Astronomical Society question

[Guest]

i was wondering what you get from becoming a member of a local astronomy society. my local one says they do monthly lectures and a number of other observing and training evenings. might they do other things such as group outings to dark sites? or gazing events on site? or simply permit a member to set up at their site? i have no idea haha

http://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/ is my local one and i have no idea what they provide. aside from what i have written i know they have an open day coming up in february. what kind of things might they offer? what do others offer?

Cheers

[Ouroboros]

My local AS has a monthly lecture from an invited speaker, a monthly beginners' evening at which the more experienced members talk and take questions on various topics, and an observing evening or two depending on the weather.  Good value at 20 quid or so a year.  I'm sure they'd be delighted in suggestions for outings or similar fresh ideas from a new member. 

[Peter Drew]

We do a bit of everything however the accent is firmly on "hands on" practical astronomy.  

[ronin]

Go along and get a feel for the place.

Looking at their website they have an observatory and this can oddly means observing is easy or not so easy.

It may be that having an observatory and observing area and with being a member you can wander to their site anytime, park car easily, set up a scope and observe. Nice simple easy.

It might be that having an observatory you can only observe on arranged nights as otherwise anyone could be walking around potentially trying to break in a steal anything of value. A sensor could then notify police and you get questioned.

Both are valid options.

Generally they arrange talks by visiting speakers, or maybe someone in the club. But I suggest a visit, general chat and just get a feel of the place.

[Guest]

i was going to pop along to the open evening they had at the beginning of december but they cancelled it just as i was about to get in the car. i think the talks are interesting. shame its gone up for £35 to £48 but they have interesting plans with the Planetarium Project.

[mikeDnight]

Local astro societies are a great place to meet people with similar interests i.e. deep sky, planetary, visual or imaging and many other varied avenues you'd care to go down. Whether your local group offers practical sessions or not it should still be of benefit to you, as there you would undoubtedly be invited to observe privately with others and use various different kinds of telescopes. 

Mike

[mikeDnight]

16 minutes ago, Dakaar said:

i was going to pop along to the open evening they had at the beginning of december but they cancelled it just as i was about to get in the car. i think the talks are interesting. shame its gone up for £35 to £48 but they have interesting plans with the Planetarium Project.

A jump from £35 to £48 seems a bit excessive! May be they have a lot of overheads, or possibly they aren't that interested in gaining new members?

Mike

[RayD]

Yes £48 seems a lot.  The one I joined has its own observatory with an ongoing project renovating an observatory class telescope (due to be finished soon) and bi monthly meetings with guest speakers etc. and is £25 for the year.  Next week we have Luigi who owns F1 Telescopes in Sittingbourne coming in with a selection of telescopes to give beginners an overview of each type and their benefits etc.  Last month we had a guest speaker talking in depth about this year's solar eclipse across America.

My view is it's well worth going along if you have one local, and as noted by others, it's a great place to meet like minded people and get some great tips and advice.  Most (ours does) offer a free visit to see if you like it.

Good luck.

[ronin]

One odd thought - ask on which nights they usually hold the club observing.

From the assorted clubs I have met and people I have spoken to, only one arranges observing in which to me makes sense. They arrange theirs primarily for a Friday and if not suitable weather then they provisionally swap to the Saturday. Reason is simple, people work and only on a Friday or Saturday can you as a member stay late, say 2:00am to observe then head home and not have a problem the next morning with regards work. Sometimes it is the little things that indicate the clubs running.

[brantuk]

The Sherwood one I understand is quite good, and also Notts astro soc, but I don't know how many outdoor sessions they do. Leicester and Derby astro socs are similar with links to local universities and they put on a mixture of regular talks and hands on outings. East Midlands Stargazers are mostly focussed on outdoor hands on sessions and have two dark sites that are used regularly. I personally use Leicester astro soc and EMS (due to location), and occasionally Notts astro soc for special events. So you have a lot of good choices in your area. Hth

[101nut]

"What do I get for my membership?"

Not sure why such a question should be asked here - ask the local societies directly, they'll all be different.

AndyG

[laudropb]

Well worth going along and finding out what you would gain.

[steppenwolf]

Definitely worth going along as the talks are normally very stimulating and you will be amazed at the wealth of knowledge within the membership and you can draw from and contribute to this. I would expect a club to let you attend one or maybe more meetings to see if they float you boat or not without you having to commit to full membership.

[John]

I've only recently joined my local society, Bristol AS, but I'm very glad that I did. We meet weekly from September to July then have informal nights through the summer months. I've seen some great talks and now particpate in club star parties showing the public the highlights of space though my scope along with 8-10 other members.

