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| 13-Mar | Mary McIntyre - Shadows in Space and the Stories they Tell. Bredhurst Village Hall - Speaker presenting via Zoom From shadows on Earth to shadows on the surface of the Moon we can learn a lot. But it doesn’t stop there; cameras on probes in orbit around other planets and their moons have taught us a lot just by studying the shadows visible there. SPEAKER DETAILSMary McIntyre  Born in Lancashire, Mary caught her passion for astronomy from her mother and was captivated by the Ladybird book about the constellations and their myths. She acquired her first telescope aged 11. She later studied for her Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science via the Open University. She now lives in rural Oxfordshire and is a keen astrophotographer together with her husband Mark. Mary is passionate about outreach and is a popular speaker with astronomical societies. In addition, she is a regular contributor to the Sky at night magazine and has appeared on TV and broadcast on the radio. She is one of the co-hosts of the Sky at Night magazine's Star Diary podcast. Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2018 Mary is also a member of the British Astronomical Association and in 2021 was awarded the Sir Patrick Moore prize for her contributions to astronomy outreach. Mary also serves on the Council of the Society for Popular Astronomy. Mary is co-author of the Collins Stargazing Bible, which was published in 2024. You can find out more on Mary's website https://marymcintyreastronomy.co.uk/ | |
| 27-Mar | Observing / Discussion Evening ** ALL WEATHER EVENT ** Bredhurst Village Hall  This evening will be devoted to observing. Members are encouraged to bring their telescopes to set up in the field behind the Village Hall, and those who do not have their own telescope will be able to look at the night sky (weather permitting!) using the Society's equipment. Experienced members of the Society will be available to assist with any set-up problems you may have. In the event that the sky is not clear the meeting will go ahead and a recorded lecture will be shown followed by an open discussion session. PLEASE NOTE: Members bringing their own telescopes do so at their own risk. MKAS accepts no liability for loss or damage to such equipment. | |
| 10-Apr | William Joyce - The Inner Planets Bredhurst Village Hall  Abstract to follow SPEAKER DETAILSWilliam Joyce  Bringing astronomy and space to the public is William Joyce's passion. He has been fascinated by astronomy since the age of six, and enjoys sharing the wonders of the cosmos with the public, amateur and expert astronomers, and schools. William has spent time as an astrophysicist, a spacecraft engineer, and until recently a planetary scientist. He provides outreach talks and short courses for astronomy societies, the public, schools and special events in the UK, overseas, and on-board cruise ships. He is a Chartered Physicist and a STEM Ambassador. William is always delighted to share his enthusiasm for astronomy and diverse knowledge and experience with people of all ages and backgrounds who wish to learn more about fascinating areas of modern science, so please do ask him any burning questions you have on anything to do with space. | |
| 24-Apr | ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Bredhurst Village Hall  This is your chance to discuss how the Society operates and to make suggestions about future activities, to appprove the annual accounts and to elect the Committee for the forthcoming year. Any Member can put themselves forward for election to the Committee. Indeed we would welcome some new blood so please do not be shy in volunteering. Please send any proposals for changes to society business to secretary@midkentastro.org.uk by no later than 10 April 2026. The AGM is open to all MKAS Members and Visitors, however only Members are entitled to vote. Please download and review the following documents: - Agenda for the 2026 AGM - Minutes of the 2025 AGM (Draft) - Committee Roles and Responsibilities The following report will been sent to members in advance of the AGM: - MKAS Accounts 2025-2026 The following reports will be presented at the AGM: - Treasurer's Report - Chairman's Report - Programme Secretary's Report - Membership Secretary's Report - GP20 update | |
| 08-May | Laura Mullin - Opportunities for Radio Astronomy from Home Bredhurst Village Hall  Budding amateur astronomers have many resources for starting out with optical telescopes, but giving radio astronomy a try can seem a bit more daunting. This talk will introduce the sorts of observations you might carry out and the sort of equipment needed. SPEAKER DETAILSDr Laura Mullin  Dr Laura Mullin is currently an Associate Lecturer with the OU School of Physical Sciences, supporting undergraduate and post graduate students on astronomy, astrophysics and space science courses. She started her career by undertaking a Ph.D in radio astronomy but has worked more broadly in space related roles since then. This includes a year with CNES at the Guiana Space Centre, a postdoc at the University of Bremen and a few years working for Airbus Defence and Space in the Industrial Operations Team, which was involved with preparing increment operations on ESA's Columbus module. Prior to the OU, she worked at UCL's Mullard Space Science laboratory as a tutor on the MSc Systems Engineering Management and as project manager for the MSSL contributions to the JUICE and the Daniel K. Inouye solar telescope cameras. | |
