Due to an emergency, tonight’s speaker has had to cancel.
We have found a new speaker at the last minute. Here are the details:
Neil Phillipson will be delivering a talk entitled “Mankind’s Next Giant Leap” which details some of the work done since the last Moon landings, in preparation for our future adventures into the solar system, and presents an optimistic vision of our future as a spacefaring civilisation.
He will be speaking to us from the new Danby Dark Sky Station – an observatory just completed in the North York Moors International Dark Sky Reserve!!
Topic: Asteroids & Sample Return Missions
Speaker: John Davies
Place and time: Friday 16th January at 7.00pm for a 7.30 pm start, Birch Room upstairs at the Haven Centre, Crawley Down (RH10 4LJ) and by Zoom Video conference:
TALK TITLE
‘Missions to main belt asteroids’
The talk will cover the main asteroid belt. Where is it, how was it discovered and what did we know before the space age?
John will cover flybys of main belt asteroids by spacecraft going somewhere else. The Dawn mission to orbit Vesta and Ceres and some of its discoveries. Future Missions to main belt asteroids, such as Lucy and Psyche, which are already in flight.
SPEAKER
John Davies BSc, PhD
-
John has a PhD in astronomy. At Leicester University, John
discovered six new comets and several asteroids, including 3200 Phaethon.
-
He contributed to the ROSAT satellite project at Birmingham University and later joined the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, working on the ISOCAM for the European Infrared Space Observatory.
-
John supported the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, focusing on small solar system objects and was honoured with an asteroid named after him in 2000.
-
Returning to Edinburgh in 2001, he became Project Scientist for the OPTICON project, promoting European astronomy collaboration.
-
John is active in outreach, participating in educational programs and media, while continuing research and telescope support.