I can honestly say that joining a society has re-juvinated the hobby for me. Having a regular opportunity to chat to other space nuts rather than boring my family makes the subscription worthwhile on it's own I think.

[Guest]

i think ill have a pop round when i get chance then. they sound more recommended than i was expecting. the cost seems a little high campared to what others have said but thats still £4 a month and if its going towards the Planetarium Project then i suppose it will be worth it even more so in the future. thanks for all the input

[Floater]

6 hours ago, 101nut said:

"What do I get for my membership?"

Not sure why such a question should be asked here - ask the local societies directly, they'll all be different.

AndyG

That's telling it like it is, Andy.

C'mon, Dakaar. Get yourself along there and find out what 'I get for my membership'.

If you're not happy don't join. End of.

[Guest]

well as somebody who hasnt the foggiest idea of the kinds of activities offered by various societies i thought it might be an idea to get some insight...

[John]

I've only the experience of one society but from from what I hear and read I suspect that they all differ a bit. Prospective members can come along to my society free for a "taster" meeting to see how they like it. Maybe other societies offer something similar ?

 

[DRT]

54 minutes ago, Dakaar said:

well as somebody who hasnt the foggiest idea of the kinds of activities offered by various societies i thought it might be an idea to get some insight...

Well said. This is a great place for inexperienced enthusiasts to obtain help and advice from the more experienced members. Ask away

 

[Swithin StCleeve]

My local society seems geared towards armchair astronomers. They have bi-weekly lectures on the theory of astronomy, but few lectures on practical astronomy itself. In fact, a few months ago, a member stood up and said "I've got my scope with me, I'm going to set it up in the car park after the meeting to look at the moon", and of the forty members attending the lecture, only two of us stayed to look at the moon. I watched everyone else walk past the telescope!
To be fair, it was quite cold.
The lectures are very good though, and most of the members seem to understand the lectures better than I do, (with a background in the building trade, a lot of the physics is over my head). They have mentioned observing sessions, but I don't think they've held one in several years. In fact, I'm thinking of asking them if they'd let me organise one, I know a lot of camp-sites, and the society is very open to new ideas and stuff. Which is another point worth making - if the society isn't quite what you want, they're very often open to suggestions and ideas. The society is, after all, all about the members.
Plus, it's something like twenty or twenty five quid a year. That's nothing, is it?

[BritAngler]

I belong to three local astronomy groups and find all of them to be worth the membership fees. As well as meeting like-minded people, interesting lectures and the chance for stargazing sessions away from city lights, you also get the chance of bagging up some real bargains. Last year alone I've bought a Celestron D70 Travelscope for £25, Skywatcher 127 Mak for £25, Opticscope 102S frac for £90, various eyepieces for peanuts (including a Celestron zoom eyepiece and 2x barlow, and a Meade diagonal), and in a month or two I'm hoping to buy a pair of 20x80 bins for £not-a-lot....

So like I say, well worth the membership fees

 

[John]

One of the benefits of my Society is that I get access to an 18" telescope

One of these:

[barkis]

Also, during National Astronomy week, most local Society's open themselves to the general Public
who come along to the Society's Meeting Place/Observatory, If they have one, and give talks and demonstrations on Astronomical
subjects, they also  provide access to telescopes of various types, to permit folks who may never have seen through a Scope before,
some nice surprises. Anyone who has never seen a Globular, or Open Cluster, Double Stars of differing colours, Planetary Nebulae.
Even the Moon, if it should be in the sky at the time of the meeting, can be a huge awakening for those who have never seen the Cratered surface before.
Astronomy Societies play an Important role in the advancement of amateur  Astronomy in the World.

[Newtonianphile]

There are all types of astronomical societies. From the Royal Astronomical Society of London which began in 1820 and the American Astronomical Society to the Sidewalk Astronomers of Monrovia CA USA, with whom I am affiliated. There is no membership fee in our society. Some of our members work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena CA (JPL). In fact two of the members who work at JPL have had an asteroid named for them! What do we do? Last November (2016) we went to a star party (for celestial stars, not Hollywood stars) at Black Canyon Campground, east of San Diego and just north of our border with Mexico. Members brought their telescopes---everything from the smallest refractors and reflectors to the largest portable professional telescopes! Everyone shared their telescopes with everyone else! The sky was so perfectly black there! (hence the name black canyon?). There was only a quarter moon at the time, which did not disturb the seeing too much. Even naked eye views of the celestial sphere were fantastic! In fact the National Park Service was celebrating its 100th Anniversary then and offered FREE CAMPSITES! THANK YOU NATIONAL PARK SERVICE!!! If any of you ever have the opportunity to visit Southern California, please consider going to Black Canyon Campground for some wonderful views of our universe!