CLUB EVENING
2026-04-20 19:00 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
A chance for Club members to socialise and give short talks on topics of interest. Talks will include: Lagrange Points, The Artemis Program and an update on what to observe in April and May.
Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start

SKEAKER EVENING, A TALK - 'DO JETS FROM SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES FLICKER' BY EMMA ELLEY, OXFORD PHYSICS DEPT
2026-05-18 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
Emma Elley is a DPhil student supervised by James Mathews, working on high resolution hydrodynamic simulations of jets from active galactic nuclei over kiloparsec scales.
Her work focuses on modelling radio synchrotron emission from radio galaxies with ‘flickering” jet power to understand whether this leads to observable features on scales of 10s of kpc. Further to this she studies the interaction of variability with magnetic field structures using relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations.
Her research interests are: Astrophysical Jets; Particle Acceleration; Active Galaxies and X-ray Binaries

CLUB EVENING
2026-06-15 19:00 - 21:30, 2026-08-17 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
A chance for Club members to socialise and give short talks on topics of interest.
Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start.

SPEAKER EVENING : A TALK ON WOLF-RAYET STARS by PAUL CROWTHER, PROFESSOR of ASTROPHYSICS, from the UNIVERSITY of SHEFFIELD
2026-07-20 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
Professor Paul Crowther is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield and is currently Vice President of the Royal Astronomical Society. Paul’s research involves the study of the birth, life and death of the most massive stars in the universe. Such stars are rare, but dominate the ionising budget of galaxies and the energetics of young stellar populations. Paul’s primary scientific goals involve the study of late evolutionary phases of massive stars, notably Wolf-Rayet stars. This is achieved via ultraviolet to infrared observations with large ground and space based telescopes (e.g. VLT, HST), plus sophisticated analysis tools.

Paul’s presentation will provide an overview of Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars. This class of objects was first identified in 1867 from the Paris Observatory and exhibit incredible emission line spectra, which permit their identification throughout the Milky Way and in external galaxies.They are now known to represent the final, hydrogen-poor stage in the evolution of the most massive stars, Paul will present a variety of phenomena exhibited by these very special stars.

VIEW THE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON 12 AUGUST WITH CNAAG
2026-08-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Rollright Stones, Chipping Norton, OX7 5QB
THE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE WED 12TH AUGUST 6.10pm until sunset

Unfortunately, due to a clash of events, CNAAG are only able to provide limited opportunities for members of the public to view this remarkable phenomena.

However, we will have a very small team up at The Rollright Stones from 6pm in the King’s Stone field to the north of the road. The Stones would be busy on a lovely summer’s evening anyway but with the eclipse there may be even more people on site than usual but CNAAG members will do their best to offer views through filtered telescopes and will also have eclipse glasses to borrow.

As an alternatives, CNAAG member, John, will be in the school car park in Enstone from 6pm (entrance off Lidstone Road) but it will only be him and a couple of scopes. One of these sets ups is ideal for very young children to view the eclipse. He will also have some eclipse glasses to pass round. Also, CNAAG member, Tony, will be with a small group at the Milton under Wychwood allotment site (off Church Road) with similar facilities to John.

At all locations, maximum coverage of over 90% will be at approximately 7.10pm but viewing anytime from 6.50pm to 7.30 will offer a striking view.

WARNING: Due to reduced light levels, it might be tempting to think that sunglasses or other ‘diy’ filters might be safe to use for this event but they are not. Please only use certified eclipse glasses.

SPEAKER EVENING - A TALK ON FLORIDA'S WINTER SKY PARTY BY MARK RADICE
2026-09-21 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
Although not a professional scientist, Mark enjoys understanding the intricacies of the universe and what can be seen through an amateur telescope.

He recognises that not everyone has access to a telescope and so join him to explore the lunar surface, visit the planets in our solar system and travel through the Milky Way to distant galaxies – all with a cup of tea or coffee !. Mark writes for Astronomy Now (the UK’s leading astronomy
magazine) and was shortlisted for the 2021 AstroPhotography of the Year competition. When not observing from his garden observatory, he enjoys visiting dark skies in the UK and overseas.

This presentation describes the best week of observing he has ever experienced. Join this presentation for a week under tropical skies with a large Dobsonian and portable refractor as we leave rainy England for Florida’s Winter Star Party.

CLUB NIGHT
2026-10-19 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
A chance for members to give short talks on their areas of interest, swap or sell equipment and generally socialise.
Held in the Methodist Hall Chipping Norton, doors open at 7 for a 7.30pm start.

SPEAKER EVENING - ASTRONOMY, PROFESSIONALISATION and the HERSCHEL FAMILY - Dr EMILY WINTERBURN
2026-11-16 19:00 - 21:30 | Methodist Hall Chipping Norton / Zoom
This talk will look at the astronomical lives of three generations of Herschels and how astronomy changed in that time. The story begins with William and Caroline, discoverer of the planet Uranus and first woman to be published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society respectively. Next comes William’s son John, described by some as the archetype for what a Victorian man of science should be. And then there are John’s children, each finding different ways to make their name in science in a world that had changed dramatically since their grandfather’s time.

Doors open 7pm for a 7.30 start
Methodist Hall, Chipping Norton

CHRISTMAS TALK AND BUFFET
2026-12-14 19:00 - 21:30 | Long Compton Village Hall
This year the Christmas talk will be given by CNAAG Founder Robin Smitten. It promises to be an entertaining evening.
This is a members only event.
Long Compton Village hall 7 for 7.30pm start.
