NastroNastro, Northumberland Astronomical Society was founded in January 2000 and has approximately 100 regular members. We are a friendly, active society of professional and amateur astronomers from the North East area. Our mission is to promote astronomy and science education and we regularly do outreach sessions for various groups. Nastro secured funding for a 14 inch research grade telescope and a custom made observatory was built to house it at Hauxley Nature Reserve in 2008.
Our regular meeting place at the Visitor Centre was destroyed by fire in 2010, and thankfully the observatory was unharmed. We now host our bi-monthly meetings in the Bee Hive function room at The Trap Inn, Broomhill until the Visitor Centre is rebuilt. | Meet the Nastronomers
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Outreach
We have an ongoing outreach programme to encourage interest in Astronomy primarily by providing sessions for local community groups. In the past we have provided sessions for schools, libraries, play and youth schemes, Women's Institute groups, and hospitals. We have broadcasted information on radio shows both locally and nationally to educate people about current events in astronomy. We recently ran a two part session for the Alnwick Scout group to support them in achieving their astronomy badges. Now that we have our Observatory and telescope up and running we are aiming to develop our work in the community further by organising Sky Watching events for the public. Please contact us if you would like to know more about our work in the community or to organise an outreach session.
We have an ongoing outreach programme to encourage interest in Astronomy primarily by providing sessions for local community groups. In the past we have provided sessions for schools, libraries, play and youth schemes, Women's Institute groups, and hospitals. We have broadcasted information on radio shows both locally and nationally to educate people about current events in astronomy. We recently ran a two part session for the Alnwick Scout group to support them in achieving their astronomy badges. Now that we have our Observatory and telescope up and running we are aiming to develop our work in the community further by organising Sky Watching events for the public. Please contact us if you would like to know more about our work in the community or to organise an outreach session.
The Benefits of Joining Nastro:
- In our location we have open dark skies with minimal light pollution
- We have our own observatory
- We own a wide range of telescopes and equipment
- We have outstanding speakers
- We provide a series of courses
Nastro Committee
President: Jim Martin
Chairperson and Training Officer: Adrian Jannetta
Vice Chairperson: Malcolm Robinson
Treasurer: Tim Kent
Secretary: Paul Lewis
Events Officer: Emma Jane Maddison
Members Rep: Kate Armstrong
Chairperson and Training Officer: Adrian Jannetta
Vice Chairperson: Malcolm Robinson
Treasurer: Tim Kent
Secretary: Paul Lewis
Events Officer: Emma Jane Maddison
Members Rep: Kate Armstrong
Our Meeting Place
The Trap Inn, Broomhill
We have our general society meetings on the second and last Thursday of each month from 7.30pm until about 9.00pm. These take place in the Trap Inn, North Broomhill. We regularly stay after the meetings for the Trap's pub quiz which we regularly win which boosts our society funds!
We used to meet at the Nature Reserve Visitor Centre but is was recently destroyed by fire. The plans for the new building are being drawn up and it could take up to two years before it is up and running again. We do however continue to meet at our Hauxley Reserve Observatory for our observation nights, the observatory and site car park remain fully accessible for the time being. We make plans to meet for any astronomical event such as eclipses, meteor showers and comet viewings.
On clear nights we contact each other, usually through our Yahoo Discussion Group for to arrange observing sessions. We set up our own telescopes in the large car park area as well as using the observatory. If you are interested in coming to see through a telescope please contact us and we will let you know when we plan to meet next.
We used to meet at the Nature Reserve Visitor Centre but is was recently destroyed by fire. The plans for the new building are being drawn up and it could take up to two years before it is up and running again. We do however continue to meet at our Hauxley Reserve Observatory for our observation nights, the observatory and site car park remain fully accessible for the time being. We make plans to meet for any astronomical event such as eclipses, meteor showers and comet viewings.
On clear nights we contact each other, usually through our Yahoo Discussion Group for to arrange observing sessions. We set up our own telescopes in the large car park area as well as using the observatory. If you are interested in coming to see through a telescope please contact us and we will let you know when we plan to meet next.
