The February 2018 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2017 – 2018 (136th) session will be held on Friday, February 16th from 19:00 to 21:30.

Our guest speaker this month is Prof. Ian Robson (BSc, Phd, FRAS, CPhys, FInstP) whose lecture is entitled:

“The Discovery of Quasars”

Quasars are the most powerful bodies in the Universe and we now know that they are the extreme of Active Galaxies, powered by a supermassive black hole at their centre. However, the story of their discovery is one of missed opportunities, the advent of radio astronomy, careful observational measurements, and a fierce fight between two groups of astronomers before the truth was finally accepted. This talk describes the ins and outs of this story, the personalities involved and gives an insight into how quasars are powered and the fact that supermassive black holes are almost ubiquitous in the Universe.

Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Glyn Marsh whose lecture is entitled:

“Sir Robert Ludwig Mond and the Mond Photographic Equatorial – a local astronomy connection”

Robert Ludwig Mond was born at “The Hollies”, now No. 23 Derby Road, Farnworth on the 9th September 1867 – only a few miles from the LAS observatory at Pex Hill, Cronton.

He was the eldest son of Ludwig and Frida Mond (originally from Cassel, Germany). Ludwig Mond, an industrial chemist, had moved to England in 1862 to license a process he had invented for the recovery of sulphur from wastes produced during the manufacture of alkali. The Widnes area had, at that time, the largest concentration of alkali works in the country and waste products were becoming a significant environmental problem.

Later, Ludwig Mond, along with John Brunner would go on to become a major alkali manufacturer at Winnington, Cheshire, using a new, more efficient and benign process and became very wealthy. Brunner, Mond and Company eventually formed a major part of the giant Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Robert himself also became a distinguished scientist, a scholar of ancient Egypt and an industrial chemist of some repute. In addition, he used his family’s wealth and connections for good causes and was very much a philanthropist.

Astronomy was one area of science that interested him greatly and in conjunction with Dr William J.S.Lockyer, son of the famous Sir Norman Lockyer, helped maintain the “Hill Observatory” at Sidmouth, Devon that had been established by Norman Lockyer in 1912. In 1932, Robert, now Sir Robert Mond, presented a unique astrographic instrument made by Cooke, Troughton & Simms to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and provided further funding for a professional observer to undertake research. The talk will describe and illustrate the many special features of this telescope and provide examples of its photographic observations from 1932 up until 1997 when film photography gave way to digital imaging. An on-going restoration and historical research project will also provide interesting insights into its heritage and possible future.

Subscriptions for 2016-2017 are now overdue and should have been paid by October 1st.
Please contact the Treasurer if you wish to become a member or update your subscription.

Adult Annual Subscription is  £15.00
Junior Members Subscription (10 to 17yrs)  is £5.00

The LAS e-newsletter is now included in your normal subscription cost

Free tea/coffee with light refreshments break will form part of the evening at about 8pm.

Please note – Doors will only open after 6.30pm and not before.

I do hope you can join me and your fellow members, but if you are unable to attend, please indicate your apologies to me by filling out this form.

With best wishes – Ken