The annual NIAAS Perseid meteor watch and barbecue will be held at Killylane on Friday August 13th, starting at around 9.30pm. With no Moon in the sky, this could be an especially good year.
The early weather forecasts are mixed, so we will have to wait until later in the week to see what conditions will be like. A final decision will be taken on the Friday, at around 6.00pm. Unless it is heavily overcast, or raining, we will probably go ahead, as the crack is always good.
If Friday looks bad, but Thursday night looks ok, we may have a session then. The absolute maximum activity, for observing purposes, is early in the morning of the 13th, if anyone feels up to it. Keep an eye on this thread in the forum for up-to-date reports.

As always, bring your own food and drink, cooking facilities will be provided.

There's no need to bring any equipment, as meteors are best seen with the naked eye, although no doubt, there will be a couple of telescopes set up for other viewing, especially Jupiter. Some people like to try and photograph the meteors, so feel free to try that if you wish. 

Make sure to wrap up warm, and bring along a reclining chair or sun lounger for comfort if desired. There is always scientific interest in the shower, so if anyone wants to bring along pens and paper, or an electronic counter, to record their observations, feel free to do so.

Don't forget to have a look outside during this week, there are usually early meteors to be seen in the build up to to the main shower, Jonathan, Neil and I saw a few last night.

For more information on the Perseids meteor shower, and tips on how to identify Perseid meteors, see our article here, and for a short report by Phil on last years watch, click here.

Hope to see you all there.

Stevie

With one month to go until the start of our new season in September we would like to update you on some society news.  

Firstly, we have been working hard and are now pleased to announce our forthcoming programme of speakers and topics who as usual will appeal to all levels of interest.

Secondly, as the Perseid Meteor shower approaches we are planning to have our annual BBQ and Perseid Watch on Friday 13th of August hopefully luck will be on our side this year again!!! Keep an eye here and on the forum for more information closer to the event!

Thirdly, despite current economic trends we will NOT be increasing any of our membership rates. We are proud to have had the same rates for the last few years and are determined to keep these prices as they offer great value for all. 

Forthly, recently the committee have been discussing guided observing sessions for newcomers and anyone needing help with a new scope or any other equipment, if you would be interested please contact our chairman Stevie or leave a message on the forum.

We hope you are enjoying your summer and look forward to seeing you soon.

NIAAS

We are very pleased to announce our new lineup of speakers for the coming season.

Click here

At the AGM on Monday 17th May a new NIAAS Committee was elected.

We would like to welcome new Committee members Jonathan Bingham, Ian McConnell and Derrick McCourt to the board. Philip Matchett has also taken up his Committee position after a year off.

Eamonn Keyes and Neil Patterson have resigned from the Committee and we would like to thank them for their work over the year and wish them both the best for the future.

Your new Committee lineup is:

Chair: Stephen Beasant

Treasurer: Ralph Gault

Secretary: Brian Stafford

Webmaster: Philip Matchett

Ordinary Members: Jonathan Bingham, Ian McConnell, Derrick McCourt

 

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who made it last night, I'm sure you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Members started arriving at Killylane from 2030 onwards and shortly after this the bbq was fired up and we all took part in some serious munching.

As was expected, the weather wasn't great with total cloud coverage at times, however it did continuously break up to give us some nice large clear areas. As darkness fell, it wasn't long before the first meteor of the night was spotted, this was followed up by quite a lot of activity and the count started rising fast.
Unfortunately we got clouded over again, which caused a major lull, but within 30 minutes we were up and running again.

At 2330 it totally clouded over and at this point most of the members called it quits, the count having reached 22.

Myself, Stevie and Jonathan stayed to tidy up and while we where chatting the clouds departed once more leaving a large area clear, so we stayed on for a bit. We left at 0045 with a final count for the night of 35.

Even though the weather wasn't perfect, this was our first watch in three years and was a bigger success than was first anticipated.

Philip Matchett
NIAAS Webmaster

With the newly observed hole in Jupiter's Southern polar region, there has never been a better time to become familiar with Jupiter's bands and storms.

From the beginning of August, Jupiter will be rising at 21:50, and by the end of August it will rise at 19:40, visible in the constellation of Capricornus.

Why not take a look and see for yourself?

The NIAAS will be holding star parties, the next of which will coincide with the Perseid meteor shower - more details will be on the NIAAS Forum.