Support from Bath Astronomers to help achieve Skills for Awards
If you are in the Bath area and about to embark on Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, it may be worth bearing in mind that astronomy provides an excellent area of activity in which to pursue the ‘Skill’ component. Bath Astronomers is a well-supported, active and friendly society that aims to spread and share the enjoyment of astronomy at whatever level you wish to explore it. Beginners very welcome!
With the support of Bath Astronomers and a few handy pointers that we can provide, you can enjoy a varied and rewarding experience getting to know the night sky and gaining an understanding of what is ‘out there’ beyond planet earth!
EQUIPMENT
Basic astronomy does not necessarily require expensive equipment. There is a lot that can be observed with good binoculars and with the naked eye. If you join Bath Astronomers, you will be eligible to access excellent-quality, user-friendly telescopes on a free loan basis and receive guidance on how to get the best out of them. These range from optical telescopes (with software to help you find specific objects) to fully-automated astrophotography devices that bring deep sky objects into view. See our ‘loan telescopes’ page.
SOCIETY MEETINGS
The Society meets monthly; we organise talks on interesting topics related to astronomy and also meetings at which local astrophotographers showcase exciting images they have captured. Guided stargazing evenings are held around Bath regularly through the autumn and winter, at which you can benefit from the knowledge and experience of other local amateur astronomers, gain an understanding of different types of scopes, etc.
RESOURCES
There are a host of online tools and resources that will help you to quickly get to grips with what you are looking at in the night sky, and to alert you to interesting events that you may wish to observe. See, for example:
- ‘Stellarium’ app (free), which provides an interactive map of the night sky in real time. Other such apps are available.
- Podcasts such as the ‘Sky at Night’ podcast, which gives a run-down of potential observing highlights for UK for the coming week.
- Free software that allows you to understand the visible features on the surface of the moon in detail (e.g. ‘Virtual Moon Atlas’)
- Social media groups (e.g. Facebook) in which you can see other what amateur astronomers in the UK are up to, as a guide to what you can look for.
Astronomy can be explored as the required ‘Skill’ at all DofE levels, starting with Bronze.
Do reach out to us if this sounds like something you would like to explore further.
