Chance to captureplanets on camera

Mary, from Oxfordshire, will be to giving the talk on basic Astrophotography when East Sussex Astronomical Society meets on June 2 at Egerton Park Indoor Bowls Club, in Bexhill.

The presentation will cover the basics of which camera settings you need to use and how to focus correctly as well as how to shoot widefield images of constellations and conjunctions.

She will also talk about how to shoot star trails, with a zoom lens and attaching a camera to a telescope, as well as how to shoot lunar and solar images through a telescope and how to shoot deep sky images through a telescope.

Mary will be using photos throughout the whole talk to show people what kind of results they can expect to get with different equipment.

Mary had her head in astronomy books before she could even read and got her first telescope when she was just 11 years old.

She took over the running of the UK Women in Astronomy Network.

The talk, on June 2, starts at 8pm.

Society chairman Andy Lawes said: “Mars The Red Planet is approaching to its closest point to Earth for 11 years offering a rare chance for astronomy fans to get a great look at the Martian features.

“On May 30, Mars will be 47.2 million miles from our planet and will remain close and bright for the first two weeks of June.

“The planet will be visible for much of the night if the skies are clear and can be seen without a telescope, its red hue against the night sky shines brightly in the South East. Those with a moderate sized telescope may be able to make out some fascinating features on the planet.

“At its furthest, the distance between Earth and Mars can reach up to 250 million miles but the closest was in August 2003, when the two planets were just 35 million miles apart.

“If you missed that chance to see it, it will be another 300 years before the planets get that close again.”

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