chris stated that in the past we have visited various sites such as Teggs Nose near Macclesfield and Llyn Brennig in North Wales . Andy Greenhow, who teaches at Altrincham Girls Grammar School in Bowdon, felt that he could probably get permission to use the school grounds as a local observing point. He will make enquiries but it was felt that for a first step this might be a useful site and then see how the members feel about going further afield. Following the AGM Chris Suddick gave a talk on "The Missions to Mars" relating the efforts to man's efforts to photograph and to discover more about the red planet right up to the latest "Curiosity" pictures. There being no other business the meeting was closed. 7th December 2012 December Minutes of the 479th meeting, 7th December 2012 PRESENT Chris Suddick (Chairman), Geoff Flood, Eddie Bruce, Ewan Norris, Steve Holt, Andy Greenhow, Raj Goel, Geoff Regan (LAS), Dave Owen (LAS), Peter Baugh, Margaret Masterson, Ged Birbeck, Pat Gothard, Tony Aremia, Graham Cliff, Colin Eaves, Geoff Walton. Total 17 Chris Suddick introduced Dave Owen of Liverpool AS who was to speak on "Making a Telescope" The project went back to 1997. Someone said "let's build a telescope". They had an 18" mirror and decided to grind a 30 inch F4 lens with a 10 foot focal length - just like that! An appropriate lump of plate glass was acquired and they went to work using a Heath Robinson workshop ie a garage with bits of scaffolding , rope and a drill. The Lens was ground using a grinding wheel on the drill using pitch & Cerium Oxide as a grinding medium with a good deal of trial and error The 'scope was completed in February 1998. The next project was to grind a30inch F6 lens, this time using plate glass which is less liable to deformation. In 2005 a 20 inch F3.9 and a 20 inch mirror was produced. All the time, with experience, the team was getting more sophisticated in the measuring of shape and accuracy of the finished products. Similarly they developed an awareness of the need for proper support for the lenses. The final effort was ground to within 0.1 mm and was first used in public in 2010. Dave and Geoff were thanked by Chris for a fascinating talk. Following a break for tea, on this occasion accompanied by mince pies and iced doughnuts, there was discussion regarding the January 2013 meeting - it was decided that this would be a "Club Evening".

We often make trips out into the neighbouring countryside where conditions are better than Timperley with a limiting magnitude of 4.5 Tegg's Nose Country Park Siddington Gradbach Llyn Brenig STAR PARTY The Timperley Village Club is within the Greater Manchester conurbation and suffers from light pollution (limiting mag 4.5). As a result of this we make trips out into the neighbouring countryside where conditions are better. The trips tend to be arranged on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, due to uncertainties in the weather, but usually take place on the weekends either side of the new moon (these events will be posted on the "Upcoming Events " page and "Home " page). Brief descriptions of the various dark sky sites, including location and typical limiting magnitude, are given below. The order is in increasing distance from the Timperley Village Club. Locations Siddington Siddington Approximately 13 miles SSE of Timperley. It is located at a wide sweeping bend on a quiet country road off the A537 between Chelford and Macclesfield. There is room to set up several telescopes. ADAS members have an arrangement with a local farmer to use his adjoining field. There are good all round horizons with the darkest sky to the South. Limiting apparent magnitude ≈ +5 What3Words ///complains.broadcast.scanner Tegg's Nose Country Park Tegg's Nose Country Park Approximately 18 miles SE of Timperley and 2 miles up in the hills east of Macclesfield. The car park has a good level tarmac surface with plenty of room for twenty or more cars. Good horizons to the East and South with noticeable light pollution to the West and North. Limiting apparent magnitude ≈ +5.7 What3Words ///directly.thankful.tacky Gradbach Gradbach Approximately 28 miles SSE of Timperley and 3 miles SE of Allgreave in the Peak District. Located on some open ground to the right of a sharp left bend in the road. Careful driving needed on the road east of Allgreave during the winter. There is plenty of room for at least half a dozen cars. Significantly darker than either Siddington or Teggs Nose with good all round horizons. Limiting apparent magnitude ≈ +6.03 What3Words ///straw.cuddled.solves Llyn Brenig Llyn Brenig Approximately 72 miles West of Timperley and 13 miles SW of Denbigh. Much further than the other sites but undoubtedly the darkest. Driving time around 1 ½ hours on good roads. Located at the end of a ~1 mile cul-de-sac near to the lake with room for a dozen or more cars. When the wind is from the North, off the Irish Sea, there are often local clouds even though it is clear elsewhere. No discernible light pollution to the South or West with a little to the North East due to Denbigh/ Liverpool/ Manchester. Limiting apparent magnitude ≈ +6.3 What3Words ///searcher.cowboys.anode There is a location of an alternative site which is higher up should it be misty by the lake. This second site is more exposed and the Denbigh lights are more in evidence. What3Words ///volume.easygoing.lofts

