Herstmonceux - April 10th Print E-mail

Carole Pope writes: Twenty one members visited Herstmonceux Observatory, East Sussex which was for some years after the war the re-location site of the Royal Observatory where our President Gilbert Satterthwaite worked.  

It is a very dark site with no close residential areas nearby only the castle which housed the Astronomer Royal at that time.  

The observatory Domes consist of:
Dome A - The 30-inch Thompson Reflector (which discovered the Jupiter’s Moon Pasiphae in 1908)

Dome B - The 36-inch Yapp Reflector (used for photometry, spectroscopy and CCD TV)


Dome C - The Hewitt Camera (used to track the Blue streak missile)


Dome D - The 13-inch Astrographic Refractor


Dome E - The 26-inch Thompson Refractor (This has a floor which moves up and down)


Dome F - The Congo Schmidt and The Domes of Discovery Exhibition

We were given a talk in most of the domes about the telescopes and their past use and also a talk about how the Observatory Science Centre came into being after it ceased to be used by the Royal Observatory.  

A lottery grant in recent years helped Herstmonceux to refurbish some of the telescopes.  The sky was very hazy but we managed some viewings of Mars, Venus, Saturn and some double stars.

Other fun was to be had on the hands on science exhibits and the cafeteria was opened twice for us during our visit.  
 
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Future Events

Society Dinner - 10th February

A Society Dinner is being arranged for Friday 10th February at the Blacksmith's Arms at Cudham, meeting at 7:30pm for an 8:00pm meal. If you have booked a place, please see the menu below, and then contact Ian to inform him of your choice.

Here's the menu:

 

STARTERS

  • Tian of Avocado & Prawns topped with Smoked Salmon served with Salad Leaves & Marie Rose Sauce
  • Wild Boar Pate en Croute, served with Caramelised Onions & Toasted Granary Bread
  • Baked Goats Cheese with Salad Leaves & Sweet Tomato & Chilli Chutney
  • Mushroom Soup finished with Tarragon & Cream

MAIN

  • Chicken Supreme with Mushroom & White Wine Sauce served with Seasonal Vegetables & New Potatoes
  • Roast of Finest Scottish Beef served with Fresh Vegetables, Roast Potatoes & Yorkshire Pudding, finished with Wild Mushroom, Port & Red Wine Gravy
  • Slow Roast Belly of Pork stuffed with Sage, Onion & Sausagemeat, served with Vegetables & Mashed Potatoes
  • PPan Fried Fillet of Salmon with Dauphinois Potatoes, Leeks, Wilted Spinach & Hollandaise Sauce
  • Linguine with Wild Mushrooms & Roast Vegetables served in a Cream & Cheese Sauce

DESSERT

Wide choice of desserts available from our Blackboard

Address:

The Blacksmith's Arms

Cudham Lane South
Cudham

Kent TN14 7QB (click for a map)
Tel: 01959 572678
 
Special Events
From time to time we arrange outings and other special events like these:

Deep Sky Camps

These are held at various locations. Usually we use commercial camp sites, and each visitor will be expected to pay the camp site operator for their own pitch. We'll usually try to arrange for our pitches to be in a group, so you'll need to mention you're one of the astronomers when you book.

Occasionally the Society books a site for its exclusive use, and on these occasions we'll expect all attendees (anyone visiting the site) to contribute to the cost, even if they're not actually camping on site.

Outings

In recent years we have visited places like the Greenwich Observatory, The radio telescopes and historic instruments at Cambridge, and the Herschel museum in Bath.

Open Days

These have usually co-incided with relatively predictable astronomical phenomena like meteor showers, and have included observing, short lectures and demonstrations. The most recent one was in August 2003 for the National Astronomy Week.

Public Lectures & Exhibitions

A recent one of our our exhibitions was our 21st Anniversary Celebration entitled Universe Day, held at St Olave's School in Orpington in 2001 - more than 300 people turned up to see all the latest in local astronomy.

Every two or three years we hold in memory of one of our founder members and chairmen, the Kenneth Budd Memorial Lecture. So far we have held three well attended meetings. The first Kenneth Budd Memorial Lecture, in November 1998 was given by Prof. Sir Antony Hewish, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on pulsars. His lecture was titled "Thirty Years of Pulsar Astronomy", and the second, in October 2000, when Ewen A. Whitaker FRAS gave a lecture titled "Fifty Years with Lunar Maps".

Please always try check the forum for details of the arrangements before the event.