Lyra

  • More Success at Trysull
    16th January 2024 By Richard Our observing/social event on Tuesday January 16th was the first time we’d used Trysull Village Hall since winter 2021. The event was a resounding success, and we all agreed that we shouldn’t leave it so long before our next meeting there. It really is the perfect … Read more
  • Wolvas Observing Weekend WOW7 – September 2023
    13th to 21st September 2023 Our final WOW event of 2023 followed the now familiar format of being held over a week rather than just a long weekend. The dates are booked at the beginning of the year, so we are committed to turning up and hope for good weather … Read more
  • Wolvas Observing Weekend WOW6 – July 2023
    by Cath Adams WOW 6: 7th to 17th July 2023 I arrived at Brow Farm Campsite on the evening of Tuesday 11th July, already at camp were Duncan, Steve, Jon and Annabelle. This is my first ever camping holiday, I have only ever stopped in a tent for one night … Read more
  • Wolvas visit to The Herschel Museum, Bath – 19th Nov 2022
    by Cath Adams On 19 November 2022 19 members of the society visited the Herschel Museum in Bath. The weather was sunny and travelling separately we had arranged to meet at the museum at 2pm, which was closed to the public at that time for us, so that we could … Read more
  • Partial Solar Eclipse Event – 25 October 2022
    By Doug Bickley Whilst astronomers aren’t afraid of the dark it’s lovely sometimes to get together during the day for an event and a chinwag with other members. This partial eclipse, even though the obscuration was only about 15%, seemed a good opportunity, so we arranged a meeting at our … Read more
  • The Wolverhampton Astronomical Society Annual Award 2021
    The Society presents an annual award to a student at St. Peter’s Collegiate School, chosen for achievements in computer science. The recipient of the 2021 award is Alex Woodham.
  • Recent Club Activities
    By Richard Harvey Alongside our internet lectures and Zoom meetings, the society has arranged several observations sessions and outreach events in the past few months. Here’s a quick overview of what’s been going on ‘off-line’ recently. On 12th August we met once again at Halfpenny Green Vineyard for a meteor … Read more
  • Partial Eclipse Event – June 10th 2021
    By Richard Harvey With the relaxation of Covid guidelines for outside gatherings for June 2021, we were pleased to be able to safely arrange an outside observation session for the partial solar eclipse which occurred on Thursday 10th June. We once again met at Halfpenny Green Vineyard, and even with … Read more
  • The Wolverhampton Astronomical Society Annual Award 2020
    The Society presents an annual award to a student at St. Peter’s Collegiate School, chosen for achieving the requisite standard in IT/ Electronics. The recipient of the 2020 award is Tom Gibbons. The citation reads: Tom Gibbons also won an award for contribution to the musical life of the school … Read more
  • 20th December Planetary Conjunction
    By Richard Harvey On the 20th December, WolvAS practical observers once again gathered at Halfpenny Green Vineyard for an observing session. Our previous visit to the vineyard was in November 2019, where we successfully viewed the transit of Mercury (covered in Lyra, December 2019). This time, it was the close … Read more
  • Sketch of Comet Neowise
    By Trevor Clifton
  • Geminids 2019 Backscatter Data
    By Trevor Clifton Pictured below is the backscatter data for the 24 hour period covering the Geminid maximum. Some of the gaps in the data is due to high levels of RF interference which although the meteor data is logged in a text file its not printed on the graph … Read more
  • Transit of Mercury
    By Richard Harvey The transit of Mercury which occurred on the 11th November 2019, was the third Mercury transit this century, (other transits being 2006 and 2016). The next transit however, won’t occur till, 2032, so we felt it important that a group observation session should be arranged for the … Read more
  • Partial Lunar Eclipse 16th July 2019
    By Cath Adams The evening began at Perton Library listening to Andrew Lound give his talk Apollo – A Moon Odyssey 50th Anniversary Special. Andrew’s talk was fascinating, full of interesting information about the Apollo missions and original footage from 1969. There were displays around the library featuring photos and … Read more
  • Events Update
    By Richard Harvey On Sunday the 23rd June WOLVAS club members gathered at the society observatory for an afternoon visit. The rain kept off for the most part, and we were able to review the workings of the dome, site security, and the problems we’d had aligning the current scope … Read more