What has been happening in the 2004 meetings can be found here. September October MINUTES | 2004 3rd September 2004 September The 399th Meeting and 39th AGM of the Altrincham and District Astronomical Society, held at Timperley Village Club on Friday 3rd September , 2004 at 8pm Those present were: Chris Suddick Don Utton Tony Aremia Ged Burbeck Graham Sinagola Lucy Rogers Colin Eaves Stuart Oldbury Sean Oldbury Mark Crossley John Tipping Colin Henshaw Nick Dixon Debbie Wilson Kevin Thurston Geoffrey Walton Paul Clark Roger Livermore Mary Stewart Gillian Cox Lionel Cox Chris Lavender Geoff Flood Fred Talbot Martin Leahy Daniel Leahy (Total 26) The chairman Paul Clark opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the start of our new year and by announcing that business would be taken first, to be followed by refreshments and then a talk by Fred Talbot. Paul gave a brief summary of the year, mentioning that our local climate had not helped our observing, but despite that there had been some good sessions, with the transit of Venus the most notable event. We are still looking for funds to replace the metal shed at the Observatory. He then called for the Treasurer's Report. Mark Crossley reported that there is approximately £1900.00 in the bank, but we have £500.00 to pay in back rent for the Observatory. The increased Observatory rent and other routine costs bring our total annual outgoings to £600.00 and therefore he proposed that the annual subscription be increased to £20.00 with the junior rate of £1.00 remaining unchanged. This was agreed unanimously. Mark also said that he has now taken responsibility for the Web site. Some changes have been made including the option for contributions to be made by members by ‘blogging’. The following officers were then elected unopposed. Chairman Paul Clark Secretary Don Utton Treasurer & Webmaster Mark Crossley Events Officer & Observatory Director Ged Birbeck The Chairman then suggested that the presentations for the astronomical evening at Delamere Forest take the form 1) What’s on tonight 2) Earth/Moon or the solar system 3) Deep sky 4) Quiz. Total elapsed time between 60 and 90 minutes. He asked for volunteers and Chris Suddick, Mark Crossley and Graham Sinagola all said they could contribute. The Chairman also announced that we had been given a library of around 30 books which are available for loan by members. Following the break, Fred Talbot gave a talk on his memories of the ADAS early days. ADAS was started by a group of 14 year old boys who held their first meeting on 13th November 1964. What they lacked in equipment and facilities they more than made up in youthful enthusiasm and a lack of inhibition on what was possible. They went by bus to enjoy dark skies at summer camps in North Wales and to observe meteor showers etc. In 1968 a change in the law meant that they could sign a legal contract and so establish an observatory, finally settling on the present site on Grove Lane. A lucrative trade in honey raised funds to build an observatory and meeting hut. The sand for cement and concrete was dug from a hole in the ground on the site. Fred’s dominant memory is of enthusiasm and willingness to try their hands at anything. In many cases the experiences led on to other things, for example, in his case to TV presenting. He never expected ADAS to keep going for 40 years and hoped that it would continue for another 40 at least. The Chairman thanked Fred for his interesting reminiscences and reminded everyone that Ged Birbeck is organising a ‘do’ for 13th November to celebrate the 40th anniversary. He then gave a brief account of objects to look for in the coming months, including M15, M31 and NGC 7755 in Cassiopeia. He closed the meeting by thanking everyone for coming and asking them to give support at Timperley Country Fair on 18th September. Chairman Secretary 1st October 2004 October The 400th Meeting of the Altrincham and District Astronomical Society, held at Timperley Village Club on Friday 1st October , 2004 at 8pm Those present were: Paul Clark Don Utton Tony Aremia Ged Burbeck Graham Sinagola Geoff Flood Colin Eaves Mark Crossley John Tipping Colin Henshaw Nick Dixon Kevin Thurston Geoffrey Walton Roger Livermore Mary Stewart Martin Leahy Daniel Leahy (Total 17) The chairman Paul Clark opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. He announced that the talk tonight would be given by Colin Henshaw who had agreed to step in at the last minute because the original speaker was stranded in Newcastle. This would be followed by refreshments and then business. Colin’s talk was entitled ‘Historical Supernovae’ and he started that there are two distinct types; the first is caused by the self-destruction of a white dwarf in a binary system. The