Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society
Achievements and Performance - Part 2
- Details
- Parent Category: Annual Reports
Membership
The trustees would like to extend a very warm welcome to those new members who have joined the society in the past year. The trustees also note with great sadness the death of our friend Phil Turner. Phil will be greatly missed by all who knew him; his decision to leave his telescope and other astronomical equipment to the society is a demonstration of his commitment to our objectives. The trustees would like to record their gratitude and extend to Phil's wife, Cynthia, and family our heartfelt condolences on their loss.
It would be easy to describe our members as our most important asset; in simple financial terms membership subscriptions contribute some 73% of our basic operating costs. Our members are far more important than that; they are the lifeblood of the society.
Our Membership Development Programme aims to provide "back to basics" and practical astronomy to give those new to our hobby the knowledge and confidence to participate and make full use of the facilities we have to offer. The Membership Development Programme recognises that everyone has to learn and seeks to counter-balance some of the more advanced astronomy offered in our programme and ensure a range of content suitable for all levels of experience.
During the year the society revisited basic principles including the constellations at different season led by Michael Waterfield and a number of training sessions in using the new paramount and telescopes at the J.A. Jones Hoober Observatory (led by Curator Tony Morris and Gary Gawthrope). Members also gave talks on subjects ranging from navigating the night sky to an update of major planetary missions to Mars and Saturn.
The society arranged a visit to the Royal Observatory Greenwich; this was open to the public but members were offered priority access. The visit took place on June 20th 2009 and proved very popular. We intend to organise a similar trip to Wadham College Oxford in the company of our Honorary President, Dr Allan Chapman, on July 24th 2010.
