Four members (Andi, Keith, Lee and Mark) journeyed over to Leeds on a foul morning for this year’s Astromeet. Indeed even though Andi managed drop us off within just a few metres of the entrance, such was the intensity of the cloudburst at the time, we still got soaked... [Read more about Leeds Astromeet 2015]
On Halloween itself, as Whitby was overflowing with Goth Weekend revellers, WDAS Members headed out with scopes to Danby, where the North Yorkshire Moors National Park had laid on a family Halloween event... [Read more about Event write-up: Creatures of the Night, Danby]
Mark and Keith travelled over to Westerdale again on Oct 9th and were joined by John Randles to host an event at the village hall for pupils, parents and staff of Pathways School (Grangetown, Middlesbrough) along with children belonging to staff. The event was requested by event Emma Shaw, a science teacher at the school whose parents live in Westerdale, and arose after Emma had heard about the success of our Westerdale star party in September... [Read more about Event write-up: Star Party for Pathways School]
Keith and Mark hosted a star party for pupils and staff at Fylinghall School on Oct 2nd.
Once again the weather played ball and although some wispy cloud developed, it soon dispersed allowing fine views of various objects through the LX 200 and Keith’s reflector. Intended to last a couple of hours, the event went on until after 10pm, with a host of questions to answer. The pupils certainly enjoyed the evening and from the reaction of the staff more astro related material may in future pop up in science lessons! [Read more about Event write-up: Fyling Hall School Star Party]
Leeds 
Astromeet 2015 is on Saturday 7th November, and as always WDAS Members will be taking transport over. This year's speakers:
It's going to be a busy month for WDAS. Star Parties arranged for:
Clear skies, sometimes plucked from the jaws of a dismal daytime, gave a full month of star parties:
Catering was laid on for some of the events, and for Hooks House Farm there was something close to a banquet... [Read more about September Star Parties]
A succession of star parties coinciding with the run up to the full moon were held on the west cliff at our usual location during Folk Week.
Skies were pretty clear and as always the folk week crowd were eager to view, stay and listen. Thursday 27th proved interesting with a faint aurora visible to the north: a distinct green glow with a hint of rays and bands moving within this. [Read more about Bank Holiday and Folk Week Star Parties]
Tantalizing glimpses of a sunspot grouping in brief cloud breaks on Saturday were realised on Sunday when we enjoyed an interrupted view of the solar surface.
Star parties on Saturday and Sunday evenings with clear skies, an ISS passing, and Mark's sky tours.
[Read more about 2015 Regatta Events: Solar Viewing & Star Parties]
A better-than-average display, with the best action late on. One brilliant Perseid left an ionized trail which was visible for several seconds afterwards... [Read more about Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party]
| Sun | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|
| Actual | 05:48 | 20:14 |
| Civil Twilight | 05:09 | 20:53 |
| Nautical Twilight | 04:19 | 21:43 |
| Astronomical Twilight | 03:17 | 22:45 |
| Moon | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|
| 02:59 | 08:36 |
