21st July Lecture: The Beginning of Everything

In this talk Dr Steve Barrett will give a brief description of the origin and the very early history of the Universe. After the Big Bang it took about three minutes to make all the constituents of the Universe and give it a kickstart. If this happened 13.8 billion years ago, how can we be…

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SAS Astro Photo Competion

28th July: SAS Astrophotography Competition 2024

The Sunderland Astronomical Society’s Astrophotography Competition will held on Sunday 28th July 2024 and we are returning to our pre Covid format. The event will be held at the Washington wetlands centre from 7:00 pm, where the best of our SAS astrophotographer images will be displayed and voted on at the event. All members attending…

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16th June Lecture: An In-Depth Guide to Planetary Imaging

Keith been a dedicated planetary imager since webcam imaging first started off. Keith has been a trail blazer in the field of Planetary Imaging for many years. Keith has gained a vast amount of knowledge, tips nd tricks on the subject which he is keen to share. In this talk Keith gives a hands on…

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21st April Lecture: The largest Telescope on Earth – From 1 Inch to 40 Meters

Since the telescope was invented about 400 years ago, they grew in size considerably to adapt with advances in astronomy. In this  presentation Dr Jurgen Schmoll gives a historical overview of world’s largest telescopes of the past before looking into current projects which include the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).…

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17th March Lecture: Making a universe from scratch

Astronomy is mostly a visual and non-experimental science. We can only look at what is out there but can’t brings stars and galaxies into the lab. However we can build them inside computers and attempt to simulate them. In Julian’s talk, we will see how simulations can show us how the universe evolves and what…

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18th February Lecture: Space Dogs – and their legacy

During the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at least 57 dogs. Most survived; the few that died were lost mostly through technical failures. In this fascinating talk Dr Pete Edwards, Director of Science Outreach at Durham…

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23rd February: Stargazing Event (Northumberland Park)

Back by popular demand, Sunderland Astronomical Society are will visiting Northumberland Park). Date: Friday 23rd February 2024. Time: from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Entry: Free Event SAS have been asked by the Northumberland Park (the park in North Shields) to hold a Stargazing event on Friday 24th February 2024 from 7 pm till 10 pm.

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21st January Lecture: Astrophotography – Getting Started

In this months talk, Chris Duffy our current Chair will be giving an exciting and interactive  talk on “Astrophotography – Getting Started”. The talk covers the basic principals in taking pictures of astronomical objects. This includes nebula, galaxies, stars and the planets. The talk includes demonstrations using telescopes, cameras and other equipment setup at the…

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28th December: Christmas Benker Night

Sunderland Astro Xmas Benker night. Traditionally between Christmas and New Year has been our night (if you attend we will enlighten you on what the Benker Night means?, nothing wrong with an incentive to try to get people to come along. Saturday 28th December 2023 at the Washington Wetlands Centre, from 7.00pm.

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17th December Lecture: Planetary Nebula

In this months talk, Graham Darke the Society’s honorary President will introduce us to a fascinating class of astronomical object. He will cover the discovery of these objects in the 18th Century, their properties and what makes them of interest to both professional and amateur astronomers. Graham will explain techniques for observing and capturing images…

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