second is due to the gravitational collapse of a super giant. The first type occur when the white dwarf exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses consequently they all have a similar magnitude, and so can be used to determine the distance of their galaxies. With Type II supernovae if the super giant mass is < > in the USA, Japan and Russia, which have enabled its time to be determined within a few seconds. Colin also pointed out that nuclear fusion reactions leading up to a supernova explosion create the heavy elements which are vital to life so that we all children of the stars. He finished by speculating on possible future candidates which included rho Cassiopeia, Rigel and Betelguese. The chairman thanked Colin for an interesting and informative talk. Following the break Paul Clark pointed out that a supernova has recently been discovered in Cepheus, near to NGC 6946, its present magnitude is 12.5 – 13.0. He also reminded everyone that a lunar eclipse will occur in the early hours of 28th October, and that in January Comet Q2 Machholz will be high in the southern sky with an expected magnitude of around 4. Under business, the minutes were taken as read and correspondence noted. The ADAS stall at the Timperley Country Fair raised £147. Everyone was urged to support our presentations at Delamere Forest on 22nd October, and Ged Birbeck reminded everyone that the 40th Anniversary Party is on 13thNovember at the Altrincham Leisure Centre. The Chairman then thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting. Chairman Secretary

Look at webcams of the sky all over the world, from Iceland (for the northern lights) to the Chile (for the southern skies). Svalbard Iceland Mauna Kea Canada Roque de los Muchachs ESA Ground Station ESO Finland Sweden LIVE SKY Manua Kea Observatory Hawaii Pointing South Credit: NOIRLab/Gemini , CC BY 4.0 Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma Gran Telescopio Canarias Fish Eye Credit: © GRANTECAN S.A. European Southern Observatory, Chile Fisheye Image at Very Large Telescope Credit: ESO , CC BY 4.0 Mauna Kea Roque de los Muchachs ESO Finalnd (northern lights) Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory Credit: University College London Atmospheric Physics Laboratory Sweden (northern lights) Kiruna Esrange Optical Platform Site, Esrange, Kiruna Credit: University College London Atmospheric Physics Laboratory Sweden Finland Svalbard (northern lights) Kjell Henriksen Observatory, Breinosa, Longyearbyen Credit: University College London Atmospheric Physics Laboratory Svalbard Iceland (northern lights) Brandagil, Hrútafirði on the Hringvegur Credit: Vegagerðin Iceland Canada (northern lights) Yellowknife, AuroraMAX Credit: Canadian Space Agency Canada ESA Ground Stations New Norcia Deep Space Antenna, Australia Credit: ESA These ground stations are used by ESA to link Earth with all the space craft ESA has got in orbit at the moment, from the Rosetta mission on a comet to the Gaia mission, mapping the skies. Find out more here . ESA Ground Station Contact Us! Read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy so you understand what will be done with your work once submitted. Got a Webcam you want to see here?

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What has been happening in the 2010 meetings can be found here. March April June September MINUTES | 2010 5th March 2010 March Meeting held on Friday 5th March 2010 at the 1st Timperley Scout hall. Present: Graham Sinagola Tony Aremia Steve Holt Richard Bullock Chris Suddick (Chairman) Ged Birbeck Roger Livermore Speaker The Chairman introduced the speaker, Richard Bullock to speak on “The Mechanics of (Newtonian) Gravity”. Richard explained that the Greeks were probably the first people to think about gravity. Aristotle, Galileo and Newton were mentioned. The Roche limit was touched on and Richard introduced Einstein’s theories, which presented an alternative to the Newtonian view of gravity. The Chairman thanked the speaker for his very interesting talk and those present showed their appreciation. Treasurer’s Report Richard Bullock confirmed that the Society is in funds. Chairman’s Report Chris Suddick reported that it was the Committee’s view that ADAS should change its Bank to Barclays. The Yorkshire does not open on Saturdays, whereas Barclays do, and the branch network is much wider. Members unanimously agreed to the change. Chris reported that difficulties have arisen as some cheque signatories are no longer members. AOB ADAS members will be attending a meeting of the Wythenshawe Astronomy Group. Members were invited to attend a gathering at Victoria Park, Stretford to mark Earth Hour on 27 March. The date of the next meeting has been moved to 9 April There being further business the meeting closed at 9.30.pm 9th April 2010 April Meeting held on Friday 9th April 2010 PRESENT Chris Suddick (Chairman) Geoff Flood Tony Aremia Steve Holt Geoff Walton Roger Livermore Szymon Baradweg Peter Baugh Ged Birbeck 　 The Chairman introduced The speaker for the evening, Richard