Welcome to the WDAS monthly newsletter for December 2019: a digest of the month's latest contributions to our website. Below you'll find Society News: including the retirement of one of our oldest longest-serving Members, Members' pictures of the Transit of Mercury, the Christmas Dinner menu (yay!), and of course your monthly Sky Notes.
Society News
Well, it wasn’t a total cloud out for the transit of Mercury on Nov 11th after all, that said, the window of observing opportunity was limited to an hour or so during the early afternoon (at least from the Whitby and district area).
Several members did manage to get out and view the transit during this period, taking a few nice images of the event. The transit commenced shortly after 12:39h, with the tiny black dot of Mercury entering onto the disk of the Sun. Mid transit occurred after 15:00h, with the sun setting shortly after 16:00h with Mercury still in transit. The latter part of the transit was again obscured by cloud.
The images taken are from Paul Wood (colour) Paul used a nearly 50 yr old 3.5inch Questar with an attached full aperture solar filter and a smart phone with Celestron attachment clamped to the eyepiece.
The projected image is from Richard Randle using a spotter scope with the image projected onto a white card.
The two ‘phone camera to eyepiece’ images are from Elaine and Phil. They used a 66mm spotting scope with a 20x eyepiece and a Baader film solar filter. A smart phone was the imaging device. Taken from inside a darkened summerhouse room.
Transit of Mercury across the Sun on 11-Nov-2019. Picture by Paul Wood.
(Click for full-sized image) For more of Paul's images, see The Gallery.
Transit of Mercury across the Sun on 11-Nov-2019. Picture by Richard Randle.
(Click for full-sized image)
Transit of Mercury across the Sun on 11-Nov-2019. Picture by Elaine and Phil with a
phone camera. (Click for full-sized image) For another of Elaine & Phil's images, see The Gallery.
If you missed the transit (Mark did) there is a bit of a wait until the next one, in 2032!
After working the thickest end of four decades at Fylingdales, society stalwart Andy Lawrence has finally vacated the work treadmill and retired. After starting at Fylingdales in a cleaning capacity before moving to the stores, Andy eventually finished as a materials controller.
Andy and his wife Anne, who is also retiring from the Co-op, are looking forward to spending more time with their family, with a view to moving to Scotland next year. Our best wishes are extended, you lucky, lucky **d!
As of publishing we are still awaiting Night Scenes 2020, but they should be with us soon. We have ordered 25 copies and if you want to reserve a copy please contact Mark.
Stop Press: Night-Scenes have left the Printers! Hopefuly they will reach us in time for the WDAS December meeting. If not we will inform you when they do.
Reluctantly the price of Night Scenes has had to be increased slightly, but even at £5 (for Members) it still represents outstanding value.
The Hare & Hounds at Hawsker will again be the venue for the Society Christmas meal. The date is December 14th at 19:00h. The meal has provisionally been booked for 9-12 people, so take a look at the menu (included) and if you are interested in a festive feast, please let Mark know your course choices at the December meeting. A menu will be passed around at the meeting, just in case. The Hare and Hounds require a list of choices a week before the date.
Christmas Menu
At the Hare and Hounds, Hawsker, Whitby YO22 4LH. Tel 01947 880453. Price:£25.
Starters:
- Homemade truffled parsnip soup, with crusty bread (V)
- The Hounds Black pudding scotch egg, with a red cabbage slaw
- Baked crab gratin pot, with a water cress and apple salad, and crusty bread
- Yorkshire blue cheese creme brûlée, with toasted rye bread and sun-blushed tomato and pesto soup
- Smooth chicken liver parfait, with crusty bread and fig compote.
To Follow:
- The Hounds own turkey ballotine, stuffed with pork & chestnut sausage meat, wrapped in streak bacon with creamed potatoes, rosemary roast potatoes and winter vegetables
- Slow roasted shin of beef, horseradish creamed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and a rich shallot gravy
- Chunk of cod on a pancetta & pea risotto with crispy shallots
- Butternut squash and sweet potato rösti with wilted spinach, hollandaise sauce and poached hen eggs (V)
- Salt crusted belly pork, with black pudding mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and cinnamon & apple glaze
- Chicken breast stuffed with haggis, served with a sweet potato fondant, streaky bacon and whiskey cream sauce
To Finish:
- Traditional Christmas pudding, served with homemade custard and a Sailor Jerry rum syrup
- Lemon and Lime Citrus Tart, wth a blueberry gin & tonic sorbet and winter berry coulis
- White chocolate drizzled profiteroles filled with orange & ginger cream
- The Hounds festive black forest Eton mess.
- Cheese platter, with a selection of biscuits and spiced cranberry chutney.
- The Society will be involved in several star party events in February coinciding with the half term ‘dark skies period from the 21st to the 28th.
- The Fox and Hound at Ainthorpe have teamed up with the Danby Moors centre for the 21st 22nd events.
- We will be at the Fox and Hounds Inn on the 21st and the Moors Centre the following evening. Details will be given in the January or February notes.
- On Feb 28th we have been invited by Angelique Russell to try again at Fylinghall School, hopefully with clearer skies this time. Again, further details will be forthcoming in the Jan/Feb notes.
Events
Caedmon College Normanby Site (you may know it as Whitby College or Whitby School), Room H1.
In Members' monthly meetings we usually take a tour of the night sky for the coming month using the Planetarium program. Have talks and presentations on various topics of astronomy/space etc, and discuss future events etc. New members welcome.
A Public Star Party, weather permitting, near the Captain Cook monument on West Cliff (setting-up from 20:30hrs).
Solar & Lunar Observations.
Observe the night sky with us at the Bruce Observatory, Caedmaon College - Normanby campus (formally Whitby College).
Observing Nights are held weather permitting: check for a relatively clear sky before leaving home. If in doubt, Mark can be reached on tel 01947 605516.
Please note the college drive gate is now operated via a electronic key code - so anyone wishing to attend must be at the car park at the top of the drive by 19:00hrs, unless an arrival time has been arranged with Mark/Keith after 19:30hrs. Otherwise shout or bip car horn - we'll hear.
