Astronomical Society of Edinburgh
Annual Report for 2009
Editor's note: The official version of the Annual Report is the PDF version (230 kByte) with pages numbered 5 to 20.
Trustees' annual report for the period 1 Jan. to 31 Dec. 2009
Reference and administration details
- Charity name: The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh
- Registered charity number: SC022968
- Principal address: c/o Graham Rule, Secretary of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh, 105/19 Causewayside, Edinburgh, EH9 1QG
| trustee name | office (if any) | dates acted | appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr Horst Meyerdierks | President | from 1 April | AGM |
| 2 | Mr Graham Rule | Secretary | whole year | AGM |
| 3 | Mr Alan Ellis | Treasurer | whole year | AGM |
| 4 | Mr Iain McEachran | Vice-President | from 1 April | AGM |
| 5 | Ms Rachel Thomas | Vice-President | from 1 April | AGM |
| 6 | Mr Daniel Gallacher | from 1 April | AGM | |
| 7 | Mr Frank Howie | whole year | AGM | |
| 8 | Mr Peter Mulholland | whole year | AGM | |
| 9 | Mr David Small | whole year | AGM | |
| 10 | Mr Kenneth Thomas | from 1 April | AGM | |
| 11 | Mr Vincent Balfour | from 3 April | Council |
| name | office (if any) | dates acted | appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Iain McEachran | President | to 31 March | AGM |
| Mr Daniel Gallacher | Vice-President | to 31 March | AGM |
| Mr Kenneth Thomas | Vice-President | to 31 March | AGM |
| Mr Des Loughney | to 31 March | AGM | |
| Dr Horst Meyerdierks | to 31 March | AGM | |
| Ms Rachel Thomas | to 31 March | AGM |
Structure, governance and management
The Society is an unincorporated association founded (as the Edinburgh Astronomical Association) in 1924 and is governed by a Constitution most recently modified on 13 January 1995. The Constitution may be referred to on the Society's web site at http://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/constitution.
The Management of the Society is vested in a Council, elected from the Ordinary Membership of the Society at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). In the event of any vacancy arising in the Council, the Council has power to co-opt a Member of the Society to fill such a vacancy.
The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh Trustees
A former Vice-President of the Society, Mr John Henry Lorimer RSA, left a substantial bequest to the Society when he died in 1936. This bequest has been assigned to "The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh Trustees" and is managed by them under conditions set forth in a Deed of Trust granted in favour of Rev Dr James Patrick DD BSc and others, dated 10 December 1937.
The following are the trustees in terms of that deed:
- Mr Alan Pickup FRAS (Secretary and Treasurer)
- Mr Raymond Fenoulhet
- Dr David Gavine FRAS
- Mr Jim Nisbet
- Dr John Rostron
All of the above trustees are past Presidents and Members of the Society.
Astronomical Society of Edinburgh Trust is registered Scottish Charity SC013921.
Objectives and activities
Clause 1 of the Constitution is:
The name of the Society shall be "The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh" and its objects shall be to advance the education of the public about the science of Astronomy and to promote astronomical research chiefly in Edinburgh and its neighbourhood. In furtherance thereof:
- (a) to circulate information on astronomical matters by the publication of articles, books etc.;
- (b) to encourage astronomical study and observation; and
- (c) to increase popular interest in astronomy.
The Society continues to hold meetings throughout the year with educational talks on different aspects of astronomy. Practical observing has always been encouraged by the Society, with some members contributing to nationally coordinated observing programmes (through the British Astronomical Association), some producing interesting images to show at our meetings, and others supporting public observing for members and visitors alike.
Following an initiative of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO, the United Nations proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The Society supports this initiative. In addition to placing its monthly meetings under the IYA banner, it participated in several outreach activities during the year.
