Wells & Mendip Astronomers

12/04/2026

The Sky at Night programme "Destination Moon" is on BBC FOUR on Monday 13th April at 10pm.

Maggie Aderin, self-proclaimed lunar-tic, examines Nasa’s Artemis II mission: the first crewed journey towards the moon in more than 50 years. It’s a mission designed to carry astronauts around the moon’s far side and safely home again, marking the furthest human beings will have travelled into space.

While the programme explores the mission’s progress on and off the launch pad as Artemis II prepares for its next attempt at lift-off, George Dransfield visits Imperial College London to speak with Dr Helen Sharman, who became the first British astronaut in 1991 when she travelled to the Mir space station. Helen offers insight into what it’s like to wait for launch and why the moon is once again drawing the world’s attention.

But the renewed focus on the moon goes beyond sending people there. A series of robotic landers has recently attempted to reach the lunar surface, with mixed outcomes. To understand this new phase of exploration, Maggie heads to the Open University to meet Dr Simeon Barber, who is developing his latest lunar instrument. Not every mission carrying his instruments has succeeded, but as he explains, setbacks are as informative as successes and form part of the fast-moving international effort to return to the moon.

But it’s not only astronauts and robots that get the chance to study our closest neighbour. We all see it as we go about our everyday lives, and Pete Lawrence is on hand to highlight what to look out for if you pause for a moment, glance upward and take in its quiet beauty.

It is the slow and steady progress of China’s Chang’e programme that brought back the first samples from the moon’s far side in 2024. Chris Lintott meets Professor Yang Li at University College London to find out what those samples are telling Yang and his team, and the clues it gives us to a long-standing puzzle: the stark differences between the near and far sides of our lunar neighbour.

These developing insights only strengthen the desire to explore further. To understand what Artemis II might contribute, Maggie speaks with Nasa’s Dr Kelsey Young, who leads the mission’s lunar science objectives. She explains what the first people to see the moon up close in more than half a century are trained to be looking out for.

Will Artemis II be sweeping around the moon by the time this programme airs, or will we be waiting a little longer for lift-off? Whatever happens with the journey back to the moon, the story is advancing, whether Artemis II flies or not. There are new scientific clues already coming from lunar samples, and robotic landers still pushing forward with fresh attempts and data. The moon's secrets, history and untapped potential keep drawing us back, urging us to look up and explore the lunar surface once again.

More info at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002v4p9

27/02/2026

Josh Dury Photo-Media is featured on the BBC again with his Planetary Parade image.

Josh Dury, from Bristol, photographed the planetary parade in Worth Matravers.

26/02/2026

So much to see and hear about at Wales & West Spacefest on Saturday 7th March.

Get you tickets at https://aerospacebristol.org/wales-west-spacefest to get your online discount.

Great talks including:
* Herschel and the Discovery of Uranus
* 35 Years of Hubble and the Connection to Filton
* From Bristol to the Planets – a personal refection on Europe’s role in Space Exploration
* Why Space is Everyone’s Business
* Where is the Universe?
* Discovering Planets & Stars around other Stars
* How can Lessons Learnt from AI help us with Building a Space Mission?
* Unveiling Exoplanets in the UV & Mapping Exoplanet Atmospheres
* Of Space Missions and Exoplanets - Spotlight on the Ariel Space Telescope

19/02/2026

As NASA continues preparations for the Artemis II test flight, the agency will provide coverage Thursday, Feb. 19, of its next wet dress rehearsal, a fueling

19/02/2026

The pop-up stargazing outside Waitrose, Wells on 19th or 20th February is unfortunately cancelled.

The weather forecasts suggest both nights will be a bit rubbish in terms of being able to see stars.

Hope the last 7 weeks of grotty weather improve soon.

14/02/2026

Just 3% of people in the UK experience ‘truly dark skies’.

Between 14 – 21 February 2026, you are invited to take part in the Somerset Star Count. A cosmic census to map our view of the night sky.

A star-filled sky is one of the most magical sights you can see in our countryside and the stars have inspired art and culture for thousands of years. But too often, light pollution means that many of us can’t see the stars, especially if we live in or near a big town or city.

