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Talk by Les Johnson With known exoplanets now numbering in the thousands and initiatives like 100 Year Starship and Breakthrough Starshot advancing the idea of interstellar travel, the age-old dream of venturing forth into the cosmos and perhaps even colonizing distant worlds may one day become a reality. Physicist, author, and NASA technologist Les Johnson will describe the physics and technologies that may enable us to reach the stars. He will discuss the latest exoplanet discoveries, promising interstellar precursor missions on the not-so-distant horizon, and exciting new developments in space propulsion, power, robotics, communications, and more. Johnson will take us on a journey through the harsh and forbidding expanse of space that awaits us as he addresses the daunting challenges—both human and technological—that we will need to overcome in order to realize tomorrow’s possibilities. Nature is telling us that traveling to the stars will be difficult, but not not impossible, and certanly not for the faint of heart.

Talk by Mary McIntyre Throughout history astronomy has been very male dominated. There have been many trailblazing women, such as Caroline Herschel, who have worked to change that, but in addition there were countless women working in astronomy before Caroline. This talk tells their story and discusses some of the challenges women have faced historically and still face today.

Talk by Dr. Richard J. Goodrich In 1705, Edmond Halley liberated humanity from the belief that comets were portents of doom; two centuries later, in 1910, as Halley’s Comet returned to perihelion, newspapers and magazines, religious leaders, misguided theorists, and shameless grifters managed to rekindle that fear. When astronomers announced that the earth would pass through the comet’s tail, opportunists exploited human anxiety—often with fatal consequences. Join Dr. Richard J. Goodrich, author of Comet Madness: How the 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet (almost) Destroyed Civilization, for an entertaining lecture about the comet’s 1910 return and the reasons that many believed the earth would not survive the encounter.

Talk by John I. Davies, Senior Researcher & Principium Editor, The Initiative for Interstellar Studies i4is Project Glowworm – near term low earth orbit demonstration of laser push technology Visitors are welcome at our meetings, but because of the popularity of our talks, visitors must register for a free ticket as visitor spaces are limited. Visitors can also leave after the main talk or are welcome to stay on for the rest of the meeting. Tickets will go live 1 month before the event. https://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/event/first-steps-to-interstellar-probes/ Also at our meetings: What’s in the night sky this month Overview of astronomy and space news Occasional member presentations

Talk by Dr Richard A. McCracken, Research Fellow Heriot-Watt University Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences The discovery of an planet orbiting a Sun-like star in 1995 sparked a quarter-century of research. In this talk we will look at how we hunt for exoplanets, some of the incredible systems observed so far, and what the future holds for this exciting field. Visitors are welcome at our meetings, but because of the popularity of our talks, visitors must register for a free ticket as visitor spaces are limited. Visitors can also leave after the main talk or are welcome to stay on for the rest of the meeting. Tickets will go live 1 month before the event. https://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/event/25-years-of-exoplanet-discoveries/ Also at our meetings: What’s in the night sky this month Overview of astronomy and space news Occasional member presentations

Talk by Prof. Andrew Lawrence, Regius Professor of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Edinburgh’s forgotten astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth. In 1856, Charles Piazzi Smyth, together with his scientist wife Jessie, and a crew of sailors and Spanish helpers, changed the way we do astronomy. They traveled to Tenerife, lived on the mountain in stone houses they built themselves, and made amazing measurements that proved that observations were much better – clearer, sharper, deeper – than from smoky cities like Edinburgh. Piazzi Smyth believed that in the future we would all become “peripatetic astronomers”, wandering from mountain to mountain to get the best results. I will trace the story of how this idea became a reality, and how indeed wandering the globe to use bigger and better telescopes has been the story of my own career for 40 years. However, this golden age of peripatetic mountain astronomy is coming to a close. Why, and what lies ahead? This is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the extraordinary Charles Piazzi Smyth, so it is an excellent time to examine his legacy. Visitors are welcome at our meetings, but because of the popularity of our talks, visitors must register for a free ticket as visitor spaces are limited. Visitors can also leave after the main talk or are welcome to stay on for the rest of the meeting. Tickets will go live 2 weeks before the event. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/61638104229/ Also at our meetings: What’s in the night sky this month Overview of astronomy and space news Occasional member presentations