Achievements and performance
Membership
On 31 December 2009, the membership of the Society was 58 of which six were honorary members. Honorary members are Dr H. Ford MBE, Dr D. Gavine, Dr N. Grubb, and Prof D. Heggie. The Honorary Presidents are Prof Andy Lawrence BSc PhD FRAS FRSE (Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh) and Prof John Brown BSc PhD DSc FRSE FRAS (Astronomer Royal for Scotland).
Meetings
The Council of the Society met on 16 January, 13 February, 3 April, and 14 August 2009. The Annual General Meeting was held on 13 March 2009. Nine Ordinary Meetings with educational talks on different aspects of astronomy were held; see "Optional information" for details.
Publications
Editions 59, 60 and 61 of the Society's Journal were published in 2009 under the editorship of Horst Meyerdierks. Members are encouraged to obtain their copy of the Journal from the Society's website, but paper copies are also available to members who prefer these. Paper copies are also sent to the Legal Deposit Libraries. International Standard Serial Numbers have been issued for both online and paper versions of the Journal:
- web: ISSN 1756-5111
- print: ISSN 1756-5103
The online version is available to the public at http://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/publications/journals.
Members are issued with the latest edition of the Federation of Astronomical Societies' "Astrocalendar" on payment of their subscription to the Society.
The City Observatory
In January 2009, the Society's Council decided that the City Observatory was no longer a suitable venue for our monthly meetings and that we would cease to occupy the City Observatory. During February and March 2009, the premises were vacated and assets of any notable value transferred to storage. Books and telescopes were moved to storage. Some magazines were given to interested members. Old issues of the Journal of the British Astronomical Association are held and will be posted to said Association. The remaining magazines and obsolete and deprecated equipment were disposed of.
The accounts reflect a change in spending. The cost of running the Observatory is much reduced in 2009 and will be zero in future years. On the other hand, we now have to hire storage and the venue for meetings. It is intended to sell part of the books and some other stored items. This will provide some further income in the short term and will reduce storage cost for the long run.
Observing, International Year of Astronomy, etc.
An arrangement has been made with a local organisation, which allows our members the use of a Dark Skies site. Members are being required to pay a deposit for keys to this site.
The Society held public observing sessions during the periods allocated by the International Year of Astronomy to the spring and autumn Moon watches. The autumn Moon watch was organised jointly with the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and on one evening also with the City of Edinburgh.
The Society participated in a 3-day festival "John Muir Odyssey", held by the Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick, which focussed on environment and outdoor pursuits and was part of the Homecoming Scotland events. In addition to a stand offering handouts and fielding questions, on two days we were able to show the Sun in Hα light, the planet Venus in the daytime sky, and the Moon.
A few members of the Society provided minor assistance - IT and operating a telescope - to an event in the Edinburgh Science Festival, which was organised by Lorna McCalman, Charlie Gleed, and Prof John Brown, who are members of the Society.
The Scottish Solar System (http://www.scottishsolarsystem.org.uk) has assigned the minor planet (153) Hilda to the Society.
Financial review
Similarly to last year, and as expected, the Society has incurred a high deficit of £2,530 on our income and expenditure statement. This is not as dire as would at first sight appear. In keeping with previous years, our decision last year was to continue with the policy to defer receiving the interest accrued on investments held by the Trust. The deferred income due to the Society has instead been invested by the Trust on the ASE's behalf in dedicated investment bonds which have yielded a far higher rate than the ASE has been able secure in the past.
As a result, it is estimated that a backlog of around £7,500 has accrued over the five-year period since interest was last paid to the Society.
However, for the first time since 2005, we will be requesting from the Trust additional funds for 2010.
Our expenditure for some areas has increased this year whereas other areas have decreased. Overall, there has been a net increase in expenditure this year compared to previous years. The reasons for this are the high storage costs amounting to £1400 for the year to 26th March 2010 and secondly due to the cost of meeting room hire at £490 for 2009. During 2010, our estimated storage costs are expected to drop to £927 per annum as we reduce the storage space requirements taken up by the Lorimer chairs from the Playfair Building along with other bulky items. The cost of room hire is expected to be around £850 per annum.
