Welcome to the website of the Derby
& District Astronomical Society. The Derby & District Astronomical Society
(DDAS) was founded in 1974 and is open to all with an interest in
astronomy. We currently number around 40 members from all walks of life and whose knowledge of
astronomy ranges from complete beginner to advanced. The society holds regular meetings on
the first Friday of each month (except July and August) at 7:30 pm at the Friend's Meeting House on
St. Helen's Street in Derby. Meetings usually involve an outside speaker, but members also give
talks and the society holds a quiz in February. The club's portable LX90 telescope is often brought to these meetings
and set up in the garden of The Friends Meeting House if the skies are clear. We are also currently holding some extra 'Introduction to Astronomy' evenings at the Friends Meeting House on the third Friday of the month. See below for more information.
We are a friendly and, despite our subject, 'down to earth' society. Meetings are a great way for potential new members to see
what we're about in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. The social aspect continues after
most monthly meetings with a visit to, appropriately enough, The Seven Stars.
The society's Flamsteed Observatory near Brailsford houses
a 10-inch Newtonian reflector. The observatory is named in honour of England's first Astronomer
Royal, the Reverend John Flamsteed (1646-1719), who was born in Derbyshire and attended Derby
School. Regular monthly observing sessions are held at the facility and new people are always welcome.
The observatory is also available for use by individual members at any time
after some simple training. We endeavour to hold monthly observing sessions at the Flamsteed Observatory but these depend on both the weather and the availability of members. They are usually held on the third Saturday of the month and start times vary with the season. A summer barbecue
is held at the observatory on the Saturday following the first Friday in July instead of a meeting at
The Friend's Meeting House that month. Public observing evenings are also occasionally held in
Derby at which members share their
enthusiasm for the night sky and the club's portable 8" Meade LX-90 telescope is used. We also bring this telescope along to cub, scout,
brownie and guide groups, schools etc., to which members also give talks. An annual trip provides the opportunity for members to
visit a different site of astronomical or space interest within the UK each
year. Several of our members are highly accomplished astrophotographers and our picture gallery is entirely
comprised of DDAS member's work.
DDAS member Claire Spencer took this picture of the crescent Moon and Venus on the evening of the 26th March. More pictures of this conjunction from our members...
Our NEXT OBSERVING SESSION will be held, subject to weather conditions, on Saturday, 19th May 2012 from 9:30 pm onwards at the Society's Flamsteed Observatory. A variety of telescopes will be available, including the Society's 10" Newtonian under the dome and our 8" Meade LX-90, as well as those that may brought along by members. New people are always welcome and you can even bring your own scope!
If you would like more details please email
.
Our NEXT MAIN MEETING will be held on Friday, 1st June 2012 from 7:30 pm onwards at The Friends Meeting House, St. Helens Street, Derby, DE1 3GY. Professor Michael Merrifield of the School of Physics & Astronomy at The University of Nottingham will give a talk entitled The Centre of our Galaxy: Black Holes, Rare Stars and Cosmic Mayhem. There will be a raffle with astronomical prizes and coffee is provided during the break. There is a collection which helps pay for the rental of the room which is £1 for members and £3 for non-members. If it is clear there may even be an opportunity to look through a telescope from the back garden of The Friends Meeting House. Why not join us at the Seven Stars afterwards?
FOUR PLANETS, THE MOON, AN IRIDIUM FLARE AND THE DEEP SKY... were all seen during the DDAS observing session on the 24th March. You can read all about it in this report from DDAS member Claire Spencer.
BRIGHT FIREBALL OBSERVED... A couple of DDAS members were lucky enough to witness the bright fireball streaking across the UK skies on the evening of Saturday, 4 March. Sadly it all happened too fast for them to capture any images or video but you can read their eyewitness accounts here.
ASTROFEST 2012... DDAS member Robert Seymour made his annual pilgrimage to Astrofest this year and his 'photo journal' of the event may be seen here. If you like telescopes you'll love this.
STARGAZING LIVE 2012... DDAS members participated in a couple of Stargazing Live events this January. On the 16th - 18th January 2012, DDAS members Graham Ensor and Chris Newsome went to Long Eaton School with the Society's display boards and part of Graham's fantastic meteorite collection. Meanwhile on the 18th January Anthony Southwell, Dave Selfe and Mike Lancaster along with other members brought a display and telescopes to Alvaston Park. Full stories and pictures of these events may be
seen here (Alvaston)
and here (Long Eaton)
LATEST IMAGES... DDAS member Chris Newsome imaged Jupiter and two of its moons on the 27th November 2011 using the Society's 8" Meade LX90 telescope. Back in October last year Adrian Brown imaged the Bubble Nebula in Cassiopeia and in September the star cloud NGC 206 in the Great Andromeda Galaxy.
TURNING THE PAGES OF HISTORY... Most of us are familiar with constellations like Ursa Major and Orion, but do you know your Anser from your Antoninus? DDAS members were invited to a private viewing of John Flamsteed's Atlas Coelestis at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday, 1st October 2011. Full story and pictures...
DDAS WEBSITE WINS FAS AWARD... The DDAS website has been judged as one of the top three
astronomy society websites selected by the Federation of Astronomical Societies from its member clubs. The websites were judged against certain criteria including quality, content and usefulness to prospective new members. We scooped a second prize of £100, with Blackpool & District AS first and Stratford Upon Avon AS in third place. More details...
A CHAT WITH PAT... On the 15th June 2011 DDAS member Chris Newsome travelled down to Sussex to try and catch a glimpse of the total lunar eclipse. Instead he spent the time chatting with Britain's most famous astronomer. Full story...