Talk by Dr Paul Dalgarno, MPhys PhD CPhys, Associate Professor of Physics at Heriot Watt University . Black holes remain one of the most fascinating and intriguing phenomenon of the universe. On the one hand they are conceptually amazingly simple, on the other we still know very little about the detailed complexity around them. This talk will discuss the history of our understanding of black holes, some of the main properties of them and touch on some of the deeper questions connected to them. Regular meetings are held monthly and are open to members and non-members. Admission is free and visitors are always welcome. Also at our meetings: What's in the night sky this month News of what's happening in the world of astronomy and space Occasional member presentations Tea/coffee and chat afterwards

Talk by Dr Andrew Dennis, Director of Product Management at Andor Technology. When we think of Astronomy we think of beautiful Astrophotograpy images, but behind the scenes there are usually a vast array of “technical” cameras which ensure the telescope remains aligned, perform deep Astronomical analysis or produce details of the chemical composition of far off worlds. To make a Hollywood analogy, these cameras could be considered to be the Screenplay writers, Producers, Visual effects engineers of the Astronomy world, without these cameras the “lead actors” simply couldn’t perform. Regular meetings are held monthly and are open to members and non-members. Admission is free and visitors are always welcome. Also at our meetings: What's in the night sky this month News of what's happening in the world of astronomy and space Occasional member presentations Tea/coffee and chat afterwards

Talk by Dr Aleks Scholz, University of St Andrews. The talk will give a brief overview of the star and planet formation process and detail the scientific goals of our citizen science project which monitors nearby young star clusters with amateur telescopes. We will show some of our recent results and explain how to participate in our research.

For members only We will be discussing field of view, pixel scale, ISO, gain and levels stretching.

Talk by Dr Alan Penny, University of St Andrews Free admission and visitors always welcome. The Primary Objectives And Purposes Of METI International Are To: Conduct scientific research and educational programs in Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Promote international cooperation and collaboration in METI, SETI, and astrobiology. Understand and communicate the societal implications and relevance of searching for life beyond Earth, even before detection of extraterrestrial life. Foster multidisciplinary research on the design and transmission of interstellar messages, building a global community of scholars from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. Research and communicate to the public the many factors that influence the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe, with a special emphasis on the last three terms of the Drake Equation: (1) the fraction of life-bearing worlds on which intelligence evolves, (2) the fraction of intelligence-bearing worlds with civilizations having the capacity and motivation for interstellar communication, and (3) the longevity of such civilizations. Offer programs to the public and to the scholarly community that foster increased awareness of the challenges facing our civilization’s longevity, while encouraging individual and community activities that support the sustainability of human culture on multigenerational timescales, which is essential for long-term METI and SETI research.

Talk by Alex Pratt, BAA Meteor Section Free admission and visitors always welcome. Visual observation of meteors has been a popular pastime for amateur astronomers for many decades. Using the naked eye, sometimes assisted by film and digital cameras, observers have contributed to our knowledge of the annual meteor showers. However, interest in visual observations is dwindling because of the extent of light pollution across our towns and cities. Increasing numbers of observers are using video cameras, which can record meteors from suburban locations and in moonlight. Alex has observed meteors for many years, is on the Committee of the BAA Meteor Section and is a member of the IMO. He is co-founder of NEMETODE, a network of video meteor cameras in the British Isles. His talk outlines the developments from visual work, film and digital cameras, to video techniques and describes setting up a video meteor station. The talk includes results from meteor cameras operating across Scotland.

Main talk: Recording meteors, from deckchairs to desktops by Alex Pratt of the BAA Plus what's in the sky for September and occasional short presentations from members. Refreshments afterwards. Open to all, admission free. You don't have to be a member to come along and we're always happy to see new faces.

Main talk: The variable Hubble Nebula by Dr John Lightfoot of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Plus what's in the sky for September and occasional short presentations from members. Refreshments afterwards. Open to all, admission free. You don't have to be a member to come along and we're always happy to see new faces.