In September we moved deep into the solar system and studied Saturn, looking at its make-up, the massive storms it experiences, its history and of course those magnificent rings.
Moving on to October, we went ‘ultra modern’ by looking at the Artemis project, which recently had the well documented phase 2 of its programme. We looked at all the five planned stages (which include landing humans once again on the Moon) and an extension of the project which is scheduled to build a habitable base there.
In November we will change tactics and study a DVD on ‘ice worlds’, which looks deep into space at some of the dwarf planets, notably Pluto, plus a collection of major moons around the gas giants, which all fall into this category. It is designed and narrated by the eminent scientist Brian Cox in his usual enthusiastic way.
Lastly, see this space next month for news about our Christmas special meeting.
As a rule we meet on the fourth Thursday of every month (but in December this is moved to the 3rd Thursday to avoid the Christmas period), from 10am to 12 noon in the downstairs back room of Southwell Library. The dates of the next few meetings are 26 November, 17 December and 28 January 2027.
The group tries to cater for beginners by not making the sessions too technical but with enough content to stimulate those with more knowledge. The audience always has the chance to ask questions, comment or offer views, which is, I think, an important part of our sessions and we also allocate a much-needed coffee break!
Please see the webpage Astronomy - Southwell u3a where you can contact me.
Richard Peacock, Group Leader.