  • Solar Viewing at Perton 20th June 2019
    By Doug Bickley Perton Astronomy Group which is affiliated to WolvAS meet on the third Thursday of every month. The June meeting saw ten people, mostly Wolvas members meeting at 7pm. The sun was out, great, because we had a whole range of equipment looking at the Sun on a … Read more
  • Arietids Backscatter Data
    By Trevor Clifton A daytime meteor shower occurs on the morning of the 7th June. Known as the Daytime Arietids, this shower is linked to the sun grazing comet 96P/Machholz. Detectable only by radar backscatter, the Arietids produces a level of activity comparable to that of the Perseids. The activity … Read more
  • Lyrids Backscatter Data
    By Trevor Clifton The Lyrids may have been clouded out for visual observers, but Trevor managed to spot them using backscatter detection with his radio antenna. The bar charts are produced in real time and a sample of the data log is attached.The first two bar charts show the run … Read more
  • Recent Club Activities
    By Richard Harvey The first few months of 2019 have been a very busy time for the society. As well as our regular meetings and lectures at the Environmental Centre, we’ve been working on the observatory and have also been involved in several outreach events. I thought it might be … Read more
  • 15th Wolverhampton Beaver Scouts – Astronomy Badge
    by Cath Adams A few weeks ago I was asked by a work colleague if I would help the children of a local Beavers Group out with their Astronomy Badge. Of course I said yes and then set about recruiting help as I was told there could be around 20 … Read more
  • The Wolverhampton Astronomical Society Annual Award
    By Phil Barnard The Society presents a £20 annual award to a student at St. Peter’s Collegiate School, chosen for achieving the requisite standard in IT/ Electronics. The recipient of the 2018 award is James Longman.
  • Comet 46P/Wirtanen
    By Richard Harvey 46P/Wirtanen is a small short-period comet with a current orbital period of 5.4 years. It was discovered on January 17, 1948, by the American astronomer Carl Wirtanen, and expectations were high for the comet’s 2018 visit. Many astronomers hoped for naked eye brightness reminiscent of 1997’s Hale Bopp, (which … Read more
  • Visit to Much Hoole, Preston
    By Linda Manas Three weeks ago I went on a very interesting visit to St Michael’s Church, Much Hoole near Preston. I have recently read two books about transits of Venus and  I wanted to see the windows in the church commemorating both Jeremiah Horrocks’ observation and the 2004 event. … Read more
  • Trysull Observing Session 9th October 2018
    By Richard Harvey We held another observation session at our Trysull site on the 9th October. The sky was 100% clear from clouds for once, with a slight haze in the air as the evening drew on. Half a dozen members turned up at various times, and we were lucky to … Read more
  • Pack Your Bins
    A report from our Spanish correspondent (aka Doug Bickley) I remembered on this holiday to Gran Canaria to pack some binoculars.  I chose my trusty old Tasco 40mm 8-16x zoom which to my mind are a good compromise between light gathering power and portability.  I also took a lightweight tripod. [Pic … Read more
  • Trysull Observation Session Thursday 13th September 2018
    By Richard Harvey With Mars at its closest approach since 2003, and the prospect of a clear sky to view it, a last-minute observation session was hastily arranged for Thursday 13th September at our Trysull observation site. I took the society’s 12” dobsonian reflecting telescope (the Tom Collier Telescope), and several … Read more
  • Perseids Data
    By Trevor Clifton Given the sharp rise and fall the timings would suggest that the Earth travelled some 315,000 miles while in the debris stream from the comet.It will be interesting to see if this figure changes next year. Each bar in the chart is the meteor count for 10 … Read more
  • Meteor detection activity on the increase
    By Trevor Clifton Meteor detection activity on the increase as member Graham Wall is photographed working on his 6 element Yagi
  • Spaceguard Centre Visit 6th June 2018
    By Doug Bickley A slightly belated report on this trip!! We had talked about a summer visit for some time, and on Wednesday 6th June an intrepid band set off for Knighton. I had called ahead the week before and booked a 2pm with Mrs Tate. A few of us … Read more
  • Meteor Observations in Radio 20th June 2018
    By Trevor Clifton I recently changed my analysis software and the results and comments are below. The night of the 20th was just an ordinary night with no meteor shower expected.
