NEXT TALK
28th November "Rainbows, Haloes and Glories" presented by Professor Alan Davies, University of Hertfordshire
Talk Description:
Atmospheric conditions give rise to a variety of optical phenomena. The most commonly occurring is the rainbow, which, as its name suggests, occurs due to the passage of sunlight through raindrops. We shall start by looking at a variety of rainbows using Issaac Newton's ray tracing approach to explain many of the well-known (and some of the not so well-known) properties. As we move down through drop-size we shall meet fogbows and then the so-called glories. As well as water droplets, the atmosphere contains ice crystals. These crystals are hexagonal in shape and occur either as flat lozenge forms or long pencil-shape forms. A light ray can take many different paths through an ice crystal and this gives rise to a much greater variety of optical outputs, including haloes, compared with light travelling through a spherical raindrop.
Biography:
Alan Davies is Professor Emeritus, Mathematics, at the University of Hertfordshire where his teaching and research has been in numerical applied mathematics. He has, for over thirty years, had a very close association with Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclass programmes in Hertfordshire, London and elsewhere. He presents a wide variety of topics to young people of all ages from primary through secondary into higher education and gives public lectures to general audiences on popular applications of mathematics and physics. He frequently sprinkles these masterclass presentations and public lectures with suitable demonstrations. Alan lives in Norfolk and is a 'Master Composter', as such he represents the County Council in talks designed to encourage households to deal with their kitchen and garden waste at home rather than have the council take it away.
National Space Centre in Leicester on Sat 30th November
Come and join us on this trip to The National Space Centre in Leicester on Sat 30th November! Explore six interactive galleries, eat your lunch under giant rockets and immerse yourself in a spellbinding tour of the night sky! Contact Tiffany to book at social@cardiff-astronomical-society.co.uk
Bill Sutherland Award 2023/2024
Each year the Bill Sutherland Award is presented to a CAS member who has shown outstanding enthusiasm for astronomy and the Society.
This year the award is made to Dr Katherine Compton for her background work maintaining and developing the CAS website.
Katherine is shown here receiving the award from CAS Chairman Phill Wallace.
Bill Sutherland Award Page
Special Award "A Big Thank You"
At the last AGM Theresa Cooper stood down as Public Events Organiser after many years. Although she has continued arranging and coordinating events until a new appointment is made.
Theresa is shown here receiving this Special Award from CAS Chairman Phill Wallace.
Fortnightly CAS Social (Tuesday Evening) via Zoom (Members Only)
Once a fortnight (same week as Thursday talk) on a Tuesday evening from 19:00 to around 21:00 we hold a social get together on zoom where we chat about both astronomical and non-astronomical subjects, have a quiz and have presentations by members. The presentations are usually on either member's hobbies or their travels but can be on anything they think others will find interesting.
Why not come along one week to see what you think. You do not need to stay for the whole session and people often arrive late or leave early because of other commitments. It is very informal!
To register your interest complete the ContactUsForm. Please include your Membership Number and you will be sent a link to the next session.
Recent Public Events
To see older events and to look at our testimonials please click here
HOVAS 5th October 2024
Well a bright and sometimes sunny day - if only we could have swopped the weather for an outdoor event at Bannau with this one!
However, an enjoyable day was had by all; a very interesting talks programme and a good variety of stands to keep us interested, entertained and wowed!
An good opportunity for some retail therapy and lovely to meet up with fellow enthusiasts from HOVAS, Bridgend Astro Soc, Usk AS, Astro Cymru, Gwent Rocketry Society, The Society for Popular Astronomy and the BAA.
A busy day to fit all that in, plus the trade stands and man our own stand as well.
It was hard work but it had to be done!
Dark Skies Festival/Sep 21st 2024
Or could be rebilled as Singing in the Rain!
Though seriously, the CAS Outreach team made the most of the day, and we helped a good number of people with their beginners' interest in the event.
When the Sun did finally make an appearance, Stephen Webber set up a solar scope quickly followed by Mike our Treasurer with another.
There were lots of oohs and wows from adults and children alike and that made the damp start all worthwhile.
We had some very keen children who were handed the very colourful project booklets about the Sun with some other goodies and discussed what they had seen in more detail with Bob Love, Mike and Stephen.
Everyone was given a pocket star chart with the hope of clearer days to come, and Joan demonstrated to a family how to set their phone screens on night view to retain their dark adaption whilst using their Apps.
And don't buy a telescope to start with, get these binoculars!
All very good and practical information which we hoped has sparked or encouraged the interest of some future astronomer and given adults a new and fascinating interest.
Tiffany's Treasures were once again the main draw to our table! Well done Tiffany as the items on offer continue to grow in variety and interest.
Phill and Stephen gave their talks in the dryness of the smart new classroom and the Ukelele Band acquired 2 more members which may have set a precedent for our Star Parties at Dyffryn!
No-one seemed to be stressed going home with thoughts of Armageddon, and lines and circles in the sky means more than just technical jargon
Not a perfect observing day, but much worthwhile community work completed and importantly - we had good fun!
The night sky this month
(Courtesy of BBC Sky at Night Magazine)
Day-by-day guide to this month's night sky
- text and photos
PART 2: THE SOCIETY'S UPCOMING EVENTS
Next Star Party - Details to be confirmed
Next Observing Session
Please see our Observing Sessions page for dates
PART 3: THE CARDIFF ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Introduction to CAS
The Cardiff Astronomical Society (CAS) is a thriving society located in South East Wales. It has been in existence for over 45 years and is one of the largest amateur astronomical societies in the UK. CAS provides a range of facilities for both Society members and the public at large including a varied programme of talks on Thursday evenings (except in August) at the Physics and Astronomy Department of Cardiff University. In addition, regular night sky (and occasional solar) Observing Sessions are held at the Society's own Observatory at Dyffryn Gardens.
Our members come from all walks of life and their knowledge of astronomy ranges from complete beginner to advanced. You don't need any specialist knowledge to join us and neither do you need to own a telescope or binoculars. It's also possible to try us out before joining!
More details about the Society and what it does are available here
We are keen to get more Society members on board to assist with the running of CAS events - please see here how you can Help Us
JOIN OR SUPPORT CAS
Come and join some of the Society's members at one of our talks or observing events. We promise a warm and friendly welcome for all. Only £18/£3/£24 per annum for Adult/Junior/Family membership also means you can make use of our Library
Gift Aid
CAS is registered for Gift Aid. This means that, if you are a UK taxpayer, we can claim back the standard rate tax on subscriptions (and on any donations) giving an effective 25% boost to the amount the Society has received. However, in order to reclaim these monies from HMRC, we need all members who pay tax to complete and return a Charity Gift Aid Declaration form. Please note that if you have paid your subscriptions by PayPal, you will have already been asked if you would consent to those subscriptions being Gift Aided - but we still need a completed Charity Gift Aid Declaration form in order for us to reclaim the tax paid as Gift Aid.
If you are eligible, please take a form (using the button opposite) and then complete it and pass it to us at one of the fortnightly talks or send it to CAS by post or email (see the bottom of the form). Thank you for your help!
Support CAS when shopping online with easyfundraising
Cardiff Astronomical Society outreach for schools, colleges, businesses & organisations.
We welcome all invitations from schools, colleges, businesses, scouts, guides and other organisations in providing outreach. We can host events our our observatory in Dyffryn Gardens, Vale of Glamorgan. We can also discuss events with your organisation to include stargazing, talks and activities. We do not charge a fee for this but would kindly request that expenses are covered as we volunteer our time.
We have a wide range of expertise & can offer events to all ages and knowledge levels.
If you would like to discuss outreach with us please use our ContactusForm and someone will contact you.
It should be noted that CAS has a formal Policy on Child Protection and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults
