SOCIETY IN FOCUS

The Sunderland Astronomical Society (SAS) ‘Starbeque’ is an annual event to celebrate the beginning of the society’s observing season, held at our dark-sky site at Derwent Reservoir every August. It has grown from humble beginnings and this year 27 people came along and 12 scopes were unpacked. This, despite the knowledge that there was to be 100 per cent cloud cover all night; the big beasts like the 16-inch Dobsonian sadly did not make it out of the van.

The event is much more than an observing session at a dark-sky site, though: it is a chance for members and their families to celebrate the coming of darker nights, meet friends whom they may not have seen over the summer, and, of course, show off all the astro-related gear and toys they’ve acquired since we last met.

This year, we were able to sit out on a balmy evening, instead of huddling under tarpaulins in the rain to prevent the water drenching the BBQs – yes, that’s happened in the past! It was lovely to see a good number of first-timers and new families with ‘starkids’, who were impressed with the view through the scopes of upside-down sheep on a hill opposite despite the cloud being too thick to see anything celestial.

SAS was formed in July 1993 by an enthusiastic group of local astronomers. We are a very active society whose aim is to promote, inspire, inform, empower and advance the awareness and education of the public in the science of astronomy. We meet every Thursday and Sunday at our Observatory at Washington Wetlands Trust. Our motto is ‘Who Stares Wins’. Michael Tweedy, FRAS Chair, Sunderland Astronomical Society sunderlandastro.com