Next meeting
“And Yet It Moves” by Dr Andy Watson
Thursday 17th September 2026 at 7:30 pm
At the Hurstbourne Tarrant Community Centre
In June 1633, an old man of sixty-nine knelt on a stone floor in Rome, in front of the most powerful men in Europe. He swore to them that the Earth stands still. But he was lying.
This is the dramatic story of how the scientific revolution finally placed the sun at the centre of the solar system and why it took over two thousand years of dead ends and false starts.
Our meetings
The society meets at 7:30pm on the third Thursday of each month from September through to April at:
Hurstbourne Tarrant Community Centre, Church Street, Hurstbourne Tarrant, Nr. Andover, Hampshire, SP11 0AX. (See the map below) (what3words: https://w3w.co/approve.sunset.polices)
We offer coffee, tea and biscuits (for which we invite a small contribution at your discretion), and a friendly welcome (which is completely free!). The centre has car parking and toilet facilities (including disabled) and is fully wheelchair accessible.
Children are very welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. Non-members and occasional visitors are also very welcome, there is a charge of £4 per visit for non-members, but the first visit is free.
| Date | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 15th April 2027 | AGM followed by Gresham Lecture | |
| 18th March 2027 | To be announced | |
| 18th February 2027 | Icy Ocean Worlds - Exploring Saturn's moons | Dr Georgina Miles |
| 21st January 2027 | Extra-terrestrial life - why do aliens always look like us | Terry Tucker |
| 17th December 2026 | Member's Talks and Xmas Social | Various |
| 19th November 2026 | Dark Energy Sky Survey | Dr Seshadri Nathadur |
| 15th October 2026 | Stonehenge - ArcheoAstronomy | Simon Banton |
| 17th September 2026 | And Yet It Moves | Dr Andy Watson |
| 16th April 2026 | AGM followed by Black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves | Professor Patrick Brady |
| 19th March 2026 | Dark skies | Various |
| 19th February 2026 | Mars: sixty years of space exploration | Dr Mike Leggett FRAS FBIS |
| 15th January 2026 | Namibia | Mark Radice |
| 18th December 2025 | Members' talks and Xmas Social | Various |
| 20th November 2025 | Reaching Across the Gulf of Space | Hugh Allen |
| 16th October 2025 | Astronomical Oddities | Tony Roberts |
| 18th September 2025 | Bubbles, Strings and Waves | Dr Andy Watson |
Typically, our meetings have the following format:
- An introduction from the chairman including a round up of interesting events for the coming month.
- A talk, usually from an external speaker: we have a varied program to cater for a wide spectrum of interests.
- A general discussion: we are a friendly and welcoming group keen to share views, tips and experiences. Whatever your interest, be it observing, astrophotography, astrophysics etc etc, there will be members on hand to chat to.
- And, if the skies are clear, we get outside to observe the heavens – don’t worry if you don’t have a telescope to bring along, many of us don’t, there’s always telescopes to have a look through. But, if you want some pointers to using your telescope, this is a great opportunity to get some “hands on” help.
Our meeting venue
Our meetings are held at the Hurstbourne Tarrant Community Centre.
The centre sits under dark skies (though unfortunately not always cloudless!) in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Built in 2014/15 the centre has high quality modern facilities and good off-road parking.
Parking at the centre is separated from where we will be observing, an important safety consideration. We have wireless broadband which facilitates remote meeting and enables us to invite a wider range of speakers. In addition, the venue gives us an excellent base from which to run our outreach activities.
