Welcome to the home of The Astronomical Society of Glasgow.

Comet Lovejoy

There's a new comet out there, and here's some info if you'd like to go looking for it ...

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/lovejoy.php

and

http://blog.helioviewer.org/category/science/comets/

SDO will slew around 2300 - 2330 UT tonight to watch the approach to perihelion (which is a bit behind the limb of the sun - but seen from behind by STEREO) with first images due around 2400. I am not sure what SDO wavelength to suggest choosing in helioviewer but the July SDO event showed that comet best in AIA EUV wavelengths at 171 angstrom and also 131 193 211 and 335

Lots of telescopes around the dayside world are watching right now

Apollo 15 CMP Al Worden In GLASGOW for 40th Anniversary celebration

The ASG is pleased to pass on the following information about the upcoming visit of Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot, Colonel Al Worden to Scotland.

As well as talking to school children in Airdrie, there will be two opportunities to meet Colonel Worden.

On Friday 20th May he will be giving a talk in Glasgow Caledonian University. There will be a powerpoint presentation as well as a Q&A session followed by a complimentary autograph opportunity. The cost is £30 for adults and £10 for children.

On Saturday 21st May there will be a champagne reception, dinner and dance in the Glasgow Marriott Hotel in the company of Al Worden. Prices are £50 for adults and £22 for children.

For any of you who attended the Charlie Duke events in September, I expect the evenings to be similar to those. As this year is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 15 mission it is a great chance to celebrate with one of the astronauts here in Scotland.

Full details are on the website www.walkwithdestiny.com and members can buy tikcets online here.

Incorrect information printed in "Astronomy Now" magazine.

The January issue of Astronomy Now has the ASG meeting on 20 Jan listed as a Botanics event. We would like to confirm that the 20th January is our regular lecture, details of which can be found here. The Botanics event is the 15th February. Sorry for any confusion this has caused.

NOTE: Mugdock Obeserving Session 7th December 2010 Cancelled.

Due to the current weather conditions, the Mugdock session has been cancelled. Sorry for the short notice.

Incorrect information printed in "Sky At Night" magazine.

We would like to make you aware of a correction to the Lecture information printed in "Sky at Night" Magazine for our December Lecture. Unfortunately, the information for the November Newsletter was re-printed. Please see the correct information here. The Correct date for the talk is 18th December 2010 . Sorry for any confusion this has caused.

Cafe Sci Talk - Mon 6th December

Martin Hendry of The University of Glasgow's Astronomy Department will be giving this month's Sci-Cafe talk - details available from http://www.cafescientifique.org/glasgow.htm

We'd like to make you all aware of The Astronomy Show on 23rd April 2011

The Show is being held in the Conference and Exhibition facilities at Hastingwood Industrial and Business Park, Birmingham (http://www.theastronomyshow.eu/directions/)

Programme
9:45am Doors open to the public.
10:00am Welcome address and official show opening by Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS, the 14th Astronomer Royal.
10:30am Talk by Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS
12.00pm Dr Stuart Clark - The Biggest Questions: The Universe
Break for lunch until 2.00pm
2.00pm Presentation on the Kielder Project and Observatory by Gary Fildes, there will be a model of the observatory and a display on its history and future development.
3.00pm Talk by astrophotographer Nik Szymanek
4.30pm Dave Newton - The 3D Universe
5.45pm Jack Martin - Stellar Spectra

From 10:00am through to 8:00pm the main exhibition hall will be open with an array of trade stands as well as some displays by various other organisations.

For more information, visit the website at: http://www.theastronomyshow.eu/

It's nearly time for the start of the Astronomy season in Scotland again, and with that, the Astronomy events are starting again. One thing we'd like to bring your attention to is our affiliation with DACE. For more information on DACE, please visit their website: www.gla.ac.uk/departments/adulteducation/

ASG members are entitled to a 10% discount on the fee for the following courses in Glasgow:

GC153 Life in the Universe (10 Monday evenings from 10 Jan 2011; Alec MacKinnon, Martin Hendry, Helen Fraser and others)

GC255 Introduction to Astronomy (10 Monday evenings from 4 Oct 2010; Andrew Conway)

G101 British archaeology's great controversy: is prehistoric astronomy a myth? (4 Wednesday evenings from 2 Feb 2011; Euan Mackie)

And outside Glasgow:

N238 The Night Sky and the Universe (5 Tuesday evenings from 15 Feb 2011; Alec MacKinnon; Kirkgate House, Largs)

Z241 The Milky Way (5 Tuesday evenings from 11 Jan 2011; Alec MacKinnon; Cove Sailing Club, Cove and Kilcreggan)

The discount applies to people who are not eligible for an Individual Learning Account (ILA - first two courses) or fee concession (people on benefit, pension credit, etc. - last three). Say when enrolling that you are an ASG member and quote your membership number.

Summer may be here, and Astronomy in Scotland is all but finished for a few months, however to keep you ticking over, the Royal Society is offering free, unrestricted access to every journal in their digital archive, from 1665 onwards as part of their 350th Anniversary celebrations.

http://royalsocietypublishing.org/journals

Email Updates ...

We're planning to create an email list where we'll send out a (fairly) regular email advising you of events that are coming up that you may be interested in. If you'd like to receive these updates, please send an email to and let us know you'd like to be added.

There are 2 events happening in Glasgow in September that we'd like to let you know about. Charlie Duke, the 10th man to walk on the moon will be in Glasgow for a Gala Dinner and a lecture night.

The gala Dinner is on the 9th September 2010, and the 10th September is a lecture with Q&A session and complementary autograph in Glasgow Caledonian University.

More details can be found at http://www.walkwithdestiny.com/. or download the flyer here.

You can also find us on Facebook and on Twitter. Log on to see what we're doing there!

A new addition to our online presence is that we are now blogging about our events. Head over to our blog at http://theasg.tumblr.com/ to see what's been happening in the ASG.

Have a look at the Information under Programme to find out all the things we'll be doing.

See you there,
The ASG.