The Annual General Meeting (AGM)was held on the 7th October. Traditionally, these are kept as short as possible and fortunately, this years event did not differ in this respect.
With the AGM completed we were able to settle down and enjoy a presentation dealing with the so called 'Messier Marathon'.
This is a 'fun' exercise for observational astronomers and is something that because of it's challenging nature, is seen as a 'Rite of Passage'.
There is a catalogue of 109 'Messier Objects' scattered across the night sky which come into view from dusk to dawn during a single evening. The challenge is (with the aid of a telescope or possibly, a simple pair of binoculars - together with hot drinks and warm clothing) to find and quickly view each object as they appear in the night sky.
The next meeting to be held as usual at the 'Friends Meeting House' in Granville Road, Clacton will be on 4th November. A presentation will be given on the subject of the 'Cassini - Huygens Mission'