Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club

Home
United Kingdom
Dalgety Bay, Scotland
Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club

Directions Website

✨ 𝙀𝙓𝙋𝙇𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙀 𝙏𝙊𝙂𝙀𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 ✨ Welcome to Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club, where the wonders of the universe come alive!

Whether you're a seasoned stargazer or just starting your cosmic journey, our club offers a celestial sanctuary for all astronomy enthusiasts. Join us as we embark on a captivating exploration of the cosmos, delving into the mysteries of distant galaxies, the beauty of celestial objects, and the awe-inspiring phenomena that shape our universe. Together, we'll peer through telescopes, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and unravel the secrets of the night sky. With a community of passionate astronomers and a wealth of astronomical knowledge, Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club invites you to discover the wonders of space, fostering a sense of curiosity, awe, and connection to the vastness beyond our world. Our regular meetings are on the 4th Tuesday of the month (Jan-May, Sep-Nov) and the 2nd Tuesday (Dec), at the Kabin, Dalgety Bay. Meetings usually start at 7.30pm, but occasionally vary. Sometimes we have additional meetings at other locations.

04/11/2026

✨🥂 GET READY for a VERY special evening at Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club! 🥂✨

We are absolutely honoured to welcome Professor Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, to Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club on Tuesday 24th November for what promises to be a fascinating and very special evening.

Professor Heymans will be presenting:

‘How To Design A Universe: The Science Between Real & Virtual Worlds’

This is also the title of Catherine’s newly released book, which explores the incredible science behind our understanding of the Universe and the fascinating relationship between the real and virtual worlds.

There will be an opportunity to purchase a copy of the book on the evening for £20, (Cash only) with all royalties going to the Royal Observatory Trust, supporting youth astronomy projects across Scotland.

And that’s not all! Professor Heymans will also be staying after her talk for a special book signing, giving attendees the opportunity to meet her and get their copies signed.

⭐ A SPECIAL 20-YEAR CELEBRATION

This event is particularly special for our club as we celebrate 20 years of Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club. What better way to mark this milestone than by welcoming one of Scotland’s leading astronomers to share her knowledge and passion for the Universe with us!

We are incredibly excited about this one and look forward to welcoming members and guests for an unforgettable evening of astronomy, science and celebration!

Venue - The Kabin, Moray Way, Dalgety Bay, KY11 9UZ

Time: 7:30pm Start, doors open 7pm.

Entry - FREE for club members - £2 for non-members. (Non-members E-tickets can be purchased via our website, or we also accept cash on the night)

NEW members are more than welcome! Come join our amazing community, checkout our membership options on the website:

www.dalgetybayastro.co.uk

29/10/2026

You can send your name aboard NASA’s Dragon Fly mission to Saturns largest Moon, Titan! Follow the link below and get your personalised boarding pass!

https://my.nasa.gov/specialevents/s/send-your-name-with-dragonfly

29/10/2026

A NEW DWARF PLANET CANDIDATE BEYOND PLUTO!

Exciting news from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory! Scientists have discovered a distant object in the outer reaches of our Solar System that could become our next officially recognised dwarf planet.

Provisionally named 2026 ED138, this icy world orbits beyond Neptune, approximately 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth. Early estimates suggest it could be between 600 and 1,500 km across, potentially making it one of the largest dwarf planet candidates found in this distant region!

The discovery is particularly exciting because ED138 was hiding among millions of stars in a crowded region of the Milky Way. Rubin’s powerful telescope and sophisticated data analysis helped scientists spot it.

The important caveat? Further observations are needed to confirm its exact size and whether it officially qualifies as a dwarf planet.

With Rubin only just beginning its ambitious survey of the night sky, could this be the first of many new worlds waiting to be discovered?

The Solar System still has plenty of secrets to reveal!

28/10/2026

✨🎉EXCITING NEWS FOR DALGETY BAY ASTRONOMY CLUB! 🎉✨

We’re absolutely delighted to share some fantastic news! DWARF LAB have reached out to us and offered their support to our club, including supplying us with a Dwarf Mini smart telescope! 🔭

This is a huge boost for our club and a really exciting step forward for our growing our astrophotography community.

The Dwarf Mini is the worlds smallest smart telescope - but don’t be fooled by its size! It is such an impressive and powerful unit. Weighing only 840g, it’s extremely lightweight & portable. It’s has a build in IMX662 sensor & various filters for capturing a wide-range of targets from galaxies to deep-space nebula and even a built in solar filter to capture details on the Sun. In EQ mode can achieve up to an impressive 90 second exposure and with a built in telephoto lens - you can also capture the likes of, Milky Way, night-scapes & star-trails etc

The Dwarf Mini will be available for members to use at our Astrophotography Division meetings, giving us even more opportunities to explore, learn from one another and capture the wonders of the night sky. It will also really help us expand our public outreach events, allowing us to share the excitement of astronomy and astrophotography with even more people in our local community.

And there’s more! 🎉 As part of our partnership with DwarfLab club members will also benefit from discounts on DwarfLab products, while the club will receive commission on purchases made through our partnership. This means members can save money on some fantastic astronomy equipment while also helping support the continued growth and activities of our club. It’s a real win-win!

What makes this especially exciting is that the DwarfLab team are genuinely enthusiastic about what we’re doing at the club and the work we’re putting into growing our astrophotography community. Knowing that a company like DwarfLab recognises what we’re building and wants to be part of that journey means a great deal to us.

