Welcome to the CDAA
Welcome to the Clacton and District Astronomical Association web site. We are a small informal group, meeting on the first Thursday of the month. CDAA is the only Astronomical Society serving the Tendring and Colchester districts.
Monthly Meetings
These meetings are held at "Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST)" 22, Rosemary Road, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1NZ at 7.30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (except August). Access is only from the free rear car park (Imperial House Car Park) in Beach Road. The meetings conclude at 9.30 p.m. Find our Meeting Hall
In addition to the main events, there are also Monthly 'Night Sky' , 'Astro-News' presentations, Seasonal Constellations and a regular raffle.
We are a friendly bunch of amateurs where new members and visitors are always warmly welcomed. Annual membership is currently £15 adults, £6 juniors (under 18 years of age). This covers admission to all of the monthly meetings
Please note that although visitors are very welcome, they are charged an entry fee of £2.00
Outreach
As part of the lottery funded 'Outreach' programme, we offer speakers for local clubs, societies and schools. A small fee may be required to cover travel expences etc. Click the 'Contacts' tab to get in touch with an appropriate representative of our society. Outreach activities are outlined by clicking the 'Events' tab.
Find out more...
Our club secretary David Pugh, should be able to answer most queries about the Association itself, whereas I, Bob Leon can answer questions relating to the web site.
Data Protection Declaration Details
Please note that information given by members to the CDAA (such as email addresses) will not be used for any other purpose than that of providing a means of contact.
Once more, a year after his last visit, we have our Special Guest Speaker Jerry Workman. He will be presenting images of the most recent solar eclipse that he went to see. He will tell of where he went to see it and how it was observed safely.
Our Secretary David Pugh will give a presentation to discuss the contributions made by women to the subject of Astronomy. So often their independant dicoveries were over-shadowed and atributed to the men leading the projects. David wants to shine a light on those forgotten women.
Our Special Guest Speaker will lead a discussion about the Planets of the Inner Solar System. It should allow us to see just how different (or similar) the Earth is compared to our nearest neighbours. There will be significant differences, the length of days, length of years atmospheres and other properties to those of Earth
Our Special Guest Speaker will give a presentation of the history of the Universe from its beginning (The Big Bang) to one of the many ways it will end (e.g. A Big Rip). On the way he will descrribe the many advances in the history of astronomical studies that led to these conclusions.
Roger will give the second and final part of his excellent 'History of the Telescope'. In Part I there had been descriptions of a number of telescopes that many of us had never heard of. I guess, in Part II that this theme will continue. We expect to be told of modern day telescopes and of those planned for the future.
Bob will explain why that fundamental measurement - The Astronomical Unit (The distance between the Sun and the Earth) was so important. What was the relationship between it and the Transit of Venus? How did its determination lead to finding the distances to all of the Planets of the Solar System and then the distances to the nearest stars?
Our Chairman, Mike Hayes, will once more give this years 'Brian Cottis Memorial Presentation' in memory of our past treasurer 'Brian Cottis'. This talk covers the 200+ year history of black hole discoveries, the key players and their discoveries. It concludes with a look at some of the outstanding issues and challenges for the future.