Sark is a small island, fourth largest of the Channel Islands, in the south-western English Channel off the coast of Normandy, France. It forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and has a population of about 600.

On 16th of November we learned of the death of Dr Richard Axton MBE, the Society's Deputy Chairman and a true friend for many years.  Some of you may have had the pleasure of meeting him at the observatory where he was happy to act as a guide, a voluntary job he loved.

Richard was a man of many parts, strong mentally and physically and always ready to undertake projects that benefited Sark.  For SAstroS he threw himself wholeheartedly into the building of the observatory, forged friendships with astronomers from our nearby islands and built an astronomically aligned
mini-henge which has become a must-see visitor attraction.

Earlier this year Richard was able to make it to the Society's 10th anniversary celebration and enjoy a small slice of birthday cake.  He has been with the Society from its inception and will be very much missed by us all.  We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.  He will always have a place in our hearts.

Annie Dachinger

New article added: Sark's Named Star!

The Society hosts annual Starfest celebrations - the first having occurred in October 2011. They generally occur in the autumn or spring to mark both the beginning or end of winter.

During our Starfests we have welcomed a variety of guest speakers:

Professor Andrew Coates - Head of Planetary Science, Mullard Space Science Laboratory

Dr Marek Kukula - Public Astronomer, Greenwich Royal Observatory

Professor Chris Lintott - Oxford University and presenter of BBC The Sky at Night

Bob Bower FRAS

David Le Conte - (ex NASA) FRAS

Dr Kukula enjoyed his first visit so much he has returned several times, most recently in October 2014. Our guest speakers always give inspiring and entertaining talks.

Steve (darkskyman) Owens

Dr Paul Fellowes FRAS

2021

Update:

Quite a number of Sark youngsters took part in the count of the stars in the square of Orion on Monday 1st March between 7.30 and 8pm. The Head Teacher, Dr Nick Roberts, collated them and the average count was 11 stars. It was a really crisp and clear evening, one of very few this winter it seems like, and perfect for the count.

Monday 1st March

Due to the current lock down situation, the planned star count, as per the newspaper article below, has been postponed until Monday 1st March.

The Sark School will be encouraging the SAstroS Junior members to help with the star count between 7.30 pm and 8.00 pm. That time is after sunset and before the moon rises.

We were unable to do the count at the same time as the Guernsey Astronomy Section and this is the first opportunity to do a bare-eye count in the square of Orion with a forecast clear sky and no moon.

This is open for anyone to do and if the count could be sent to me (Reg Guille – Secretary regguille@cwgsy.net), then I will collate with any results I get from the school.

2020