CLUB NEWS

Thursday 7th August

External Lecture by Martin Lunn MBE FRAS - Astronomy and the Anglo Saxons

The Anglo-Saxon period is often known as the Dark Ages because of the lack of information we have about this period of time, but astronomically it could not be more interesting. During this time there were several major events with global effects. It was a time of diverse views about the heavens in Britain, with Celtic, Greek, Saxon and Viking ideas all competing with each other.

Martin's biography reads:

Martin studied for his degree in astrophysics while working as a guard on British Rail in the 1970s. Before taking early retirement he was Curator of Astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum in York, and in 1998 he was presented with an MBE for services to astronomy and education. Martin is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and also currently sits on the council.

Today, in addition to presenting lectures, Martin writes a monthly feature for local newspaper ‘The Craven Herald’, which covers the Yorkshire Dales. He has his own weekly radio show on a local community radio station, Drystone Radio. Martin was filmed for an episode of BBC ‘Antiques Road Trip’ as guest expert on the York based telescope and instrument maker Thomas Cooke, shown in 2021.

Astronomy is probably the oldest of all the sciences and Martin has nearly 20 talks covering a galaxy of astronomical themes.

His talks are aimed at a family audience and are non-technical, so passengers can enjoy them even if they have no prior knowledge of astronomy or of the weather.

We look forward to seeing you!

Regards

Walsall Astronomical Society

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Who we are

Regular Talks and Meetings

An image taken from one of our Solar Observing events

Established in 1990, we are a friendly astronomical society that is open to anyone with an interest in Astronomy, space exploration and similar topics. People with all levels of experience are welcome, especially beginners.

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Regular Talks and Meetings

When Professor Chris Lintott gave a talk to our club

We have weekly club meetings, where we have talks on what's up in the sky during the month, the latest scientific discoveries, and also every month, a guest speaker who would deliver a talk on a specialist topic. We've had speakers from the BBC Sky at Night programme, as well as renowned professors and scientists from well known organisations.

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