Gentle reminder that MKAS do not meet during August. We look forward to welcoming you all back to Bredhurst Village Hall in September. Meanwhile, enjoy Summer and your Holidays.

8th September. Bredhurst Village Hall. Greg Smye-Rumsby-Arrokoth and the Sentinels The formative years of the Solar System is still poorly understood. As we learn more our comprehension becomes more focused. Missions sent to study distant small worlds fill in much of the detail.

29th September - 8 p.m. Dr. Robert Massey - A Cluttered and noisy sky Bredhurst Village Hall 65 years ago the Soviet Union placed the first satellite in space. There are now around 5,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO)

13th October - 8 p.m. Doug Edworthy - Internet resources for the amateur astronomer. Bredhurst Village Hall Doug’s talk will cover some of the useful internet resources available to amateur astronomers that he has discovered during his twelve-year amateur astronomy journey.

27th October - Bredhurst Village Hall 8 p.m. David Southwood, CBE, FRAS - Comets, asteroids and things that fall from the sky 40 years ago, the prospect of Comet Halley’s return in 1986 led to the start of a space race towards the small bodies of the solar system

10th November - 8.p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall If you want some more fun for yourself or your children or grandchildren after the excitement of half term and firework night, then look no further than our Family Space Night!

Correction to the post below: Family Space Night begins at 7-30 not 8 p.m.

R.I.P. Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II .American aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, rear admiral in the United States Navy and astronaut who flew on the Apollo 16, and Space Shuttle STS-4 and STS-51-C missions. One of a rare breed.

24th Nov - 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall Gavin Lacey - Imaging the Moon MKAS member Gavin will explain how to take great pictures of the Moon using high speed cameras. This should encourage everyone, no matter what their level of camera skill, to 'have a go'.

8th December - 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall The Christmas Social - MEMBERS ONLY. An opportunity to get together for a few fun activities. We look forward to seeing you in your party hats to get the festive season underway. There will be free hot sausage rolls and mince pies.

Thank you to those who attended our Christmas Social at Bredhurst last night. The evening was a great success and enjoyed by all. Special thanks to those who worked hard to make it so much fun.

12th January 2024 – 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall Colin Stuart - A Universe of Infinities. Infinity is a notoriously tricky concept to juggle with. It’s not even really a number and yet it seems to crop up time and again when astronomers try to understand our universe.

MKAS would like to wish our members, guests, friends and speakers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024

Stephen Wilkins - A tale of two telescopes: JWST and Euclid. 26th Jan 2024 Bredhurst Village Hall 8 p.m. In 2023 JWST was joined by ESA’s Euclid satellite. In this talk Stephen will introduce both JWST and Euclid and present some of insights from JWST so far.

Bredhurst Village Hall. 9th February 8 p.m. Peter Grimley - The European Southern Observatory: over 60 years at the cutting edge of astronomy The European Southern Observatory (ESO) was established in 1962 to provide astronomers in Europe with access to the southern skies.

23rd Feb 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall Dr. Jeni Millard - To the South Pole Not our South Pole - one that is nearly 400,000km away, yet just dangerous. Dr Millard will explore our Moon, what we've been up to since Apollo, and modern-day efforts to go there.

Friday 8th March - 8 p.m. Doug Edworthy, FRAS - All you need to know about telescopes! Bredhurst Village Hall This presentation will suit novices and experienced telescope users alike and will help those thinking of investing in new equipment or upgrading existing systems.

29thMarch 2024 – 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall Tom Field - Spectroscopy Tom will demystify the science of spectroscopy and explain the art of spectral imaging.

12th April - 8 p.m. Jeremy Phillips - Shooting for the stars Bredhurst Village Hall Astro photographer Jeremy Phillips (FRAS) describes himself as "an Earthling locked in a futile battle with clouds and light pollution".

Friday. 10th May 2024 - 8 p.m. Bredhurst Village Hall Nik Szymanek - Adventures with Robotic Imaging With the many recent developments in this field Nik will enlighten us and illustrate his talk with many new images.