In July we were privileged to have an external speaker Shaun Livsey attending our group meeting. He gave an interesting and stimulating talk on a variety of astronomical facts across the universe.
Then in August we went back to our solar system and looked at the four Galilean Moons of the biggest planet, Jupiter which is a gas giant. These are the first large-sized moons that we come across after our own Moon, they are all rock worlds and as they are each vastly different they attract a lot of interest from scientists.
In September we will then move further across the solar system and look at Saturn, which is famed for its wonderful rings. All the gas giants have rings, but Saturn’s are by far the brightest. One of the things we will look at is why and how did they arise?
We meet on the fourth Thursday of every month from 10am to 12 noon in the downstairs back room of Southwell Library. The dates of the next few meetings are 24 September, 22 October and 26 November.
The group try to cater for beginners by not making the sessions too technical but with enough content to stimulate the more knowledgeable. After coffee the audience have the chance to ask questions, comment or offer views, which is, I think, an important part of our sessions.
Please see the webpage Astronomy - Southwell u3a where you can contact me, Richard Peacock, Group Leader.