Our meetings are held in Lecture Theatre L in the Lecture Theatre Block (Level 2) of the University of Surrey, Guildford.

Click here for a map to show you directions to the University Main Car Parks. If you’re travelling using a SatNav the postcode is GU2 7XH.

A detailed map (available here) shows the location of the Lecture Theatre Block (pale blue and near the middle of the map), Main Car Parks 1-4 and Bus Stops next to Senate House and North of the Austin Pearce Building. There are also more convenient car park spaces available for disabled drivers at various nearby locations. The University also has a web page here for newcomers to the campus.

Meetings start at 7.30pm on the first Thursday of each month (except August when there is no meeting) and usually finish around 10pm. One or two meetings in the year, (including the AGM), are set aside for members only; these are indicated in our list of Talks for upcoming meetings.

Note for Visitors: To help cover the cost of the room hire, we charge just £5.00 (£4.00 for Junior/Student guests) per meeting. On arrival, please introduce yourself to any member of the Committee (look for their badges) — you’ll be very warmly welcomed!

Tea/Coffee (biscuits included) available in the break for just £2. However, we respectfully ask that you don’t bring any food or drinks into the lecture theatre.

If you have any special access requirements, please contact the Secretary, .
Please note Lecture Theatre L does not have a hearing loop system. It does have a system where your smart phone maybe used. Please go here for details.

See you there…

Meeting Format

Meetings generally take one of two formats:

• An invited expert gives a talk/presentation – illustrated and/or animated – of an aspect of astronomy. Subjects are chosen because they’re topical, practical – or just interesting to astronomers. Each year we arrange a balanced mix, covering a wide range of topics. and levels.
• A ‘members evening’, in which members present short talks on their own interests, projects, and topics of general interest.

Occasionally, invited speakers have to cancel, (usually at extremely short notice), and at these times the meeting often takes the form of an informal quiz, a question and answer session, or a hands-on Workshop.

Typically,the main talk of the evening lasts for an hour or so, after which we have a 15-20 minute comfort break. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available from the adjoining refreshments room.

Following the break, the remaining time until 10pm usually features Society news and business, (such as the latest reports from the Observatory, Observing Evening Reports, etc), and a short ‘What’s on?’ feature describing events happening later in the current month.

 

Afterwards

If there’s time at the end, some members go for a drink and chat. You’re welcome to join us in the bar at The Astolat (Directions).

The 2018-2019 Session

Subject to change

Date	Talk/Presentation Title	Speaker
6 Sep 2018	Hawking, Black Holes and the Edge of Physics	Paul Fellows
4 Oct 2018	Herschel Space Observatory and ALMA explore deep into the space	Dr Mikako Matsuura
4 Oct 2018	Astrospectroscopy ... where pretty picture end and science starts	Steve Baker
1 Nov 2018	The intimate lives of stars	Dr Ghina M. Halabi
6 Dec 2018	Cosmology Pt 1.	Dr Colin McGill
6 Dec 2018	Outreach - The Astroboost Project	Julia Gaudelli
6 Dec 2018	The Society's Observatory Facilities	Tim Ellison
3 Jan 2019	Cosmology Pt 2	Dr Colin McGill
7 Feb 2019	The Antikythera Mechanism	John Lancashire
7 Feb 2019	Constellation Viewer Application v2.3	John Hodder
7 Mar 2019	SMILE: A novel and global way to explore solar-terrestrial relationships	Prof. Graziella Branduardi-Raymont
7 Mar 2019	What's Up for March 2019	John Axtell
4 Apr 2019	Lunar Imaging	Dr David Arditti
2 May 2019	Jupiter and the Juno mission	Dr John Rogers
2 May 2019	Astronomy Over the Internet.	John Cossins
6 Jun 2019	How the Universe Will End…	Prof Brad Gibson
6 Jun 2019	Monthly Notices	President
6 Jun 2019		Break
6 Jun 2019	Monthly Whats Up Presentation	Rob Graham
4 Jul 2019	Members Only - AGM	GAS Committee & Members
4 Jul 2019	A trip through our bit of the Galaxy - some of my pictures	Martin Baker
4 Jul 2019	Light Weight Grab & Go Imaging	Max Dobres
Aug 2019	Note: There is no meeting in August

The 2019-2020 Session

Subject to change

Date	Talk/Presentation Title	Speaker
5 Sep 2019	The Latest Developments in Solar Exploration	Prof. Lucie Green MSSL
3 Oct 2019	Origins. How the Earth made us When we talk about human history, we focus on great leaders, mass migration and decisive wars. But how has the Earth itself determined our destiny? How has our planet made us? As a species we are shaped by our environment. Geological forces drove our evolution in East Africa; mountainous terrain led to the development of democracy in Greece; and today voting behaviour in the United States follows the bed of an ancient sea. The human story is the story of these forces, from plate tectonics and climate change, to atmospheric circulation and ocean currents. How are the Himalayas linked to the orbit of the Earth, and to the formation of the British Isles? By taking us billions of years into our planet’s past, Professor Lewis Dartnell tells us the ultimate origin story. When we reach the point where history becomes science we see a vast web of connections that underwrites our modern world and helps us face the challenges of the future.	Prof. Lewis Dartnell Department of Life Sciences, University of Westminster
7 Nov 2019	Black holes that feed on galaxies At the heart of almost every massive galaxy, there is a super-massive black hole. We see evidence in astronomical observations that these super-massive black holes are linked to the global properties of the galaxies in which they reside. One of the biggest open questions in astronomy today is: how do super-massive black holes impact galaxy evolution? A small fraction of super-massive black holes are in an 'active' phase, where they are feeding on gas from their host galaxies. We can identify these active galaxies in astronomical observations, and study how they can help direct the path of galaxy evolution. We do not yet know exactly how this happens, but in this talk you will learn about the phenomena powered by active super-massive black holes, with a focus on what can be learned from radio observations from telescopes like the Low Frequency Array. I will cover both current indirect evidence for the co-evolution of super-massive black holes and their host galaxies, and upcoming work which will help definitively push forward our understanding of how super-massive black holes impact galaxy evolution.	Dr Leah Morabito Oxford University
5 Dec 2019	Public Science	Prof Chris Lintott Researcher and Citizen Science Project Lead, Department of Physics, University of Oxford
2 Jan 2020	Gravitational waves: Now and in the Future	Prof. Mike Cruise RAS. University of Birmingham
6 Feb 2020	Mercury and its geology	Prof. David Rothery The Open University
5 Mar 2020	Surrey Satellite Technology	Spyridon Grammenos SSTL
7 May 2020	Remote Observing	Pete Williamson
4 Jun 2020	Geology of Solar System Objects	Dr Kerri Donaldson Hanna
Aug 2020	Note: There is no meeting in August

Click here to see the profiles of past and forthcoming speakers.

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