Welcome to the website of the Derby & District Astronomical Society (DDAS). We were founded in 1974 and are open to all with an interest in astronomy. We currently number around 50 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. This period stone building is owned by the Quakers Religious Society Of Friends, and is next door to BBC Radio Derby. Please note that we are not affiliated with the Quakers Religious Society Of Friends, but rent the meeting space from them. This venue may be found on Google Maps. Meetings usually involve an outside speaker, but members also give talks, and the society holds a quiz in January. We also hold 'Introduction to Astronomy' evenings at the Friends Meeting House on the third Friday of the month, and these are designed to cover the basics of astronomy. See below for more information or check out our meetings programme. 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 houses a 10-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and Altair ED-80 refractor on a computerised 'GOTO' mount. 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 (weather permitting) at the facility and new people are always welcome. They are usually held on the second Saturday of the month and start times vary with the season. The observatory is located on North Lane, Ashbourne, DE6 1PL, about two miles north of the village of Brailsford, and may be found on Google Maps. The observatory is available for use by individual members at any time after some simple training. A barbecue is held at the observatory on the first Saturday in July instead of a meeting at The Friend's Meeting House that month. The society also takes part in a number of public events and observing evenings during the year, at which members share their enthusiasm for the night sky and bring along their telescopes. 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 photograph the night sky and our picture gallery is entirely comprised of DDAS member's work.
Our ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held on Friday, 2nd May 2025 from 7:30 pm at The Friends Meeting House, St. Helens Street, Derby, DE1 3GY. This marks the start of our membership year and is a good time for new people to join, and existing members to renew their subscriptions. Existing members may also vote on society matters and the election of the new committee. HOWEVER, DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS AT THE AGM, AND TO AVOID QUEUES, WE WOULD PREFER IF POSSIBLE FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO BE PAID BY BANK TRANSFER RATHER THAN IN PERSON AT THE AGM. For further details please email the DDAS Treasurer . Find our meeting location on Google Maps. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO ROOM FEE FOR THIS MEETING.
OUR NEXT OBSERVING SESSION will be held on Saturday 10th May 2025 from 9:30 pm onwards at the Society's Flamsteed Observatory. View the night sky through our 10-inch Meade telescope, and on screen via our video astronomy setup. Learn the constellations under our rural skies. Need advice on getting into astronomy, or on telescopes, binoculars or cameras? - just ask! For more details please email the DDAS Secretary . Our observatory may be found on Google Maps. Please note that anyone visiting our observatory and site, be they members or non-members, do so entirely at their own risk OBSERVING SESSIONS MAY BE CANCELLED AT SHORT NOTICE DUE TO POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS - PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL BEFORE LEAVING IF YOU HAVE SHARED THAT WITH OUR SECRETARY.
Our next INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY evening will be held on Friday 16th May 2025 from 7:30 pm onwards at The Friends Meeting House, St. Helens Street, Derby, DE1 3GY (next door to Radio Derby). DDAS member Dave Selfe will be giving a presentation on The Constellations. For further details please email the DDAS Secretary . Find our meeting location on Google Maps.
DDAS member Pete Hill has a couple of telescopes FOR SALE. Details are available here.
ALVASTON PARK STARGAZING ATTRACTS HUGE CROWDS... On Saturday 25th January this year DDAS members set up a medley of telescopes in Alvaston Park and delighted many hundreds of visitors with views of four bright planets. Photos from the event can be seen here.
The much anticipated 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE DDAS JOURNAL ARIES is now available for download in PDF format here. Thanks go to Aries editor Anthony Southwell for putting together this 41 page bumper edition, and to all those members past and present who contributed to it! Many DDAS memories and recollections are contained therein, as well as accounts of the many events we have held in our 50th anniversary year. We hope you enjoy reading it. So settle down with a nice hot drink and dive into its pages!
DR COLIN STEELE GIVEN HONORARY DDAS MEMBERSHIP Dr Colin Steele, from the Mathematics Department at the University of Manchester, in recognition of the many talks he has given our Society over the years, was given honorary lifetime membership of the DDAS at our meeting on Friday 6th December 2024. More details....
CLOUDY SKIES FAIL TO HALT SUCCESS OF MUSEUM OF MAKING EVENT... Despite the overcast skies and a touch of rain, our event at the Museum of Making on the 9th October last year still attracted many visitors. See our member's photos of the evening.
A TALK DOWN MEMORY LANE... Our meeting on the 6th September 2024 saw DDAS stalwarts Arthur Tristram and Dave Maynard present a talk that looked back on 50 years of the DDAS. Anthony Southwell provides an article and pictures on the event.
DR ALLAN CHAPMAN KEEPS AUDIENCE SPELLBOUND AT MUSEUM TALK... On the afternoon of Saturday 18th May 2024, we were delighted to welcome Dr Allan Chapman from Wadham College, Oxford, to deliver a lecture at Derby Museum on John Flamsteed - Derby's Gift to Astronomy and Founder of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Here is a selection of DDAS members photos of the event.
AURORA LIGHTS UP SKIES FOR DDAS 50TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY... On the evening of Friday 10th May 2024, a spectacular auroral display lit up the skies over the UK. Many DDAS members were quick to observe and photograph this marvel. This included a group of members who were the last to leave the DDAS 50th Anniversary Party at the Littleover Social Club in Derby that evening, who witnessed the spectacle from the club car park! What a fantastic coincidence that it occurred on that evening! Here is a selection of DDAS members photos of the spectacle. Five months later another auroral display on the 10th October 2024 graced our skies.
ASTEROID 69273 DERBYASTROThe Derby & District Astronomical Society is delighted to announce that we now have an asteroid named after us! Thanks to a suggestion made by DDAS member Mike Dumelow, and the work of DDAS member Anthony Southwell in conjunction with the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN), our 50th anniversary year is now marked by a solar system body with our name on it! Asteroid 69273 Derbyastro (1989 TN1) is a main belt asteroid discovered by English astronomer Brian G. W. Manning at Stakenbridge Observatory near Kidderminster in October 1989. It measures 4.6 km in diameter, has an absolute magnitude of 14.6, and takes 4.6 years to orbit the Sun, with an orbit lying between Mars and Jupiter that is inclined 11 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. Our naming citation reads: 'The Derby and District Astronomical Society is based in Derby, England and was founded in 1974 by Jane Kirk. The society holds monthly meetings and engages in public and educational activities. It also operates the Flamsteed Observatory and runs monthly public viewing nights.'. View our entry in the WGSBN Bulletin. More details of our asteroid my be found at the JPL Small-Body Database Lookup.
RECENT IMAGES BY MEMBERSM101 captured by John Hill on the 6th April 2025. The Whirlpool Galaxy captured by Mike Lancaster over 4 nights in April 2025. The moon, the Pleiades and the Double Cluster, all captured by Tony Razzell on the 5th April 2025. The Whirlpool Galaxy captured by John Hill in March and April 2025. The partial solar eclipse of the 29th March 2025, photographed by various DDAS members. The International Space Station captured by Chris Callaway on the 26th March 2025. M101 by Chris Callaway using data collected during April 2024 and March 2025. The Owl and Oyster nebulae, and galaxies M51, M64, M65, M106. M108 and NGC 4565, all captured by Peter Branson in March 2025. Galaxies M63 and M94 taken by Mike Lancaster in March 2025. The Great Orion Nebula taken by Adrian Bancroft on the 12th March 2025. The Double Cluster captured by Chris Callaway on the 8th March 2025. Galaxy M106 combining data taken by Mike Lancaster on the 2nd and 5th March 2025, and the Leo Triplet taken by John Hill on the 5th March 2025. Venus and Mercury taken by Jim Sarsgard on the 5th March 2025. The Moon and Venus taken by Jim Sarsgard and Mike Lancaster on the 1st and 2nd March 2025 respectively. The Trapezium Cluster and Jupiter taken by Peter Branson on the 28th February 2025. The Pirate Moon Cluster taken by Mike Lancaster on the 27th February 2025.
