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Manchester Astronomical Society
Established 1903
Weekly Meetings
Each Thursday we meet in The Godlee Observatory (apart from the Public Lecture evenings and the Christmas/New Year break, when the Observatory will be closed), from about 19:00. Any scheduled talks will start at about 20:00. Weather permitting, we may also observe using the telescopes until as late as people want to stay. If you are interested in coming to any of these meetings please see the visitor information page.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, our "physical" meetings are suspended and we are using ZOOM video-conferencing. You can see what's in the night sky for the next month by visiting our JOURNAL page. As the Government's Coronavirus Restrictions are in a constant state of flux, we have not yet included any meeting details after April. The months of May onwards will be updated once the future restrictions are made clear.
January - April 2021
7th January - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for January)
14th January - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc Venus - without a telescope - Steve Hurley)
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc Venus - without a telescope - Steve Hurley)
21st January - Public Lecture via ZOOM - 19.30
28th January - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 - inc SkyNotes PLUS Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 - SkyNotes for February
Included in SkyNotes will be an in-depth look at the forthcoming Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission
4th February - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
ZOOM Meeting 19.30
11th February - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
ZOOM Meeting 19.30
18th February - Public Lecture via ZOOM 19.30
25th February - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for March)
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (SkyNotes for March)
4th March - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
ZOOM Meeting 19.30
11th March - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 inc. video: "Day of the Asteroid" (25 minutes)
ZOOM Meeting 19.30
inc video: "Day of the Asteroid" (25 minutes)
18th March - Public Lecture via ZOOM 19.30
25th March - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for April)
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for April
1st April - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 plus "Artefacts from Earth" - Steve Hurley
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 plus "Artefacts from Earth" - Steve Hurley
8th April - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 plus "To Boldly Go..." - Graham Hodson
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 plus "To Boldly Go..." - Graham Hodson
15th April - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
22nd April - ZOOM Meeting 19.30
ZOOM Meeting 19.30
29th April - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for May)
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 (inc SkyNotes for May)
May - August 2021
6th May - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 - "This is Earth Calling" - Steve Hurley
"This is Earth Calling" - Steve Hurley
• Some of the challenges in constructing a message which an alien race would be able to understand
• The various messages which have sent. The most famous of these is the Arecibo message
13th May - ZOOM Meeting 19.30 - 'Bipolar Magnetic Regions: An alternative way to observe the Sun' - Kevin Kilburn
ZOOM Meeting 19.30 - 'Bipolar Magnetic Regions:
An alternative way to observe the Sun' - Kevin Kilburn
20th May - General Meeting - possible choice of videos
General Meeting - possible choice of videos
27th May - SkyNotes for June
SkyNotes for June
3rd June -
10th June -
17th June -
24th June - SkyNotes for July
SkyNotes for July
1st July -
8th July -
15th July -
22nd July -
29th July - SkyNotes for August
SkyNotes for August
5th August -
12th August -
19th August -
26th August - SkyNotes for September
SkyNotes for September
Member's Notice Board
Posted 16 June 2020
Society Meetings at the Godlee are temporarily suspended - online meetings via ZOOM are now available.
Posted: 23 July 2018
The MAS website has pages devoted to images of the night sky, as well as the Sun and Moon, and images may be submitted to the website via e-mail to the webmaster, in addition to posting on the MAS Facebook page.
Details about image submission can be found here.
September - December 2021
2nd September -
9th September -
16th September -
23rd September -
30th September - SkyNotes for October
SkyNotes for October
7th October -
14th October -
21st October - Public Lecture
Public Lecture
28th October - SkyNotes for November
SkyNotes for November
4th November -
11th November -
18th November - Public Lecture
25th November - SkyNotes for December
SkyNotes for December
2nd December -
9th December -
Open Discussion Evening via ZOOM at 19.30
16th December - Presidential Lecture
Presidential Lecture
23rd December - No Meeting Tonight - Christmas / New Year Break
No meeting tonight - Christmas / New Year Break
Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year to the Whole World
30th December - No Meeting Tonight - Christmas / New Year Break
No meeting tonight - Christmas / New Year Break
Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year to the Whole World
Health & Safety Notice
Safety procedures within the Godlee Observatory are maintained for the safety of members, staff and visitors to the observatory.
All visitors must be accompanied by a warden or a trained society member when entering the Godlee dome.
Please note that due to Health and Safety restrictions, persons under 11 years of age are not allowed to use the spiral staircase nor enter the Godlee dome area (where the telescopes are situated).
The walkway on the outside of the dome is not accessible.
All persons in the Godlee Observatory complex must observe all safety procedures and notices as indicated or advised.
All visitors will receive safety instruction upon arrival.
All group visits must be pre-arranged to ensure there are an appropriate number of trained personnel present; this may require a risk assessment. There is a maximum occupancy of 40 persons; this number includes any MAS personnel required to supervise the group.
Manchester Astronomical Society, Godlee Observatory, Sackville Street Building, University
of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL
Tel: +44 (0) 161 306 4977 (24 Hour Voicemail)