Simple step away from bright lights, let your eyes adjust, and then count how many stars you see within the rectangle of Orion's outer stars, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Saiph and Rigel.

Everyone can take part.

Find out more at:
https://www.cpresomerset.org.uk/news/somerset-star-count/

You can submit your star counts to
https://bathastronomers.org.uk/starcount2026

Somerset Star Count is brought to you by CPRE Somerset with support from Somerset Levels Stargazers, Wells & Mendip Astronomers, Bath Astronomers, and Bristol Astronomical Society.

08/02/2026

Crew-12 is due to launch to the International Space Station at 11:01am on Wednesday February 11th. The crew consists of NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and Sophie Adenot of ESA - European Space Agency. Sophie is Dr Rosemary Coogan's classmate, both Hoppers from ESA intake of 2022.

More information:

"The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the SpaceX-led investigation."

17/01/2026

Artemis II is being rolled out to the launchpad, 3 weeks ahead of the launch window for its 10 day trip around the Moon. 53 years since the last adventure towards the Moon.

Roll-out takes many hours but you can watch it live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVnsO_rdew

20/11/2025

COme on teachers, register your class.

To mark a decade since the launch of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia mission to the International Space Station, the Science Museum and Tim are teaming up for a live lesson to schools on Monday 15 December 2025.

19/11/2025

Amazing free talk. Just register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unveiling-the-secrets-of-hidden-supermassive-black-holes-tickets-1964124764042

Unveiling the secrets of hidden supermassive black holes!
The 2025 Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture by Dr Vicky Fawcett is on the evening of Thursday 20 November from 7:00pm until 8.30pm.

This amazing talk is FREE. Attend in person at 10 East Building, 0.17, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7PJ or online.

All are welcome. Just register using https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unveiling-the-secrets-of-hidden-supermassive-black-holes-tickets-1964124764042

Almost every known galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its heart, including our own Milky Way, which have masses millions to billions that of our Sun. Understanding how these monster black holes shape their surroundings is crucial to our understanding of how galaxies evolve. Some black holes are very energetic, launching powerful winds and jets, and are referred to as “active”. We have recently found a population of these active black holes that are enshrouded by dust that exhibit peculiar properties. An emerging theory is that these dusty black holes represent a key stage in galaxy evolution.

About Dr Fawcett
Dr Fawcett is a Research Associate at Newcastle University. She works on quasars and how they influence their host galaxies. She has demonstrated excellence in research, including a strong publication record, and co-leadership of the working group on active galactic nuclei within the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration. She is an exceptional role model and promoter of increasing diversity in Astronomy and Physics. She also has an outstanding track record in outreach and communication, focussed on young people in the Northeast of England.

About the Caroline Herschel Prize
The Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship was established in 2018 by what is now the Herschel Society, in association with the Royal Astronomical Society, to celebrate Caroline’s memory by supporting promising women astronomers early in their careers. Caroline, William’s younger sister, started out as his assistant, but in time became recognised as an important astronomer in her own right, was the first to be paid as such, and was awarded the RAS Gold Medal in 1828. The Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture is hosted by University of Bath in November in cooperation with the Herschel Society as part of the University’s public lecture series.

17/11/2025

See if you can spot some meteors tonight.

Find a place away from street lights and look above you and perhaps a little to the east.

Best of luck.

Tonight is the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower. The remnants of 55P/Tempel-Tuttle will be chargrilled above your heads at speeds approaching 70 kilometres per second. At that rate, you'd be in Sydney, Australia in 4 minutes.

The Moon is out of the way and the clouds have promised to stay away until 11 o'clock tonight. So pop outside (dress up warm) and find somewhere dark and comfortable to observe from.

Perhaps you might see one every 15 minutes or so. They are distinctive as the radiant(source) will appear to be from the eastern horizon and they are travelling really fast.

The next Leonid Meteor Storm is expected in 2035. This is after a fresh pass of 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and the skies go crazy with meteors.

Image credit: Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency