2024 Speakers

Speaker details for 2024

3rd JanuaryPaul Money FRAS – Freelance Writer and LecturerNew Images of the Universe

Paul attended his first meeting of an astronomical society back in 1980 at the Boston Astronomical Association, later changed to Boston Astronomers. He gave his first talk (an impromptu one) to the Boston Astronomers about the planet Saturn based on the Voyager missions when a planned 'Starwatch' was clouded out. His first talk to a society other than his own was to the Cleethorpes and District Astronomical Society. He is now a well know speaker across the country. He is currently the Reviews editor of the Sky at Night magazine and organises the annual Horncastle Astronomy Weekend. The Federation of Astronomical Societies awarded Paul the 'Eric Zuker' award for 2002/2003 for contributions to Astronomy. In the last few years he has become a popular author of science fiction and has completed 5 books in the “James Hansone Ghost Stories Series”.

7th FebruaryPeter Rea FRAS – CDAS Founder MemberHow it Began – The Origins of Planetary Exploration 1961 to 1981

Peter is a founder member of the Cleethorpes and District Astronomical Society. He started school in the same year that the first artificial satellite was launched (Sputnik 1 in October 1957). He has followed with great interest the exploration of space ever since. In April 1972 aged 20 he was at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to see the launch of Apollo 16, the second to last Apollo moon landing mission. In 1997 he saw the launch of the Cassini mission to Saturn Now retired he spends a lot of time giving lectures across the country to various astronomical societies. Not being a regular observer he says he is still not sure which end of a telescope to look through. Since 2016 he has been a contributing author to the annual “Yearbook of Astronomy” first published in 1962. In December 2019 Peter was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

6th March Graham Winstanley – Lincoln Astronomical SocietyAstrophotography – Brownie Box Camera to CCD

Graham is currently the Company Secretary and Programme Secretary of the Lincoln Astronomical Society. He has been a member of the LAS since 1978. He is an astrophotographer operating from his own observatory at Bassingham just south of Lincoln. He uses 115mm and 70mm telescopes for photographing deep sky objects. He has numerous images published online at Astrobin.com and his BAA member’s page. Graham is a Chartered Accountant by training which makes him amply suitable for the role of treasurer of the British Astronomical Association. Graham is also the founder of the website www.astrospeakers.org.

3rd AprilBarrie Watts (top) – CDAS Founder Member & Barry Porteous (bottom) – Engineer and CDAS MemberThe Camera Obscura – An Ancient Yet Contemporary Viewing Device

Barrie Watts was know for running a nights school class on astronomy in the sixties. Most of the attendees were interested in starting up a local astronomical society. Barrie founded the society in September 1969 and was the key person in overseeing the building the observatory.
Barrie Porteous was raised on Leamington Spa. He studied at Leicester Polytechnic, De Montfort University then Coventry University. Initially an Electronics engineer but the last 35 years both mechanical and electronics, principally designing and supplying measuring instruments and robotics for research, automotive and aerospace.

1st MayGeorgia Lowes – Ph.D. Student E. A. Milne Centre University of HullUsing Pulsars in the Search For Gravitational Waves

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell-Burnell discovered a repeating radio signal coming from a fixed point in the sky. Could it be aliens? Not this time! She had discovered a new type of star – the rapidly rotating and highly magnetised pulsar. Georgia will discuss how pulsars were discovered as well how they form, evolve, die and even come back to life. One type of pulsar (millisecond pulsars) includes some of the most accurate clocks in the Universe. Networks of millisecond pulsars can be combined to create pulsar timing arrays, which are used in the search for the distortions in space caused by massive objects known as gravitational waves. Recent publications from across the international pulsar community suggest evidence for a gravitational wave background across the Universe. Georgia will talk about this background and how scientists are planning to detect it and consider what astronomical events might be causing it.

5th JuneGary Poyner – Variable Star Observer and AuthorStella Nova – Historical Variable Stars

Gary’s first observations were made with a small 60mm telescope bought for his 7th birthday in 1965, along with a copy of Norton’s Star Atlas. Once his parents realised that I was serious about astronomy, they quickly upgraded him to a superb 6" (15cm) f8 Charles Frank reflector, which introduced me to the wonders of Planetary observing – and in particular Jupiter. In 1970 he joined the Birmingham Astronomical Society as a 12 year old junior member. In 1978 he joined the British Astronomical Association and 'The Astronomer' (TA) organisation. In 1989, he was invited to become assistant co-ordinator for the UK Nova/Supernova search programme, a position he filled until he was invited to become Director of The BAA Variable Star Section in February 1995. From 2000 to September 2018 he has been editor of the monthly Variable Star pages in 'The Astronomer' magazine, processing nearly 500,000 observations for these pages, as well as being a member of 'The Astronomer' editorial board. I am currently editor of the BAA Variable Star Section circulars, secretary of the Cataclysmic and Eruptive Variable Star section of the Variable Star Section.

3rd JulyRay Emery – CDAS MemberHubble @ 100 Measuring the Cosmos

Ray has been interested in astronomy from the age of 7 and joined the Society in 1973. He attended Leeds University and is past president of The Leeds University Astronomical Society and the Leeds Astronomical Society. Before retirement he was lecturer in social sciences, photography and astronomy to post-16 groups. He was also examinations officer at a Further Education College in south Leeds. He has been to 6 total solar eclipses and seen 3. He has had a long standing interest in the history of astronomy and photography.

12th AugustAnnual Perseids Meteor Watch

4th SeptemberRod Hine – Bradford Astronomical SocietyThe Life and Work of George Ellery Hale

Rod took physics, chemistry and maths at A-level and in 1964 went up to Churchill College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. He later switched to Electrical Sciences and after graduating joined Marconi at Chelmsford working for several years on satellite communications. That job eventually took him to Nairobi, Kenya where he worked in Meteorological communications and later switched to teaching at the Kenya Polytechnic. Since then he has had a variety of jobs in electronics and industrial controls. He was a co-founder of Bradford Instruments Limited which designed and supplied industrial control systems from 1982 and only finished trading in 2012. From about 2000 to 2017 he was lecturing part-time at University of Bradford.

2nd OctoberDr Sue Bowler – School of Earth and Environment, University of LeedsThe Promise of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Dr Bowler has degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Leeds. She is an experienced editor and writer with a 30 year history in science research communication, in astronomy, geophysics, geology and general physical sciences. She is currently the editor of the A & G journal of the Royal Astronomical Society.

6th NovemberJohn Dunthorne – CDAS ChairSkylab – America’s Forgotten Triumph

John is a retired teacher of physics, electronics and information and communication technology. He has been a member of the Cleethorpes and District Astronomical Society for many years where he is responsible for organising the Beginners' sessions. He has had a lifelong interest in astronomy and the manned space programme and was 15 when he watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step onto the Moon. He hopes to live to see the first woman walk on the Moon.

4th DecemberSue Parr – CDAS SecretaryJewels in the Sky

Sue is a retired teacher who also worked with young people in music making. Her interest in Astronomy started whilst in the Brownies when Brown Owl pointed out Orion’s Belt. She has been a member of the CDAS for some years and is Secretary. She is also part of the Outreach team and is coordinator of the Informal Evenings. Every aspect of Astronomy Sue finds fascinating, but her leaning is towards the characters who helped found Astronomy as we know it today.

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