UK to withdraw from Gemini Telescopes

The Gemini Telescopes are an international project that operates two 8-metre telescopes, one on Hawaii, the other in Chile. Together they provide UK astronomers with access to the very best equipment covering the whole sky. The UK played a major part in developing the two telescopes and the announcement of withdrawal, so soon after making such a major capital investment, has taken UK astronomers by surprise. A press release from the Royal Astronomical Society criticised the lack of consultation.

The decision was taken by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) not to be confused with Swindon Town Football Club although its headquarters are located in Swindon. STFC was formed in part from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, PPARC, the body responsible for the closure of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

The Moon, Uranus and Neptune - 20th November 2007

This is the theme for tomorrow night's Star Party at Green Witch. It looks as though it's going to be cloudy but we have a programme of talks and demonstrations that make it still worth-while coming along anyway. Ralph will explain how to take images of the Moon using a webcam. If you've seen his excellent large Moon image in our showroom you will know that he knows what he is talking about.

Is the Moon made of green cheese or Wensleydale? Get the answer to this long-standing question and many more facts about the Moon in Neil's talk. Patrick Moore is perhaps the most famous lunar observer and we have signed copies of his newly-published Moon map for sale in limited quantities.

Uranus and Neptune are visible in the night sky, even if the conditions are not ideal to see them, so we thought we would say a few words about them and explain where to find them and what you can see.

And Wendy is preparing a quiz designed to test and educate you so why not come along and join us. The showroom will be open from 10 am until 9 pm; the Star Party itself starts at 7 pm.

Collimation Service

Collimating a telescope is fairly straight forward but it takes time, care and experience. Many people are apprehensive about doing it themselves which is why we've introduced a new service designed not only to collimate your telescope but to teach you how to do it yourself.

Bring along your Newtonian or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a Saturday and Richard will collimate it using a laser collimator and PicoStar, whilst explaining how it's done. You will get the chance to look at an artificial star through your telescope to see what a diffraction pattern looks like in a correctly-collimated telescope.

We charge £30 for the service but wave the charge if you buy a laser collimator.

New Web Site

Our new web site at www.green-witch.com  seems to be working well and we've had very positive feedback from customers. It has extra information and advice on topics such as choosing a laptop for astronomy, and choosing your first telescope. We are adding to it all the time and welcome feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Don't forget to send us your space and astronomy jokes as well as a picture of your 'well-dressed astronomer'.

Webb Deep-Sky Society

The Webb Deep-Sky Society was formed in honour of the Reverend Thomas William Webb and exists to encourage amateur observations of double stars and 'deep-sky' objects such as star-clusters and nebulae, and to provide a forum where observers can communicate and publish the results of their work.

If you want to develop your astronomy and undertake observations with a prupose then why not consider joining the Webb Society. You can find further details at http://www.webbdeepsky.com/ including the AGM which will be held in Cambridge on December 1st at the Institute of Astronomy.

I plan to be there with a trade stand so please let me know if you want me to bring anything in particular.

Comet Holmes

I hope you've managed to see Comet Holmes. The last few times I've looked with my naked eye it has been very difficult to see but I've managed to convince myself it was there. It has been quite remarkable in the way it suddenly increased in brightness by almost a million times and the way its surrounding dust cloud expanded.

There are lots of images on the web but I found the sequence on the RAS web site particularly interesting as it shows the way the cloud grew quickly. You can find the sequence taken by John Randall at http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1352&Itemid=2

How do you get to grips with the scale of the Solar System and the Universe?

Imagining the size of the universe is beyond most of us but I find that using comparisons helps visualise how far apart the planets and stars are, and how close together galaxies are. To help you do the same I've written a short guide that you can find at http://www.green-witch.com/sizeoftheuniverse.html  I hope you find it helpful.

What's in a name?

I don't suppose many of you have heard of the STFC mentioned at the top of this newsletter. For all my professional career in astronomy I was employed by the same research council, but its name changed from SRC to SERC to PPARC and now to STFC. Do these name changes matter?

I believe they do. I was thinking the other day about names associated with astronomy that are world-renowned, not just within the astronomy community but the public at large. In the UK I can think of perhaps two, Jodrell Bank and the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO). The former exists because of the vision of one man and support from the private sector. The latter was closed soon after the present government took office.

The closure of the RGO is a long and complex story but it began with its move from Herstmonceux Castle and ended in 1998 in Cambridge. It was subjected to review after review, cuts and relocation, throughout which its dedicated staff continued to carry out world-class research and development. Instead of regarding it as a jewel in UK astronomy's crown it was seen as a 'problem' to be solved. None of the bureaucrats, astronomers or politicians who took the decision recognised the importance of a strong brand name and its ability to inspire young people to consider a career in science and technology.

We need strong names that people recognise and use as anchor points for their knowledge of a subject. Most people are much more aware of the American space programme than they are of the UK's or Europe's. Which is a tragedy as we have a very successful space programme with technology as good as any in the world.

Everyone is aware of NASA but few people know who or what BNSC, STFC, and ESA are. Few know where Europe's rocket launch site is located, and how often is a European launch covered in the media (unless something goes wrong)? 

All the organisations involved in the UK space and astronomy programme have budgets for publicising their work yet the profile of the programme is lamentably low. It's time for them to get their acts together, and let everyone see just how good this particluar branch of our science really is.

And finally...

Having got the 'grumpy old man' bit out of the way let me remind you that Mars, Saturn and Venus are in Gemini, Leo and Virgo respectively so it's a good time to get up early to view these three bright panets.

Clear Skies and Best Wishes

Neil

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