We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with DwarfLab and incredibly grateful for their support. Partnerships like this can make a real difference to a community club, helping us open up new opportunities for our members, expand our outreach and inspire more people to look up at the night sky.

A huge thank you to the team at DwarfLab for reaching out to us and believing in what we’re doing. We’re so excited about what lies ahead and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together!

We’ll keep you posted with more news on our partnership with DwarfLab soon! ✨

27/10/2026

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE ⚠️

Sadly we are having to CANCEL tonight’s event as our guest speaker can no longer attend.

We did reach out to a few other speakers but sadly they were not available to fill in last minute and with the pretty awful weather out there too, we feel it’s best to cancel tonight’s meeting and give everyone plenty notice.

For anyone who purchased non-members tickets via the website we will contact you & issue a refund as soon as possible.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused and we look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting!

✨ DBAC Committee ✨

26/10/2026

This striking selfie of the Rosetta spacecraft was taken on October 7, 2014. At that moment the comet-chasing probe was roughly 293 million miles from Earth, yet just 10 miles from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Beyond the spacecraft, near the top of the frame, streams of dust and gas rise from the comet’s distinctive double-lobed nucleus. Sunlight brightly reflects off one of Rosetta’s 46-foot-long solar arrays.

The dramatic high-contrast image was created by combining two exposures—one short and one long—using the CIVA camera system aboard the Philae lander, which was still attached to Rosetta. Philae’s primary landing site lay on the visible side of the smaller lobe of the nucleus.

This photograph was the final image captured by Philae’s camera before the lander separated from the orbiter on November 12. Shortly after detachment, Philae snapped one more picture looking back at Rosetta as it began its descent toward the comet’s surface.

25/10/2026

Tonight’s Full Hunter’s Moon!

Look to the skies tonight for October’s full Moon, traditionally known as the Hunter’s Moon. If the skies are clear where you are, it’s a great opportunity to get outside, enjoy the view and perhaps capture a few lunar photos!

📸 We’d love to see your pictures! Whether you’re using a telescope, a camera or simply your mobile phone, share your photos in the comments below and let’s see how the Hunter’s Moon looks from across our community!

Clear skies, everyone! 🌕🔭

24/10/2026

💨 Storm Boelo is about to hit us here in Scotland later today with strong winds and heavy rain - the Met Office has warned of widespread gusts of 55–65 mph and up to 70–80 mph in exposed coastal and high ground areas, especially across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

That’s serious weather by Earth standards: enough to bring down trees, disrupt travel and cause power cuts. But how does it stack up against the rest of our solar system?

Earth’s wind speeds in context
Our strongest recorded winds (in extreme tornadoes) reach around 250–300 mph. Everyday storms and even powerful hurricanes stay well below that. Storm Boelo’s peak gusts of 80 mph are impressive and disruptive here on the ground, but they’re a gentle breeze compared with what other planets dish out.

A quick tour of the solar system’s winds:

• Venus – Thick atmosphere with cloud-level winds that can hit 250 mph (super-rotating much faster than the planet itself).

• Mars – Thin air means winds usually stay under 60 mph, though dust storms can kick things up a bit.

• Jupiter – The Great Red Spot has winds of a few hundred mph.

• Saturn – Equatorial winds roar at around 1,000–1,100 mph.

• Uranus – Winds can reach 500+ mph.

• Neptune – Holds the solar system record: sustained winds exceeding 1,200 mph (over 2,000 km/h), with some measurements even higher. That’s several times faster than Earth’s most violent storms — and this on a world that receives only a tiny fraction of the sunlight we get.

Next time the wind howls outside (or you’re checking on Storm Boelo updates), remember: our “wild” weather is mild by planetary standards. The gas and ice giants really know how to put on a show.

Stay safe if you’re in the affected areas, and hopefully we’ll return to calm, clear skies soon!

19/10/2026

JAXA’s Mission to Martian Moons:

An exciting new chapter in space exploration is about to begin! Japan’s space agency, JAXA, is preparing to launch its ambitious Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which aims to bring samples from one of Mars’ mysterious moons back to Earth for the very first time.

The launch is scheduled for 19 October, 8:41pm UK time, aboard Japan’s H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center.

So, what is MMX going to do?

Explore Phobos: The spacecraft will study Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two small moons, investigating its surface, composition and structure.

Deploy a rover: The European-built Idefix rover will explore the moon’s surface and help scientists understand this strange, little-known world.

Bring samples home: MMX aims to collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos and return it to Earth in 2031.
Investigate Deimos too: The mission will also observe Mars’ smaller, more distant moon, Deimos, on its journey home.

Why does this matter?

Scientists still don’t know whether Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids or formed from debris created by a massive impact on Mars. Analysing samples in laboratories on Earth could finally help answer that question, revealing clues about the history of Mars and the formation of our Solar System.

The mission is expected to last around five years and will build on Japan’s impressive track record of returning samples from asteroids.

It’s a remarkable reminder that space exploration isn’t just about visiting new worlds - sometimes, the biggest discoveries come from bringing a little piece of them home!

Will MMX finally solve the mystery of Mars’ two moons?

Address

The Kabin, Moray Way South
Dalgety Bay
KY119UZ

Website

http://www.dalgetybayastro.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.