  • M51 Mystery Object
    By Trevor Clifton During the evening of Saturday 14th April while commissioning a 150mm refractor some images were taken of M51. After processing the LRGB images and comparing the final image with stock internet images an object was spotted in our image which did not appear in those downloaded from … Read more
  • Bobbington Observation Session 8th May 2018
    By Richard Harvey The first weekend of May gave us the best run of clear skies for months, so we arranged an observation session for Tuesday 8th May at our new observation site in Bobbington. This time we moved to a slightly different area of the site, which gave us … Read more
  • Bobbington Observation Session Friday 20th April 2018
    By Richard Harvey With our Tuesday Trysull observing sessions clouded out for much of the winter, we’ve tried to find an alternative observation site that’s available on other nights of the week. To this end, we visited a new site in Bobbington on Friday 20th April, and I’m pleased to … Read more
  • Observation Session 13th March 2018
    By Richard Harvey After what seemed like years of cloudy skies, we were finally able to hold another society observing session at Trysull on the 13th March. Despite a slight misty haze in the sky, we were lucky enough to see some true celestial wonders once again. The society’s Tom … Read more
  • Farewell to David Towers
    Last week we had to say goodbye to one of our long term members, David Towers, who is moving away from the area. David has been a dedicated member of the society for 14 years, and during that time he has barely missed a meeting! Many of you who were … Read more
  • Quadrantids 6th Jan 2018
    By Trevor Clifton Equipment 3 element Yagi, Horizontally polarised, orientated due south Funcube donglepro plus Location Telford, Shropshire
  • Observation Session 28th November 2017
    By Richard Harvey It was a case of ‘third time lucky’ for our new Trysull Observation Sessions. Two consecutive Tuesdays were postponed due to 100% cloud cover, but at last, the forecast was promising on Tuesday 28th November, and at 11am that morning, the text notification system informed everyone ‘it’s on!’ … Read more
  • Winter 2017-8 Night Sky Guide
    This PDF guide, produced by Simon Barnett, gives details of what you can see in the night sky over Wolverhampton this winter. 2017-8 WINTER – WOLVAS NIGHT SKY Simon has produced some amazingly detailed and thorough sky guides for us over the years, but sadly this will be his last … Read more
  • The Great American Eclipse
    By Richard Harvey The solar eclipse on the 21st August 2017 was the first eclipse on mainland America since 1979, and the first eclipse since 1918 to travel completely across the American continent. Given the increases in population and the land mass concerned, (it crossed fourteen states, and the path of … Read more
  • Summer 2017 Night Sky Guide
    By Simon Barnett This PDF guide, produced by Simon, gives details of what’s visible in the Wolverhampton night sky this summer, along with details of the moon, the planets, and full details of the upcoming solar eclipse! 2017 SUMMER – WOLVAS NIGHT SKY If you want more information on what … Read more
  • A Promising Start To The Year? Some 2017 Observations
    By Richard Harvey After a very cloudy 2016 winter, we’ve at last been afforded a handful of clear skies for the first few months of 2017. For some reason, Wednesdays seem to be the night we’ve had the most clear skies, with the weekends typically clouded over. This is most irritating for … Read more
  • Summer Observations Part Two
    By Richard Harvey Deep sky observing in the summer can be quite a challenge. When we talk about ‘deep sky objects’, we’re generally referring to things like Nebula, star clusters, galaxies etc, pretty much everything that’s not a single star or a planet. The astronomer Charles Messier made up a … Read more
  • Summer Observations Part One
    By Richard Harvey As the summer equinox approaches, it brings with it the onset of long daylight hours, and short, hazy, night-time summer skies. Many amateur astronomers screw their lens caps on tightly, and their telescopes go into hibernation till the winter. I’ve always thought this a bit of a … Read more
  • The Transit of Mercury 2016 May 9th
    By Ted Thurgur It is well known that only two planets, Mercury and Venus, transit the Sun, as viewed from Earth because they are the two whose orbits around the Sun lie inside that of the Earth. This is clearly shown in the diagram (Image credit to Sky & Telescope) … Read more
  • Solar Imaging with the PST
    By Doug Bickley An example of what can be achieved with the society’s Coronado PST.