On the other side, all costs associated with the Observatory, mainly electricity and some of the Observatory vandalism repairs have now reduced to zero. In addition to this, our contents and public liability insurance has now decreased significantly from £657 in 2008 to £359 in 2009 due to migration away from Royal Sun Alliance to a policy provided by the storage company and with public liability insurance now being provided by the Federation of Astronomical Societies. It is expected the total insurance costs will reduce in 2010 to no more than £220.
Optional information
Meetings and events
| January | 9th | Special discussion meeting on the future of the Society and the venue for meetings |
| February | 6th | Graham Rule - Astronomical Society of Edinburgh The history of ASE |
| March | 13th | Annual General Meeting followed by a presentation by Angus Self on Meteorites |
| 27th | Observing session at the dark site | |
| 28th to 31st |
IYA 2009 spring Moon watch at the City Observatory | |
| April | 1st to 2nd |
IYA 2009 spring Moon watch on Calton Hill |
| 3rd | Eyes on the skies - 400 years of telescopic discovery a movie for the International Year of Astronomy | |
| May | 1st | Prof Andy Taylor - Royal Observatory Edinburgh The dark side of cosmology |
| 2nd to 4th |
Stall and telescopes to observe the Sun and Venus at the John Muir Odyssey festival in North Berwick | |
| June | 5th | Dr John Davies - Royal Observatory Edinburgh Runaway rockets and other space exploration disasters |
| July | 3rd | Dr Rachel Gilmour - European Southern Observatory A night in the life of the Very Large Telescope |
| October | 2nd | Dr Lyndsay Fletcher - University of Glasgow Sunspots - where do they come from and where have they gone? |
| 28th | IYA 2009 autumn Moon watch at Our Dynamic Earth | |
| 31st | IYA 2009 autumn Moon watch at the City Observatory | |
| November | 6th | Dr Catherine Smith Robert Burns and astronomy |
| December | 4th | Douglas Cooper - Stirling Astronomical Society Imaging the night sky |
Electronic communication
The Society's website may be found at http://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/.
Email contact addresses have also been set up for some Society Officers:
- president @ astronomyedinburgh.org
- secretary @ astronomyedinburgh.org
- treasurer @ astronomyedinburgh.org
Full details of the Society's activities and information about how to join are on the website.
Acknowledgments
The Council wishes to thank
- Alan Pickup for presenting the "Monthly Sky Map" talk to the Society whenever he was available;
- Horst Meyerdierks not only for editing, but also for all his work in producing, distributing and to some extent, writing, the Journal;
- those Society members who helped with vacating the City Observatory during February and March 2009;
- those Society members who gave their time and effort for the Moon watch events and our presence at the John Muir Odyssey;
- The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh Trustees for asset management;
- the Royal Observatory Edinburgh for providing web space and email forwarding;
- Adrian Townsend for carrying out the external examination of the 2008 accounts at very short notice;
- the Melting Pot and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh for providing facilities for Council Meetings;
- the Augustine United Church, the Society's regular meeting venue;
- the Scottish Seabird Centre, the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, and the City of Edinburgh for their co-operation in holding some of the events.
Declaration
The trustees' annual report presented on pages 5 to 11 was approved by the Council of The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh (the trustees of the charity).