Tyers. Richard’s topic was: "Herschel to Hubble - the story of Nebulae". In 1609 Galileo looking at the heavens and wondering about the complexity and variety of the night sky. He saw the nebulae of the Milky Way and tried to understand what it all meant. Over time others followed in his footsteps - Copernicus in the 18th C then Herschel (1738-1822). Herschel was an amateur astronomer and built his own telescopes some of which were quite large, resulting from these larger ‘scopes he was able to look more closely and systematically at nebulae, concluding that they were unresolved clusters of stars. In his 1784 paper “On the Construction of the Heavens” he classified nebulae into 5 different groups. He believed that the sun was part of the Milky Way. He discovered over 2500 nebulae, a great leap considering that in 1781 Messier discovered only 103. Things moved at speed and in 1865, now Sir John Herschel, counted 5709 and in 1887 J.L.E. Dreyer found 7840 - and later 9369. Astronomers did not know how far away or how big - there was no satisfactory method of measuring distance. However in 1838 the German F. W. Bessel used parallax to measure the distance of stars, other than the sun. Henrietta Leavitt identified periodic luminosity and noted that brighter stars - Cephid variables - had longer periods and the period was proportional to the brightness. Over time the measurements became more accurate Hertszprung and Russell improved matters and produced the HR diagram of luminosity v temperature and type. Harlow Shapely concluded the Milky Way was 300,000 Light Years across but measurements over time varied by a factor of 10! Hubble was also out by a factor of 2. There seemed to be some confusion about the size of the Milky Way which depended upon what was considered, at the time, to be included and whether some of the spiral galaxies were in fact part of the Milky Way. There are still plenty of things that we need to know about the Universe for instance Dark Matter, Dark Energy and it is hoped that the large Hadron Collider will reveal some answers when it gets fully up to speed. Richard took a number of questions from the audience and was thanked by Chris for his really interesting talk. Correspondence Three Astrocalendars have been received from the FAS - these were distributed amongst members. Information from the institute of Lighting Engineers with Guidance Notes for the Reduction of Light Pollution and some promotional leaflets for the Sky at Night magazine have also been received. The Treasurer was not present but it was reported that we are attempting to open an account at Barclays but some problems are arising with the form filling required. The matter is ongoing. Chris Suddick and Roger Livermore attended a meeting of the astronomy group at Wythenshawe Park. This is a group of inexperienced people who simply want to look at stars and who really need a little expert help. They meet once a month and have a limited amount of equipment. Geoff Flood and Ged Birbeck attended the Dark Hour meeting in Victoria Park, Stretford, where Graham Cliff and Christine Lavender had set up telescopes which enabled the public to look at the Moon, Mars and Saturn. The night started cloudy but cleared well later on. Unfortunately Trafford did not extinguish lights in the Borough. It is intended to repeat this event next year. A similar event is being considered to be held in Worthington Park in Sale. Graham Sinagola has been interviewed, about amateur astronomy, for a local radio station. There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting. 4th June 2010 June Minutes of the 456th meeting on June 4th 2010 Present were :- Chris Suddick, Steve Holt, Ged Birbeck, Peter Baugh, Tony Aremia, Rachel Ormes, Stephen McHugh, Richard Bullock, Kevin Thurstan, Norman Thurstan, Colin Eaves, Szymon Baradwej. Total of 12 present. The Chairman welcomed the members and Introduced Dr Alastair Gunn as today’s speaker, with a presentation entitled “Cosmic Journey”. Dr Gunn told us he Is an astro physicist and radio astronomer who looks after the VLBI system from Jodrell Bank. He also does a lot of PR for astronomy and has put together several talks for Cunard Cruises including his Cosmic Journey. The visual journey across the universe was done on free software and is all to scale, using real astronomical data. We start with an aerial view of Jodrell Bank and are told our trip will be as close to the actual journey as possible. The view pulls back and we travel outwards through our solar system, then past other stars, nebulae, star clusters to the edge of our galaxy. As we pull out further we see our local group and see galaxy interactions, next passing through the Virgo galaxy cluster then we see how it and others come together into super clusters and on to the overall known large scale structure of the visual universe all the way to the CMB. Our return journey then retraces its path slowly back inward until we are once again hovering a few hundred meters above the Lovell radio telescope. Chris Suddick points out the problems trying to explain astronomical size & scale and how he tries to get the ideas across to groups like cubs and brownies. Alastair then discussed the creation of his presentation using free software such as Celestia. In all it took him 9 months to make and how the complex mathematics behind some of the graphics needed a large amount of computer time to plot. We then took a break. On the restart we had the treasurers report. It was decided we would not be present at this years Timperley village fair as no one wanted to take on the task. Kevin mentioned the need to make more use of the website or newsgroup site & that we needed to keep e mail addresses and phone numbers up to date. The meeting was then brought to a close. 3rd September 2010 September PRESENT Chris Suddick (Chairman), Geoff Flood, Steve Holt, Tony Aremia, Peter Baugh, Colin Eaves, Richard Bullock, Roger Livermore, Steve Leicester. Total present - 9. APOLOGIES Graham Sinagola, Geoff Walton. MINUTES Minutes of the 44th AGM were not available and thus could not be confirmed nor could arising matters be taken. The Chairman welcomed members and thanked them for their attendance. All existing Officers have agreed to remain in post and as there were no other proposals for office they were re-elected en bloc. In addition Graham Sinagola has agreed to act in a new position as “Speakers Secretary”. Thus we have: Chairman Chris Suddick Treasurer Richard Bullock Secretary Geoff Flood Minutes Secretary Graham Sinagola Speakers Secretary Graham Sinagola TREASURER Copies the accounts (attached) were circulated and Richard explained a number of points regarding them. First of all he explained that as 2 of the 3 signatories to the Yorkshire Bank account were no longer with us it has been found necessary to make some changes. An account has been opened with Barclays Bank which, unlike the Yorkshire Bank is open on Saturdays, which makes it easier for the Treasurer to transact business. Although we have completed all the paperwork we are still awaiting finalisation from Barclays – but there should be no problems! We appeared to run at a loss last year but this was due to paying the backlog on room rental. An item in the accounts “loan” is money paid out by Richard to cover payments to organisations such as the FAS (where early payment gave us a discount on membership). This money will remain outstanding until the Barclays account is operational. Room charges have still to be paid for 2010. Although they don’t appear in the accounts we have a number of pieces of equipment which have a significant nominal value. Kevin Thurstan has a list. Richard needs details of addresses and phone numbers of Trustees to comply with our charitable status. Geoff Flood and Chris Suddick were asked to supply them to him. SECRETARY A number of items have come up from the Federation of Astronomical Societies. 1. The Society need to supply a postcode for the FAS website so that ADAS can be located. Geoff will arrange this. 2. We are now covered by the FAS Public Liability Insurance Scheme, which might be important at Star Parties etc. 3. The FAS Convention will be held in Cambridge at 9:00am on 9th October 2010. A change to the constitution is proposed which involves 2 new Officers on the Executive. The next meeting of NWGAS will take place on Saturday 11th September 2010. The meeting will take place at the Pexhill Observatory, near Liverpool at 13:00 hours. We should be represented – if only to get an updated speakers list! Manchester AS will hold a meeting in the John Dalton Building of MMU at 7:30pm (e-mail if you wish to attend). Brother Dr Guy Consolmagno will speak on Trans Neptunian Objects. BBC Sky at night programme offer bonuses for promoting Sky at Night magazine subscriptions. No interest for ADAS. ANY OTHER BUSINESS It was proposed that all items of equipment be returned to the Society once a year, at the AGM, so that other members have the opportunity of seeing what is available and so that we can check on the state of the equipment. There was no other business and a break was taken for refreshments prior to a talk from Chris Suddick. MYTHOLOGY OF THE STARS There are many myths but Chris stuck to Greek & Roman mythology, pointing out that in practice they are pretty much the same as the Romans simply nicked the Greek myths and changed the names of the Gods. Starting with Uranus and Gaea through to the main Gods – which include, amongst others, Saturn Pluto Neptune and Jupiter. Then there were the Planetary Gods of Mar, Venus and Mercury You simply don’t want to know how and with whom some of these were created and who did what with whom! We heard how Gods such as Jupiter begat - by various devious means, often with his wife/sister, Io, Europa Gannymede, Callisto etc and that’s where the moons come from (allegedly). We also learned how clever Chris is, completing the Telegraph crossword with Augean stables which, of course, Hercules cleaned out by diverting a river. This was an interesting talk which mixed Ancient mythology with modern astronomy.

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