The latest news from Sunderland Astronomical Society
September is the start of our new season. SAS Memberships will be due from 1st September 2026 (payable throughout September) for this season 2026/2027 Joining/Renewing helps support your local astronomical society & community. So come on down to the Cygnus Observatory (based at the Washington Wetlands Centre) to join or renew your SAS membership. The SAS is the largest…
In this talk Dr Julian Onions (Nottingham University) will give an insightful introduction We hear a lot about dark matter in astronomy. Some people consider it a fudge. In this talk we’ll go through the evidence for dark matter and the history of it, and answer the questions in the title. No particular prior knowledge…
The Sunderland Astronomical Society AGM will be taking place on Sunday 25th October 2026 from 7:00 pm at our base of operations Discovery Room at the Washington Wetlands Centre. SAS members are invited to attend, listen to chair’s reports and vote in the election of the committee and nominations are asked from the SAS members. The agenda is…
Join us for an exciting journey into the cutting edge of astronomical technology! The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) currently under construction in Chile will feature a staggering 39-metre primary mirror, allowing us to peer deeper into space than ever before. Dr. Jürgen Schmoll, a professional optical expert from Durham University’s Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, will…
For this December’s lecture series with our very own Graham Darke to take us on a journey through ‘The history of the Milky Way’, and outline & discuss: The Scale of Time: We will travel back 13.6 billion years to discover how a simple cloud of gas evolved into the magnificent barred spiral galaxy we…
This year’s Starbeque will be held at our usual venue, the Millshields car Derwent Reservoir on Saturday 12th September 2026. We meet around 3pm for our picnic / barbeque and continue into the night for stargazing. If the weather forecast is for cloud or rain will not stop the event going ahead, but we…
Thomas Wright was born in a small County Durham village and yet rose through his own genius to enjoy the patronage and even friendship of the country’s aristocracy. However, Wright’s life was also dogged by scandals, financial mishaps and unfortunate associations. which perhaps explains why he remains largely unknown outside of the North East…
John Nichol (renowned Optics expert and maker) will give SAS a talk in in June regarding the Espin Telescope Restoration Group (ETRG) was established in order to rescue and restore the historically important 24-inch telescope made for the Rev. Espin of Tow Law. The original telescope was made for Espin by the famous British telescope…
Guest Speaker Professor Colin Steele (Manchester University) will be presenting a talk on Coronal Conundra and Prominence Puzzles. Whilst the “main business” of a star is the production of energy that takes place in the core, there are many interesting processes taking place in the outer layers and atmospheres. The Sun has three layers…
Emeritus Professor Philip James of Liverpool John Moore’s University will give us a unique perspective and look back over his career of more than 40 years working in astrophysics, covering: the structure of galaxies, star formation, and the nature of stars which undergo supernova explosions. Looking back at the wider field of astrophysics: what were…