Receipts and payments accounts
Statement of receipts and payments
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | expen- dable endow- ment funds | perma- nent endow- ment funds | total funds current period | total funds last period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ |
| Donations | 883 | 883 | 1,524 | |||
| Legacies | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Grants | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Receipts from fundraising activities | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Gross trading receipts | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Income from investments other than land and buildings | 5 | 5 | 33 | |||
| Rents from land and buildings | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Gross receipts from other charitable activities | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| A1 sub total | 891 | 891 | 1,556 | |||
| A2 Receipts from asset and investment sales | ||||||
| Proceeds from sale of fixed assets | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Proceeds from sale of investment | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| A2 sub total | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total receipts | 891 | 891 | 1,556 | |||
| A3 Payments | ||||||
| Expenses from fundraising activities | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Gross trading payments | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Investment management costs | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Payments relating directly to charitable activities | 3,422 | 3,422 | 2,689 | |||
| Grants and donations | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Governance costs | ||||||
| Independent examination | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Preparation of annual accounts | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Legal costs | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| A3 sub total | 3,422 | 3,422 | 2,689 | |||
| A4 Payments relating to asset and investment movements | ||||||
| Purchase of fixed assets | 0 | 0 | 563 | |||
| Purchase of investment | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| A4 sub total | 0 | 0 | 563 | |||
| Total payments | 3,422 | 3,422 | 3,252 | |||
| Net receipts minus payments | -2,530 | -2,530 | -1,696 | |||
| A5 Transfers to funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Deficit for year | -2,530 | -2,530 | -1,696 |
Statement of balances
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | expen- dable endow- ment funds | perma- nent endow- ment funds | total current period | total last period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Cash funds | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ |
| Cash and bank balances at start of year | 5,087 | 5,087 | 6,839 | |||
| Liabilities for previous year | 0 | 0 | -57 | |||
| Surplus (negative: deficit) shown on receipts and payments account | -2,530 | -2,530 | -1,696 | |||
| Cash and bank balances at end of year | 2,557 | 2,557 | 5,087 | |||
| fund to which asset belongs | market valuation | last year | ||||
| B2 Investments | nearest £ | nearest £ | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | ||||
| fund to which asset belongs | cost (if avail- able) | current value (if avail- able) | last year | |||
| B3 Other assets | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | |||
| furniture | unrestricted | 600 | 600 | |||
| paintings, sculptures, etc. | unrestricted | |||||
| books | unrestricted | 30,000 | 30,000 | |||
| telescopes, eyepieces, tripods, etc. | unrestricted | |||||
| projector, printer, etc. | unrestricted | 479 | 479 | |||
| Total | 479 | 30,600 | 31,079 | |||
| fund to which liability relates | amount due | last year | ||||
| B4 Liabilities | nearest £ | nearest £ | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | ||||
| fund to which liability relates | amount due (estimate) | last year | ||||
| B5 Contingent liabilities | nearest £ | nearest £ | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | ||||
Notes to the accounts
- C1: All funds are unrestricted, i.e. available for any of the Society's purposes.
- C2: No grants were made.
- C3: No remuneration was paid to any trustee (Council member) of the Society, nor to any person connected to a trustee of the Society.
- C4: Trustee expenses:
- Speaker hospitality, reimbursed to Graham Rule, £45.
- C5: There were no transactions with trustees or connected persons.
Additional analysis
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | expen- dable endow- ment funds | perma- nent endow- ment funds | total current period | total last period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Donations | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ |
| ASE annual subscriptions | 743 | 743 | 1,237 | |||
| Other donations | 8 | 8 | 141 | |||
| Gift Aid | 132 | 132 | 146 | |||
| Total | 883 | 883 | 1,524 | |||
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | total current period | total last period | |||
| 2 Grants | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | expen- dable endow- ment funds | perma- nent endow- ment funds | total current period | total last period | |
| 3 Gross receipts from other charitable activities | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ |
| Dark site key deposit | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| ASE badge sale | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| unre- stricted funds | re- stricted funds | expen- dable endow- ment funds | perma- nent endow- ment funds | total current period | total last period | |
| 4 Payments relating directly to charitable activities | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ | nearest £ |
| Meeting expenses | 620 | 620 | 429 | |||
| Travel expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Library | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Magazines and subscription | 0 | 0 | 166 | |||
| Memberships and affiliations | 0 | 0 | 57 | |||
| Communications, including Journal | 547 | 547 | 96 | |||
| Dark sky site | 140 | 140 | 0 | |||
| Astrocalendars | 75 | 75 | 149 | |||
| Equipment | 12 | 12 | 0 | |||
| Storage rental | 1,408 | 1,408 | 0 | |||
| Insurance | 359 | 359 | 657 | |||
| Observatory migration | 107 | 107 | 0 | |||
| Electricity | 112 | 112 | 498 | |||
| Gas | 43 | 43 | 11 | |||
| Phone | 0 | 0 | 256 | |||
| Observatory travel expenses | 0 | 0 | 42 | |||
| Observatory repairs | 0 | 0 | 328 | |||
| Total | 3,422 | 3,422 | 2,689 | |||
See the analysis table on pages 16 to 17.
