A collection of articles covering a wide range of topics written by members of the Astronomy Section over the years.
Guernsey’s astronomical heritage starts over five thousand years ago with Neolithic man. With no light pollution they must have been fully aware of the night sky with a deep knowledge of changes in the position of the stars, planets, sunrise and sunset, and the seasons. The Channel Islands, in commo...
David Le Conte was born in Guernsey on the Spring equinox of 1940 and shortly afterwards was evacuated for the duration of the war as German forces occupied Guernsey. Upon returning, David attended Elizabeth College and then went on to Edinburgh University, from where he graduated with a degree in p...
Victor Hugo's diary for 3 September 1861 records (in French) that “the Patourel house is rented to a German astronomer named Baron de Gompach”. This astronomer was, therefore, a close neighbour. There are further references to him and his wife in Hugo’s diary entries for 21 and 25 February 1862, and...
The Astronomy Section was formed at the Annual General Meeting of La Société Guernesiaise on 21st January 1972, following a preliminary meeting of potential members and with the encouragement of the Société President at that time, Jurat J. Le Pelley, and Honorary Secretary Mr R.J.W. Payne, with a su...
We are frequently asked for advice on the acquisition of an astronomical telescope, either for personal use, or as a gift. A telescope can indeed make a good Christmas present. However, there must be many instruments, given as presents, which are seldom, if ever, used, so careful selection is impo...
For several years emails have been circulating falsely claiming that on 27 August of each year Mars would be closer to the Earth than it has been for thousands of years, and would appear as big as the Moon. Another will probably do its rounds this year. There is even a totally misleading PowerPoint presentation.
The Wise Men who visited the infant Jesus in Bethlehem were, as recorded in the Gospel according to St Matthew, guided by a star.
In the words of the hymn, a star of wonder. Certainly, for hundreds of years astronomers, historians and theologians have wondered about the identification of the star, and many theories have been postulated.
The first transit of Venus across the disc of the Sun since 1882 was witnessed by a group of Astronomy Section members at the Astronomical Observatory. Preparations started at 04.30 Universal Time (UT), setting up the 6-inch coelostat about one metre from its normal position, in order to catch the early morning Sun, which had risen at 04.05 UT.
122 years ago the knowledge we had of the solar system was very different from that of today. The five ‘wanderers’ in the sky - the five naked eye planets - were augmented by the discovery of Uranus in 1781 and Neptune in 1846.
A transit of Venus is like a solar eclipse but instead of the Moon being in line between the Earth and Sun it is the planet Venus that is directly in line. You can hardly fail to notice a solar eclipse because the Moon, being about the same apparent size as the Sun, blocks it out. Venus, on the othe...
On the flight out to Venezuela to see the total eclipse, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau joined us in a film called Out at Sea, a story of two old men going on a cruise ship to view a total eclipse of the Sun. Despite the fact that the film showed a Full Moon on the night before the eclipse and the n...
What date is it? That depends on the calendar used. First, let us note the difference between calendars and time-keeping. The calendar deals with intervals of at least one day, while time-keeping deals with intervals less than a day. Calendars are based on astronomical movements, but they are primar...
The Liberation Monument commemorates the 50th anniversary, on the 9th May 1995, of the Liberation of Guernsey from German occupying forces. It was designed by Guernsey artist Eric Snell, who was commissioned by the States of Guernsey.
The injection of the Apollo 8 spacecraft into translunar orbit was photographed by Joe Coldwell, Bill Perry and Dave Le Conte at SAO's field station atop Mt.Haleakala, Maui. These photos, made at 1544 UT (10:44 am EST), December 21, show the first acquisition before burn, the firing of the booster r...