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Welcome to the

West Yorkshire Astronomical Society

(For Information on Bookings and Costs Please See  The Education & Outreach Link)

Update 15/10/2021

Tonight we are hosting "International Observe The Moon Night" at the observatory in Pontefract, no booking is needed as it is an open night, and entry is free - although we do have donation boxes if you feel you would like to contribute something to the society.  Hotdogs, hot and cold drinks will be on sale at the Tuck Shop during the evening. Can I remind everyone who will be attending to wrap up warm and keep your fingers crossed we get a clear sky.  Come along and help us make it a fun night!!  Our doors open from 7:30pm.

Update 05/09/2021

We are please to announce our phased re-opening timetable over the next couple of month for both WYAS member and also for the public.

September 2021
The observatory will be open Tuesday and Friday evenings from 7.30pm for WYAS members only (Subscriptions will restart in January 2022).  

October 2021
The observatory will be open Tuesday and Friday evenings from 7.30pm for WYAS members AND the public.  This will be an 'Open Month' where we will encourage the people who made enquiries while we were closed to come along and see what we do. 

November 2021 onwards
The observatory will be open Tuesday and Friday evenings from 7.30pm for WYAS members only with one evening a month for a public open night for people to drop in.  This will be the first Tuesday of each month. Visitors may join us on a members' evening if an appointment is made. 

The last Friday of each month will be the Young Astronomers’ evenings.

We kindly ask non-members not to come to the observatory on Members Only night without a prior appointment.  More details about our Young Astronomers evenings will be published in the near future. 

Update 09/06/2021

On Thursday 10/06/2021, a partial Solar eclipse will be visible in the UK.  The important times are: it begins at 10:07am, reaches its maximum at 11:14am, and concludes at 12:26pm.  All time are BST.

Update 24/01/2021

A belated Happy New Year to all.  As Groundhog Day in the form of a 3rd national lockdown continues, we are not expecting to be allowed to open our doors until at least March or April time.   The refurbishments at the observatory are complete; we cannot wait for you to be able to come and see them (pictures are available on our Facebook page.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Monday 25/01/2021.  Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions it is a virtual meeting.  If you have anything you would like to be raised please send it via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The ISS is back overhead this week (additional details available on https://www.meteorwatch.org)

As always please keep yourselves and your families safe.

Update 10/11/2020

As the nights get longer, we are desperate to welcome you all back to the observatory for our usual activities and to see the changes we have made. The 2nd Coronavirus national lockdown is due to end on the Wednesday 2nd December and we we are hopeful of being able to open in some format after this date - subject to Government guidelines and restrictions. In the mean time please keep yourselves and your families safe.

Update 02/08/2020

After our committee meeting, we can announce plans are being made for when we can reopen the observatory.  At this time the date and nature of our re-opening are still under discussion as we follow Goverment guidelines and the restricitons imposed by the size of the observatory.  Any anoucements will be published on here, Facebook and via our members emails.

Tomorrow (3rd August) is a Full Sturgeon Moon. It is named after North America's largest fish, which are easiier to catch in the Great lakes due to their increased numbers at this time of year.  Other names include Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon, which are all based on the crops that are harvested in August.

We are currently in The Perseid meteor shower (17 July to 24 August), with the peak estimated on the 12th August, unfortunatly, during daylight hours (14:00-17:00 BST).  The nights either side of the 12th August should give the best viewing possibilities - weather permitting.  This is one of the best showers of the year with over 100 meteors per hour at it peak.  Tips on how to watch this event and taking pictures can be found on the Sky At Night Website.

Update 16/07/2020

We held first committee meeting last week to discuss plans for the future and, more importantly, when we can reopen.  We are sorry to say we do not have a date for reopening yet but when this changes details will be available on here, WYAS' Facebook and email.   

Memory Lane

It has a year since a number of our members astrophotography images were exhibited at the Science and Media Museum in Bradford.  Detail of the exhibition and some of the images can still be found on their STARGAZERS webpage.  Our members are still busy producing some amazing imaging during this lock down period so there will be more pictures available later.

Update 24/05/2020

It was a new Moon on the 22nd so if you are furloughed or equivalent then it is a good time to get your telescope out - subject to the weather. 

On Wednesday 27th May, there is a launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 from carrying astronauts to the ISS for the first time.  The launch is scheduled at 21:45 (UK time) and can be watched on NASA's youtube channel.  15 minutes after the launch you will be able to see the craft pass over the UK.  See https://www.meteorwatch.org/ for details

The ISS is back overhead this week. 

Update 03/05/2020

This week sees a both a full moon and supermoon (last one of 2020) on the 7th May.  The peak scheduled to occur at 11:45, during the day.  This full moon is named the Flower Moon, but also goes by the names "Milk Moon", "Corn Planting Moon", "Grass Moon" or  "Mother's Moon".  The name relates to the time of the year when wild flowers traditionally come into bloom.  More details can be found here.

Before dawn on the 6th May is the peak of the annual η-Aquariids (Eta-Aquariids) Meteor Shower. The meteor shower runs from the April 19 and concludes on the 26th May. The source point is Aquarius, which will lie just above the southeastern horizon, close to the planet Mars.

Update 26/04/2020

This week sees the 30th anniversary of the Hubble telescope.  The anniversary picture can be at https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2020/news-2020-16 with view of the Comic Reef (NGC 2014) in the Large Magellanic Cloud.  

It was a new Moon on the 23rd of April and is predomidally above the horizon during daylight and evening hours.  This should make early morning viewing of the planets good this week subject to the weather - which is not looking too good.

The Moon and planet rise and set times for next week can be found in the table below (note some of the set times are the following day)

Update 18/04/2020

While we are closed and social isolating due the Corona-virus it is a perfect time to try some backyard astronomy.  If you do not have access to a telescope or binoculars there are a few items that you can still see. 

Details of the phases of the moon can be found on the time and date website.

The bright object in the North Western sky is the planet Venus.  This is the second planet from the Sun and a mere 101.41 million km (63.38 Million miles) away.  More details of Venus can be found on the NASA's website. 

Jupiter, Saturn and Mars can be seen in the early morning sky looking South close to the horizon.

During the peak around 18 meteors (aka shooting stars) may be seen per hour from a dark site. The Moon is favourable this year (Waning Crescent) -- it won't be visible during the night and thus the skies will be dark meaning fainter meteors will be visible as well as brighter ones.

 

moon data

 

The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation of Lyra (hence their name), you will need to be facing East to view The Lyra Constellation and the radiant is to the right of the bright Star Vega.

The best way to see them is not to look at this part of the sky rather scan the whole sky with your peripheral vision. It's worth keeping an eye out from now if you're out observing.

 

International Space Station Sightings.

There are no major sightings in our area for the period of:

Monday Apr 13, 2020 through Wednesday Apr 29, 2020.

Other Events:
23/04/2020 - New Moon

25/04/2020 - Venus reaches 30% phase

27/04/2020 - 20% lit waxing crescent Moon just above Open Cluster M35 in Gemini.

28/04/2020 - Venus will be at its maximum brightness

30/04/2020 - Moon at first quarter phase.

COVID-19.

If the situation changes with Corona Virus then we will provide updates both here and on our facebook site. 

Simon

Website Administrator.

Update 18/4/2020