- D1: ASE annual subscriptions
These are considerably lower this year (£743) compared to last year's unusually high figure (£1,237). The reason is that during 2008 many people paid late due to lack of reminder being sent. Hence the figure for 2008 contains subscriptions for both 2008 and a large proportion of 2007. Annual subscriptions are now our main source of income excluding the income from the ASE Trust. - D2: Meeting expenses
Meeting expenses include room hire, speaker's hospitality and expenses. This is higher than last year mainly due to the cost of room hire but offset due to reduced speaker's hospitality requirements in 2009 compared to previous years. - D3: Magazines and subscription
Due to the lack of library facilities the Society has cancelled subscriptions to astronomical magazines from previous years e.g. Sky & Telescope, BBC Sky at Night, Astronomy Now and Practical Astronomer. - D4: Membership and affiliations
Currently, the only affiliation the Society has currently is the Federation of Astronomical Societies. The FAS has now changed its membership year and therefore no payment was required in 2009. - D5: Communications, including Journal
The large increase in cost of communications during 2009 was due mainly to the purchase of long-life toner for the Society's laser printer (£235) and also the renewal of the Society's 'Internet Domain Name' for a period of 8 years (£98). Other costs were Postage, stationery and Skype renewal (12 months). - D6: Dark Sky Site
Payment for November 2009 to November 2010 for the Society's use of the Dark Sky site at the West Calder Model Flying Club. - D7: Astrocalendars
The cost of Astrocalendars for the 2009/2010 session has been reduced by half resulting from a price reduction from the FAS. All ASE members receive an Astrocalendar on payment of annual subscription. - D8: Equipment
A padlock was purchased for the rented storage unit at 'Safestore'. - D9: Storage rental
Storage rental in 2009 was by far the largest item of expenditure to the Society. The cost of £1,408 is for 75 square feet for a period of one year. For 2010, we will be reducing the storage requirements to 35 square feet due mainly to transfer of thirteen Lorimer chairs formerly in the Playfair Building Library to Lorimer's ancestral home of Kellie Castle in Fife. An estimate of £927 per annum prior to any discount has been quoted by the same storage company 'Safestore'. - D10: Insurance
Contents and public liability insurance was previously with Royal Sun Alliance and this cost £657 per annum in 2008. The Royal Sun Alliance policy was cancelled in March 2009. The contents insurance is now with the storage company 'Safestore' (£187) and the public liability insurance (£28) is with the Federation of Astronomical Societies. - D11: Observatory migration
These costs are associated with one-off packaging required for removal of the ASE's assets to storage. Storage containers and bubble-wrap specifically. - D12: Electricity
Observatory electricity final bill up to the end of January 2009. - D13: Gas
Observatory gas final bill up to the end of January 2009.
Declaration
The receipts and payments accounts presented on pages 12 to 19 were approved by the Council of The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh (the trustees of the charity).
Independent examiner's report to the Council of
The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh
Editor's note: Due to extraordinary workload, the independent examiner did not complete the examination before the Journal going to press. In the circumstances, and to comply with the constitutional notice period for the Annual General Meeting and the distribution of the statement of accounts, this Journal is sent out without the examiner's report. The report will be tabled at the Annual General Meeting.
