Report from Astrofest 2026
European Astrofest is an annual event held this year on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th February and at least 11 BAS members attending.
Dr Allan Chapman (1946-2026)
We were saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Allan Chapman, who has died aged 79. Dr Chapman was very well known within the UK astronomical community and some years ago he gave a talk to the BAS. Please see the following link from the RAS for more information about Allan Chapman’s life: Dr […]
Wales & West Spacefest 2026 to be held at Aerospace Bristol on Saturday 7th March!
This event is being organised jointly by Bristol Astronomical Society, Bath Astronomers, Cardiff Astronomers and Aerospace Bristol. It will be held at Aerospace Bristol (Concorde Museum) on Saturday 7th March. The museum will be open to the public from 9:30 am and 5:00 pm for a series of talks in the morning about the space activities […]
Buy BAS membership as a gift
We’re very pleased to announce that we’ve now added the facility for you to purchase BAS Gift Membership.
And the Winner is ……………… Dr Allan McCarthy!
BAS Outreach Coordinator Dr Allan McCarthy has been awarded the Graham Bryant Memorial Award by the Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS)
Solar Observing at Troopers Hill, 9th August 2025
A team of BAS members had a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon on 9th August conducting a public solar observing session at Troopers Hill in Bristol. Many people had come to Troopers Hill to watch the planned balloon ascent and so it was a busy time for the team helping the public safely observe the Sun. […]
Astronomy Course for Young Persons
We will again be running our popular 4-week astronomy course for young persons aged 9 – 11 commencing Friday 12 th September. The start time is 5.15p.m. and each session will last for one hour. The course is intended to cover topics not normally dealt with in school e.g. how to view the sky, the […]
BAS Visit to the Herschel Museum – 26 April 2025
21 Society members enjoyed a private viewing of the Herschel Museum in Bath on a sunny Saturday in April. We were joined by Simon Holbeche, Chair of the Bath Astronomers and our guide, Charlotte from the Bath Preservation Trust. We had lots of great discussions including on how the planetary names Georgium Sidus and Uranus […]
Partial Solar Eclipse on the Clifton Downs – 29 Mar 2025
A group from the Society ran a very successful outreach event on Saturday 29th March 2025 on the Clifton Downs (opposite the Water Tower), to observe the partial solar eclipse (maximum of 33%). We set up a variety of telescopes, including: Lunt solar telescope, Tele Vue telescope with a Herschel wedge, Coronado solar scope, SeeStar […]
Stargazing at Troopers Hill
After a gap of 6 years due to the Covid years and bad weather, we finally managed to join forces with the “Friends of Troopers Hill” to hold an excellent evening of stargazing on Troopers Hill in St Georges, Bristol. A write up of the event can be found on their events page here – […]