In August one of our own members gave a presentation on the moons of Jupiter, covering not only the well known four major Galilean moons but also the inner shepherd moons and the minor moons, some of which perform retrograde orbits.
Then in September moved further across the solar system and studied Saturn, we looked at its make-up, the massive storms it experiences, its history and of course those magnificent rings. To whet the appetite for a future session we also briefly spoke about its many moons.
Moving on to October, we will try to keep up-to-date by looking at the Artemis project, which recently had the well documented phase 2 of its programme. The aim will be to study all five planned stages (which include landing humans once again on the Moon) and their future aspirations to build a habitable base there.
As a general rule we meet on the fourth Thursday of every month (but in December this is moved to the 3rd Thursday in order 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 22 October, 26 November and 17 December
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 get 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.