Simple Astro Photography using a DSLR ~ John Fox

John's talk is aimed at amateur photographers/astronomers who would like to image the night skies i.e. the Milky Way or by moonlight, using a normal DSLR camera and fixed tripod.

There is currently a great interest by this group of camera owners wanting to explore the delights of astrophotography. All photography is single shot, no stacking etc but could involve the use of a simple tracker to improve the quality of the single image.

John has spent over 53 years in the professional photographic arena and has practical experience in all formats of film equipment up to and including 5”x4” plate cameras.

He won “Photographer of the Year” in the 1983 'Southern Press Radio and Television' Awards and has also won three 'Ilford' awards during his 32 years as a press photographer working both in Sussex and Manchester. Outside of his press photography adventures John has also photographed over 1,400 weddings during his long career.

John switched to digital in 2003 and has embraced the freedom of shooting and editing digital imagery. He gives camera club talks around Sussex and the surrounding counties and is an RPS S.E. Region committee member.

The promotion of Hygiea to a Dwarf Planet ~ Ronald Anderson

Astronomers using ESO’s SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet.  For the first time, astronomers have observed Hygiea in sufficiently high resolution to study its surface and determine its shape and size. Ronald will review the properties of hygiea in his talk.

Whatever is happening to Betelgeuse ~ Simon Allen