Society for Popular Astronomy meeting - October 2026

Everyone is welcome to join the members of the Society for Popular Astronomy at this one of their regular meetings. Enjoy a presentation on an astronomical topic and learn what’s coming up in the night sky over the next month.

The main speaker is Dr Farzana Meru, on The Birth of Planets. How did our Solar System planets form? Is our Solar System unique? We are living in exciting times where we are seeing spectacularly detailed images of planet-forming discs. These are giving us clues on how and when planets form, and have completely revolutionised what we know about planet formation.

In this talk Farzana Meru, of the University of Warwick, presents what we know about how planets may form and evolve in their parent disc. She will also show how observations combined with state-of-the-art simulations of planet-forming discs are enabling us to make leaps and bounds of progress in understanding planetary formation and evolution.

Following this, and after a break, Robin Scagell will describe what’s in the sky for the next three months, then Mary McIntyre will talk about Reflection, Refraction & Excitation: The Hunt For Atmospheric Optics. We get a lot of cloud in the UK and as astronomers this can be frustrating. However, there is so much beauty in the atmospheric optical effects associated with certain cloud types. This talk is all about rainbows, haloes, arcs, sundogs, etc – how they form and where to see them. It will also touch on noctilucent clouds and aurorae. Once you know what you’re looking for you will be amazed at how often you spot things!

Both members of the SPA and BAA welcome as well as non-members. Free entry.

Please see the Society for Popular Astronomy website for details on how to join their group, annual membership for an adult is under £30!