Hi all, Just to let you know that unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we're having to cancel the August meeting that was due to be on the 5th august. The next meeting will be on 9th September where I'll do the talk about the distance to the stars I was going to do in August. We will still have the Meteor watch on the night of 12th-13th August. This will again be in my back garden. If you are interested please comment on this post  and I'll send you further details or click attending on the Facebook event. If you are interested then you will need to wrap up warm (I know it's August but it gets jolly cold when the sun goes down), a chair or sun lounger and some insect repellent. If you want to bring a camera to see if you can capture some meteors please feel free. You will need a tripod and if possible a remote shutter release. Hope to see you there. Regards John Chair EEAC

Forthcoming Events

After our July meeting (Saturday 8th July, see previous post), our next meeting is on 5th August at the Burnham Village Hall. In August we will be talking about how we measure the distance to the stars. We will also be discussing our forthcoming winter observing season which will also include details of a simple variable star observation project that all can join in on.

Also in August will be the 3rd Annual East Essex Astronomy Club Perseid meteor watch. In the previous 2 years we have successfully observed the peak of the Perseid meteor shower under clear skies. This year the shower peaks on the night of Saturday 12th - Sunday 13th August. A meteor is simply a speck of space debris about the size of a grain of sand burning up in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The passage of the dust leaves a bright streak behind it in a spectacular natural fireworks display. Meteors are visible on all nights of the year but there are specific times when the Earth passes through dust trails left by comets. The Perseids are such an event and from a natural back ground of 1 - 2 meteors per hour we can see up to 100, bright meteors an hour. Details of location and times will be available here and on our facebook page nearer the time.

East Essex Astronomy Club July Meeting.

Our next meeting is on Saturday 8th July at the Village Hall in Burnham on Crouch. Doors open at 6:45pm. We will be talking about the sun, it's history and how it will end its days. We will also cover how to safely observe the sun and how to make a simple solar filter. If the skies are clear we will also do some solar observations through various instruments.

As usual £3 per adult and £1 per child under 16. All under 16s to be accompanied by an adult. Tea and coffee provided.

Saturn at opposition

Opposition is the point in a planet's orbit where the Earth is in a direct line between the sun and the planet. Usually this means that the planet is at it's closest to the Earth and the brightest.
Unfortunately this apparition of Saturn occurs when Saturn has a very low altitude when viewed from the UK. This means that the light from the planet has to pass through a lot of atmosphere and can be quite distorted so some fine detail can be lost when viewing.

This shot from last night shows some colour and the Cassini division  can be seen in the rings. It is noted that the edge of the rings are visible behind the body of the planet. This changes as the position of Earth and Saturn change. At present the rings are "wide open", in 11 years the rings will barely be visible as they will be viewed edge on from the Earth.

Imaged from Burnham on Crouch in Essex using a Celestron 8" Evolution and an Altair Astro GPcam v1. Captured using sharpcap, stacked in Autostakkert 2, processed in Registax and Gimp.

June Meeting. 10th June 2017, 6:45pm, Burnham Village Hall.

Hi Everyone,

This month we will be discussing the moon, our largest natural satellite. If clear there will be a couple of telescopes on hand to have a look at the moon after the meeting. As always club members are on hand to answer any astronomical questions and help with using or choosing equipment.

We are going to be at the Village Hall in Arcadia Road.

Doors open at 6:45pm with tea and coffee provided.
Adults £3, children (U16) £1 (all under 16s must be accompanied by an adult).
Adult members £2, child members free.

Hope to see you there,

John

Chair EEAC.

Messing around with Jupiter last night. Moon to the left is Europa.

Another shot from last night with Io transiting the surface of Jupiter. It is sometimes hard to see the moons against the surface of the planet. But here Io is quite visible. This is because the limbs of the planet are subject to a phenomena known as limb darkening. This means that the moon stands out against the relatively dark limb. I'll process and post a shot from later in the night where Io is very difficult to identify.