| 29-May | Jeni Millard - Investigating Gravitational Waves and Black Holes Bredhurst Village Hall  Abstract to follow. SPEAKER DETAILSDr Jeni Millard  Jeni Millard is an astrophysicist and science communicator and Hon. President of the Barry Astronomical Society. She was awarded her Ph.D. by Cardiff University in 2021. Her thesis was entitled 'The stuff between the stars: on the evolution of the interstellar medium in the real and simulated universe'. While continuing her research during the pandemic/lockdown she became increasing interested in sharing her passion for astronomy with a wider audience and became writer and host of the popular 'Awesome Astronomy' podcast. She is also Managing Editor of Fifth Star Labs 'Sky Guide' App and is a science presenter for BBC1 Wales 'Weatherman Walking' series. Other than astronomy, Jeni's interests include films and exploring places in the U.K. | |
| 12-Jun | Jonathan Clough - Kristian Birkeland; The father of Northern Lights knowledge Bredhurst Village Hall  Birkeland worked out what causes the Northern Lights from his observatory near Alta, Norway, and was nominated for a Nobel prize 7 times. He was Norway’s most celebrated scientist and father of Northern lights understanding. Not only was Birkeland the man who had the key insight that opened our understanding of how the solar and terrestrial environment interlink, but he also believed in applying science to immediate problems, eventually holding more than 50 patents. This talk covers Birkeland’s amazing career until his death in obscure circumstances at the age of 50. SPEAKER DETAILSJonathan Clough  Jonathan Clough is an experienced speaker and is frequently the ‘onboard astronomer' on cruise ships. He describes himself as an "astro-nut" and his enthusiasm for all astronomical topics is infectious. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and currently Vice-Chair and Events Secretary of the Cambridge Astronomical Association. | |
| 26-Jun | David Southwood - A Decade as an ESA Director Bredhurst Village Hall  Prof Southwood was Director of Science and Robotic Engineering of the European Space Agency from 2001-2011 and in his talk will share his memories of the projects that he supported (and cancelled!) during that time. SPEAKER DETAILSProf David Southwood CBE  David was formerly the Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency (2001-2011) and President of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) 2012-2014. He received a CBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours. Before going to ESA, he was a space scientist at Imperial College, London. At ESA, he oversaw building and launching spacecraft to Venus, Mars and the Moon as well as the Rosetta probe with lander Philae to comet Churymuov-Gerasimenko, in addition to several major space telescopes. He led the team that landed a European probe on Saturn's largest moon Titan in 2005. An instrument he built at Imperial operated in orbit around the planet Saturn aboard the NASA Cassini spacecraft from 2004-2017. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and won the 2011 Sir Arthur C. Clarke award for space achievement. He was chairman of the Steering Board of the UK Space Agency 2016-2019. He is currently a senior research investigator at Imperial College. | |
| 10-Jul | Georgia Richardson - How we can see the invisible: imaging Black Holes Bredhurst Village Hall  This talk will explore how the Event Horizon Telescope combined radio telescopes across the world is used to image the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy M87. It will describe what the famous image actually shows, why it looks the way it does and how modern machine learning techniques were used to reconstruct and sharpen the image from incomplete data. SPEAKER DETAILSGeorgia Richardson  Georgia Richardson is a machine learning engineer specialising in computer vision, with an academic background in astrophysics. She completed an MSc in Astrophysics at Durham University, where her research focused on the variability of supermassive black holes. She has undertaken research with the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, resulting in a publication in Research Notes of the AAS, and completed an internship with the European Space Agency working on machine learning applications. Her current work focuses on applying ML to scientific imaging problems, and she retains a strong interest in black holes and the use of AI in modern astronomy. | |
| 31-Jul | MKAS Summer Social Bredhurst Village Hall  We will have a barbeque lit ready for you to cook the food you bring along. We will provide some salads, burger rolls and ketchup, but feel free to bring along some accompaniments and desserts to share. Tea, coffee and some cordials will be available in the kitchen, but please bring along any other drinks / alcohol you wish to have. There will be a quiz and music to add to the occasion. Family and friends are welcome to attend. There will be no admission charge for Members, but visitors will be asked to pay the standard meeting fee. |
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