Astronomy in Edinburgh
Sharing our love of astronomy with Edinburgh, the Lothians, UK and around the world, since 1924.
Come along to one of our meetings. Visitors are welcome to join us on our YouTube channel or in person at our physical meetings.
Stay involved and keep watching here, on Facebook and Twitter.
We aim to have something happening at least three times a month. The first Friday of each month will be a hybrid meeting at 7:30pm at the Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. This will also be broadcast on Zoom for ASE members and YouTube for visitors. Our second talk, sometime around the middle of the month, will just be on Zoom and YouTube.
We also have the monthly Imaging & Observing Group (IOG) meetings for ASE members on the Wednesday after the first monthly meeting.
If you want to get more involved in astronomy and learn together in our IOG, consider joining us. More information on our Membership page.
Observing forecast for Edinburgh
A green block indicates a clear sky, orange partially clear, red cloudy. Blue blocks show cloud level – darker blue is clearer. Click on the chart for hourly detail and ISS passes. Forecast provided by clearoutside.com
Main banner image: Iris Nebula, Eros Tang using ASERO telescope
Featured news
Scotland’s Sky in December 2023
Geminid meteors to impress as Halley’s Comet hits a milestone
17 November 2023 Meeting report
Thanks to Mary Mcintyre for stepping in at short notice. Fascinating and practical in equal measure, Mary’s talk was a wonderful insight into the natural world and our Universe.
Smart Telescopes: Compare, Contrast and Coexist?
Neil Martin presents a pragmatic comparison between two of the newest, and least expensive, smart telescopes available - the DWARFLAB DWARF II and the ZWO Seestar S50.
More news
3 November 2023 Meeting Report
An excellent talk from Dr Juan Hernández Santisteban from the University of St Andrews. Mark Phillips also told us about the Sky In November.
Free meteor cameras for High Schools – STEM project
We are involved in an outreach project with the Global Meteor Network (GMN), supplying free meteor camera kits to High Schools around the world. As part of our Centenary celebrations, we are giving kits away to Scottish High Schools. ONLY 1 LEFT!
20 October 2023 Meeting Report
We had an excellent talk from Mary McIntyre on the History of Women in Astronomy - Part 1. You can see the talk in the attached video and Part 2 will be on 16 February 2024.
Meeting Report 6 October 2023
A really fascinating talk by Dr Richard J Goodrich: Fear and Loathing in the Heavens: The 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet, plus the Sky in October and the results of the Image of the Quarter Competition
ASERO observes second outburst of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
In late July, ASE observers started to monitor Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, and were quick enough to catch the rapidly expanding explosion cloud, with its characteristic “notch”. ASE member Douglas Heggie reports on our observations.
Spacetime Distortion by the Neutrino
ASE member and amateur astrophysicist, Gareth Mayze has written a paper with his new theory using the neutrino to solve a number of the biggest gravitational mysteries. What do you think?
15 September 2023 Meeting Report
Nigel Goodman reports on an excellent talk by Charlie Bracken and Max Whitby on their attempt to create a single image of the entire night sky.
Members Night 8 September 2023 report
A really excellent Members Night with a wide-ranging selection of short talks from ASE members. Lazy and cheap astronomy, Neutrinos and galaxy rotation, Smartscopes, Great Melbourne Telescope, Ralph Copeland and the Sky in September.
Visit to the paradise of meteorites
Radim Stano tells us about his visit to the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien to see its meteorite collection. A great place to visit if you're in the area.
Image of the Quarter Competition winner, Apr – Jun 2023
Congratulations to Pat Clough, one of our remote members who lives in London, for his amazing image of a huge solar prominence. Well done to to everyone who entered - all images were really good.
Meeting Report Friday 7th July 2023
To start the meeting our Vice President Peter Black updated us on the upcoming Society programme. Peter also pointed out that our membership now stands at a very healthy 182. [...]
2 June 2023 Meeting Report
Prof. Andy Lawrence gave us a really interesting talk on 200 years of the history of astronomical imaging at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Jim Nisbet also covered the Sky in June and this was followed by an SGM and our AGM.
Ask an Astronomer
Is there something you always wanted to know about our universe?
How to observe a planet? Take a photo of the stars? Which telescope to buy? Why is space black? …
Well here’s your chance: just ask your question in the form and we’ll try and get back to you with an answer. The answer may just be: “we have no idea” – but that’s the beauty of astronomy!