AstrotalkUK

You may have seen the report from the British UK Space Exploration Working Group suggesting that Britain can get two British Astronauts to the Space station costing less than £75m over 5 years by commercially engaging the Russian Soyuz program rather than the annual £60m cost of going with ESA, or indeed developing a British launch capability. The Astronomer Royal on the other hand insists that un...

July 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing in the Sea of Tranquillity on the moon. In today’s episode – assistant director & co-producer Chris Riley talks about the recent film “In the Shadow of the Moon” which recounts that period and someone who was a part of it - astronaut Buzz Aldrin on his interest in Astronomy. A short written account of his visit, including a lunch with him a...

Its that time of year. Summer time has arrived but not yet.. the summer. Local astronomical societies all over the country are winding down from the previous season and preparing for the next. In today’s episode a little more about two individuals who have been on the speaker list for many astronomical societies. Martin Lunn from Aurora Books and Andy Lound from Odyssey Class Dramatic lectures.

The veteran BBC aerospace correspondent Reg Turnill recalls some of the key moments that he personally covered during the height of the space race. Reg has recorded his eye witness account in his book The Moonlandings. Chris Lintott one of the authors of Bang! and a co-presenters on Sky at Night far too young to have experienced the Apollo program personally, looks forward to the next manned missi...

About 20 years after Galileo used the telescope for astronomy, William Crabtree and Jeremiah Horrocks used it to observe a transit of Venus in 1639. Carl Barry and Lilian Fletcher researched documented this unique event. If you missed it a 19mb video here. Former executive Paul Allen (Allen Telescope Array) from Microsoft and Wayne Rosing (LSST Observatory) from Google are modern examples of priva...

The Astronomy Centre: If you head east out of the Lancashire town of Bacup along the A681 towards the Yorkshire town of Todmorden, a couple of miles up a snaking undulating road, nestled amongst the green hills, wild flowers and the sheep you see on your left two large astronomical domes. This is the home of the Astronomy Centre. Founded by Peter Drew, it is the largest dedicated resource for the...

Profile #1: First of occasional episodes profiling individuals who have made a unique contribution in amateur astronomy. In this episode three diverse individuals. Ken Willoughby from West Yorkshire Astronomical Society bringing Apollo astronauts to Pontefract. Astronomy Now's Mark Armstrong supernova discoverer and Chris Marriott of Skymap.

Amateur Astronomy - the next generation? In the 1960s and 70s astronomy did not have the competition from computer games, internet and TV. That apparently is what is keeping the young people away from participating in astronomy. Guy Fennimore, secretary of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), suggests that astronomy is not the only victim and describes the SPA’s “young stargazers initiative”....

University of Central Lancashire Studying Astronomy :Peter Thomas from the the University of London Observatory, Stewart Eyres from the University of Central Lancashire @UCLan and Ulrich Kolb from the Open University discuss some of the options available to amateur astronomers who want a little more structured approach in learning about their hobby.

Image- Starlight Express Astrophotography: Terry Platt from Starlight Express talks about his early days of vidicon and photo multiplier tubes. Terry describes how his passion in astronomy in the 60s resulted in Starlight Express. About 6 years ago, Steve Chambers came up with a nifty way to rewire a Phillips Toucam webcam so that it could be used by astronomers. Something that cost well under £10...

David Levy This episode - contributions from David Levy, Campaign for dark skies and @UKSEDS David Levy recounts the momentous event of July 1994 and talks about his current preoccupations. Did you know he has his own podcast called letstalkstars.  David Paul talks about the Campaign for Dark Skies which was established in 1989, what progress has been made and how the amateur astronomy community c...

Nik Szymanek Astrofest is a unique event for amateur astronomers for the UK and Europe. Keith Cooper, Astronomy Now's editor provides some background to how and when it started. @AstronomyNow Nik Szymanek an accomplished astrophotographer shares his experiences of capturing some spectacular images. See some of them on his website. Dr Allan Chapman talks about the tradition of amateur astronomy. He...

NASA Messenger Amateur Astronomy in the 21st Century: Will Comet 17P Holmes brighten again? Is an asteroid heading for an impact on a Mars? Who was the founder of amateur astronomy? How amateur are amateur astronomers these days? The very first episode of AstrotalkUK. A discussion between Tony O'Sullivan, Ken Irving, from Salford Astronomical Society and Chris Lord on the state of Amateur Astronom...