Achievements and Performance - Part 4

International Year of Astronomy 2009

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.

Whilst this report includes only the first quarter of IYA2009 Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society is fully committed to supporting and promoting IYA2009 and to that end is organising a number of special "A Night Under the Stars" events; two such events have already been held.

The first was organised in co-operation with the Forestry Commission and was held at their Wombwell Woods site on Saturday, March 14^th.

The relationship developed with the Forestry Commission is one we are keen to build and develop. Whilst we provided the astronomical expertise the rangers manage the site and most importantly provided the hot drinks; we would like to thank the Forestry Commission and its staff for their support of this event.

The weather conditions were less than ideal; though the sky was quite clear there was a strong wind which hampered our efforts. The event was well publicised by both the Society and the Forestry Commission and the attendance was good. We provided a number of telescopes which the public were free to use under our supervision; visitors took this opportunity with enthusiasm and were pleasantly surprised at what they observed.

At the end of the evening the head ranger, Lizz Demers, thanked us for "a new experience for us and a successful night."

A Night Under the Stars - Wombwell Woods

A second "Night Under the Stars" was held on Saturday, March 28^th at Thrybergh Country Park with permission and support from Rotherham MBC. We would like to thank RMBC for their support; a further event at Thrybergh Country Park is planned for September.

The event was attended by Stockport Binocular and Telescope Centre who also have a showroom in Rotherham. Director Tony Hill said he had enjoyed the opportunity to discuss observing with our members and the public and has very generously donated a brand new 60mm refracting telescope which will be the prize in our Summer Draw 2009. Tickets for the draw were sold for the first time at this event; the actual draw will take place at the Wentworth Fair in September 2009. We are also planning to introduce on-line ticket sales for this draw.

Weather as ever played its part! The sky did not look promising initially and there was a strong wind, at about 20:00 the clouds broke a little and observing began. A lot of unaided eye observing was done to show the public the constellations that they see every night but don't recognise. They really enjoyed this and went away feeling proud of their new knowledge.

Again, a number of telescopes were provided which the public were encouraged to use - though little encouragement was needed! Our visitors were pleasantly surprised at what they observed, as the clouds moved away we could clearly see the new moon which was about two days old; this also contributed to the Spring Moonwatch Week (28^th March - 5^th April) organised by the Society for Popular Astronomy as part of IYA2009.

PowerPoint presentations ran throughout, later in the evening as cloud again interrupted observing a narrated presentation was provided, this gave the public time to warm up before they left for home. A total of 48 visitors attended and feedback was very positive.

We are pleased to report that the Institute of Physics (IoP) has awarded the Society a £900 grant to support our IYA efforts; this will be used to pay for the purchase of promotional materials and printing supporting literature, which visitors can take away.

The Society has also provided an astronomical display which is touring a number of local libraries. In the period 1^st January to 31^st March the display had visited Swinton, Thurcroft, Kiveton Park, Rawmarsh, Wath and Rotherham Central libraries. Further libraries will be visited in the remainder of 2009.

IYA2009: Library Display Tour

We are very grateful to the staff of these libraries for their warm welcome and enthusiastic support.

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