Wakefield and District Astronomical Society
Is it cold, is it dark, and is it matter? We hear a lot about dark matter in astronomy. Some people consider it a fudge. In this talk we'll go through the evidence for dark matter and the history of it, and answer the questions in the title. No particular prior knowledge is …
As is traditional, quizmaster Soupy will present his annual Astronomical Christmas Quiz... with goodies to be won!
The unprecedented sensitivity of ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) has allowed the first detection of so-called 'complex organic molecules', or COMs, defined in astrochemistry as molecules with greater than five atoms. The detection and analysis of COM emission from planet-forming disks is vital for understanding the chemical archaeological record of our Solar System contained …
Understanding how galaxies evolve is one of the most active fields of modern astrophysics. Clive Tadhunter, Professor of Astrophysics at Sheffield University, joins us to explain how the supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies play a key role in the transformation of galaxies over cosmic time, and discuss the likely fate of our own …
Anthony Jennings ventures o’er the divide from Manchester Astronomical Society where he sits as President, one of the oldest astronomical societies in the country. His 3D images have appeared on NASA’s STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) website. He has had photographs in Sky At Night and Astronomy Now magazines, and shown on Granada Television. The Late Sir Patrick …
Jason McDonald joins us from Harrogate Astronomical Society and the UK Solar Imaging & Observations FB Group on the first day of the astronomical summer for an evening of all things Solar. Non-members: £3,  Members: society rate
All is not appears with that there Moon... to us it seems like a simple grey disk. Kevin Kilburn of Manchester Astronomy Society joins us to open our eyes and reveal the moon’s visual secrets in glorious technicolor.
Paul Money returns with another of his fascinating talks involving the escapades of early space exploration missions. In 1975 NASA launched an ambitious mission to search for life on the Red Planet. Consisting of two orbiters and two landers, most of the emphasis has concentrated on the landers but in this Pt 1 we look …
Dr Susan Cartwright, Senior Lecturer in Particle Physics and Astrophysics at Sheffield University, joins us to explore the topic of Exoplanets... looking at questions such as how do you we find and observe them, and what are the probabilities of finding habitable worlds? Non-members: £3  Members: society rate Image credit: IAU/L. Calçada
Astronomy is mostly a visual and non-experimental science. We can only look at what is out there but can't brings stars and galaxies into the lab. However we can build them inside computers and attempt to simulate them. In this talk, we will see how simulations can show us how the universe evolves and what we can do with …
As is traditional, quizmaster Soupy will present his annual Astronomical Christmas Quiz... with goodies to be won!
Everyone has had life changed by astronomers studying the night sky... it’s a little known fact that some of the most important technological advancements of the past few decades owe a debt of gratitude to the humble astronomer. Professor Gibson joined Hull University in 2015 and established the E.A Milne Centre for Astrophysics, and is …
Dr. Steve Barrett is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physics, and Principal Scientist of the Surface Science Research Centre at Liverpool University. Recordings of some of his talks are available via Liverpool University’s Live Streaming Service. This particular talk encompasses a brief history of the Hubble Space Telescope and a description of its legacy in …
Prof Brad Gibson returns once again to fill a void with another fascinating lecture... this time, the topic du jour will be Liquid Mirror Telescopes: The Wave of the Future or Just a Ripple? First described by Capocci in 1850 and published by Skey in 1872, LMTs became a serious reality with the UBC/Laval 2.7m …
Paul joins us from the University of Sheffield (where he wears the crown of HoD and Professor of Astrophysics) to give us an overview of massive stars, from the birth in rich star forming regions such as the Orion Nebula and the Tarantula Nebula, through their relatively short lifetimes, initially as luminous blue stars through …
The Moon is a shy body, it only ever shows one sides of itself to the Earth. Before the space age, we had no idea what was on the far side of the Moon. This has led to a number of conspiracy theories that it is a haven for aliens. In this talk, we'll chart …
