The Bedford Astronomical Society was formed in January 1987 by a small group of people with a common interest in astronomy. We have now grown to approximately 100 members and cater for all ages, levels of interest and abilities. We meet regularly on the last Wednesday of each month where informal get-togethers are interlaced with talks by eminent speakers, and cover topics as far ranging as the birth of the universe, the namings of stars to meteorites and Apollo space missions.
Membership of BAS entitles you to attend all the Society's meetings, talks, presentations and Events that are held throughout the year. They are arranged and given by members and include many guest speakers on a variety of astronomy related topics.
Location
Access to the Resource Centre, Planetarium and the Observatory is via the gates in Pemberley Avenue at the northern end of the school's playing fields. However, most of the invited guest speaker meetings are held in the School. See the Find Us Page for maps of the school and directions
Membership details
You will receive an electronic copy of the BAS monthly Newsletter containing many interesting articles, details of our forthcoming BAS events, an observing diary and advertisements for other astro events. This .pdf formatted newsletter is about 1MB, so if you are not connected to Broadband you may prefer that a printed copy is posted to you (please indicate this on your membership form). You will also be able to use the Observatory at Bedford School every Wednesday together with other special observing sessions that are arranged seasonally.
BAS operates under an agreed constitution, which can be downloaded here.
Here are some sample Newsletters for you to download (right-click and select 'Save Target/Link As'):
Master Classes are held occasionally and their dates and times are announced together with special astro events such as Solar and Lunar eclipses, meteor showers, comet and optimum planetary observing.
Other benefits
There is also a range of Society instruments, available together with books, videos, CDs and slides that may be borrowed from our ever growing library.
Subscriptions
Membership subscriptions run from the 1st September to 31st August and the AGM is held in April, to which all members have a vote and are encouraged to use!
Joining
To download a current membership form, please click here
For more information on memberships, please contact:
Bob Wickens
The Membership Secretary
29 Cody Road
Clapham
Bedford
Bedfordshire
MK41 6ED
For more information on the society, please contact:
Peter Ashwell
Newsletter Editor
12 Irthing Close
Brickhill
Bedford
Bedforshire
MK41 7TP
or get in touch via the Contact Us page