Past Events
Hebridean Science Festival on 15th, 16th & 17th March 2012![]() ![]() ![]() SAS will be taking part in the Hebridean Science Festival 2012 with a Planetarium Show, Astronomy Lecture, Moon Rocks Display, Telescope Demo, Observing Evening, Solar System in the Castle Grounds, A Telescope Raffle, and a competition to win a book about the solar system as well as a Space Art Exhibition at An Lanntair by Artists and Craft-producers from the Western Isles! It will be a busy and exciting start to 2012, so be there to enjoy the fun! All Welcome. PLANETARIUM SHOW – See the night sky in the afternoon! Sat 17th March 2012. SPACE ART EXHIBITION – Art from local artists and craft workers from the Western Isles! From 5th March to 31st March 2012. SCALE SOLAR SYSTEM IN THE CASTLE GROUNDS – See the distances and sizes of the planets to scale! From 12th March to 17th March 2012. |
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Firework Night Observing SessionSAS members held an observing session on Saturday 5th November at the Braigh Carpark to follow up on some of the things spoken about at the November lecture about the Moon. It was a good clear night with little wind and the Waxing Gibbous Moon, 80% illuminated, gave a nice chance to observe the surface detail at the terminator. |
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Aurora Show in the Western IslesOn the morning of the 25th October 2011 the Western Isles had a fantastic Auroral spectacle caused by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun.
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New Supernova in M101An announcement on the Society of Popular Astronomy (SPA) website on the 25th August 2011 stated that:
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![]() Image by B. J. Fulton, LCOGT |
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First Noctilucent Clouds of 2011
The first Noctilucent (NCL) clouds of the 2011 season were spotted from Lewis on the 1st July at 01:15 BST in the Northern sky. Noctilucent clouds form at an altitude of around 50 miles, in the Earth's Mesosphere. They are mainly ice crystals and can only be seen at this time of year because the Sun needs to be at a specific position below the horizon for the clouds to reflect the Sunlight. For more information see Wikipedia. |