Hertford Astronomy Group

Next Meeting: Wednesday June 12th at 8:00pm Looking for life on Mars and Habitability of Jupiter’s Moons Andrew Coates Live Session T&Cs apply

Membership details: •£10 per year - renewable at end of July* •Non-members £2.00 first 3 meetings then annual membership subscription due pro rata for remaining meetings. •Free to under 18s and full time students. Proof of status may be required. •Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Zoom admission details 19:30 for 20:00

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Visitors welcome - £2.00 per meeting

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*by ticket only

We, Oct 11

Richard Goodrich

How the 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization

2024-25 Programme (subject to change)

Wed, Sep 6

Roger O’Brien

Anglo Saxon Astronomy

Wed, Oct 9

Nigel Ball

Nightscapes or Time-lapse photography

Wed, Nov 13

Robert Connon Smith

So Simple a thing as a Star

Wed, Dec 11

Jess Copeland

UH - TBC

Wed, Jan 8

Martin Lewis

Planetary Imaging at the Edge

Wed, Feb 12

Quentin Stanley

TBC

Wed, Mar 12

Mike Foulkes

Eclipses. Celebrating British Science week.

Wed, Apr 9

Jerry Stone

Is Pluto a Planet - 15 years since New Horizons flyby. Celebrating Yuri’s Night

Wed, May 14

Alan Heavens

AGM followed by Light Bending in the Sky

Wed, June 11

Kevin Fong

Living on the Moon

This meeting will be held at: University of Hertfordshire Lindop Building College Lane Hatfield AL10 9AB (What 3 words: stars.stones.energetic) and simultaneously on Zoom. There is plenty of parking space around the venue which is free after 19:00

Mars is the nearest location where life could have evolved in our solar system beyond the Earth. We will discuss the prospects for life on Mars in the context of potential habitability of outer planet moons and solar system other locations. We will then discuss current and future Mars missions, especially Perseverance which is collecting samples for later return to Earth, and the ESA-NASA Rosalind Franklin mission which will drill up to 2m below the harsh Martian surface for the first time to search for past life on Mars. We will discuss the UK's key industry and academic contributions to this exciting mission, for launch in 2028 and landing in 2030. Andrew Coates is Professor of Physics and Deputy Director (solar system) at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL). He gained a BSc in Physics from UMIST in 1978, and MSc (1979) and D.Phil. (1982) in plasma physics from Oxford University. He has been at UCL-MSSL since 1982, with temporary guest positions at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Physics (Germany), University of Delaware (USA) and the BBC World service (media fellowship). Space mission involvements include the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars) rover where he leads the PanCam team and is science lead for MSSL's involvement in Enfys, Cassini, where he led the electron spectrometer team (part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), Venus Express, Mars Express and Giotto. Scientific interests include the solar wind interaction with planets and comets, planetary surfaces and space instrumentation; he has authored and co-authored over 570 publications, including over 450 refereed. He was a member of STFC Science Board (2019- 22). He is active in space and science outreach, and was President of the Society for Popular Astronomy, 2021-23.

Note for your diaries: Saturday March 29 - partial solar Eclipse 10:00 - 12:00 Noon - Public Eclipse Watch

Aurora visible in Hertfordshire and Wales 10-12 May 2024 Photos: Steve Heliczer, Richard Sheppard and Owain Powell

AGM 15 May 2024 Draft Minutes and documents

Next Meeting: Wednesday June 12th at 8:00pm Looking for life on Mars and Habitability of Jupiter’s Moons Andrew Coates Live Session T&Cs apply

Blinking text HTML

*by ticket only

Mars is the nearest location where life could have evolved in our solar system beyond the Earth. We will discuss the prospects for life on Mars in the context of potential habitability of outer planet moons and solar system other locations. We will then discuss current and future Mars missions, especially Perseverance which is collecting samples for later return to Earth, and the ESA-NASA Rosalind Franklin mission which will drill up to 2m below the harsh Martian surface for the first time to search for past life on Mars. We will discuss the UK's key industry and academic contributions to this exciting mission, for launch in 2028 and landing in 2030. Andrew Coates is Professor of Physics and Deputy Director (solar system) at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL). He gained a BSc in Physics from UMIST in 1978, and MSc (1979) and D.Phil. (1982) in plasma physics from Oxford University. He has been at UCL-MSSL since 1982, with temporary guest positions at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Physics (Germany), University of Delaware (USA) and the BBC World service (media fellowship). Space mission involvements include the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars) rover where he leads the PanCam team and is science lead for MSSL's involvement in Enfys, Cassini, where he led the electron spectrometer team (part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), Venus Express, Mars Express and Giotto. Scientific interests include the solar wind interaction with planets and comets, planetary surfaces and space instrumentation; he has authored and co-authored over 570 publications, including over 450 refereed. He was a member of STFC Science Board (2019-22). He is active in space and science outreach, and was President of the Society for Popular Astronomy, 2021-23.

Aurora Pictures: Steve Heliczer, Richard Sheppard and Owain Powell

Aurora Pictures at bottom of the page

 2024 Hertford Astronomy Group