meet our guest speakers

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Dr Andrew Martyn Thornett, M6THO
10.00 am -11.00am

Dr Andrew Thornett is a General Medical Practitioner in Birmingham with an eclectic interest and passion for all things astronomy. He is a member of the BAA Radio Astronomy Group and Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers in the USA, and of Rosliston Astronomy Group in Derbyshire, and the Astronomical Society of Penang in Malaysia.

Mapping the Milky Way’s arms and demonstrating Dark Matter from your garden.

Would you like to replicate the science behind much of the astronomy headlines? This talk will tell you how to do this for around £200 using readily-available off-the-shelf components. No electronics or amateur radio experience required!

 

james

James Rowley-Hill
11.15am 12.15pm

Mechanic by day , and night sky photographer by night, specifically aurora’s , mainly in the UK . Co running the AUK Aurora UK FB group. And putting the live shouts out for aurora across the united kingdom, also across Twitter/X. What was once a hobby turned into a passion now 20yrs later, putting Norfolk on the map for aurora hunting.

Aurora Hunting in the UK

Basic knowledge of reading and interpretation of solarwind , how to use it to predict aurora. What apps and alerts for you phone, along with some basic camera settings etc… 

Paul Fellows MA FIET FRAS  

1.00pm 2.00pm 

He holds a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a post-graduate degree in Computer Science, also from Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. Twice a winner of the Queen’s award for Technology he was recently presented a lifetime innovation award by Emmanuel College Cambridge.

Quark Stars and Strange Matter. 

The usual story told of the end stage of giant stars is that they either finish up as a neutron star or collapse completely to a black hole. However, in this talk Paul looks at the possibility for other extremely exotic forms of matter which may add to the picture – and how the latest observations seem to back up these ideas.

Dr Ann Bonell

2.15pm 3.15pm

Dr Ann Bonell is President of Leicester Astronomical Society.  She has been interested in astronomy since primary school and finds all aspects of the subject totally fascinating. The ever changing nature of the subject is particularly intriguing.  Ann is especially interested in the history of astronomy and loves nothing more than being out on a clear night and looking up.

Women in Astronomy

Women have played an important role throughout the history of astronomy, either in their own right or as much-valued assistants. In this whistle-stop tour, we will examine some famous and some lesser-known individuals and hopefully this will make you want to investigate  female astronomers further.