Our planned schedule for NAW events is sadly in the bin, all cancelled due to the lockdown in England with no inter household mixing possible until at least early December. So, it's going to be a case of doing your own observing when conditions allow. National Astronomy Week runs from Nov 14th-Nov 21st, which is a 'no moon' period, and therefore would be ideal for tracing out fainter constellations or observing deep sky objects. If possible, if you can venture outside during NAW on an evening, even if it's just for half an hour in the back garden, or to a nearby darker location, (not one 20 miles away!) do so, and enjoy the beauty of the night sky.

If you are a complete novice and have never really tried stepping out under the stars before, even a humble pair of binoculars will reveal a plethora of star fields and objects that may 'wet' the appetite and send you scurrying to find out more, perhaps even leading to purchasing a telescope. More on this next month.  If you are more experienced, perhaps try and make an effort to track down something new in the sky.

It's going to be a long and quite possibly, un-gregarious winter, gazing up and contemplating the 'bigger picture' may just be the tonic we are all going to need. And if you want to add a touch of gin to ward off the chill, that's fine by me!