News Items - Brian Thomas
Brian presented various astronomical news items:-

Fomalhault (Alpha Piscis Austrinus)
The star Fomalhaut is one of the nearest and brightest in the night sky, only 25 light years away. The Hubble Telescope has revealed that it is surrounded by an asymmetric dust disc which indicates the presence of an orbiting planet. The Voice of America website contains further information.

HD 97048
The HST has discovered of a circumstellar disk Around HD 97048 with HST Coronagraphic Imaging. The American Astronomical Society website contains further information.

The Face on Mars
ESA's Mars Express has obtained images of the Cydonia region, site of the famous 'Face on Mars.' The High Resolution Stereo Camera photos include some of the most spectacular views of the Red Planet ever. These provide proof that the famous face is no more than an optical illusion. The ESA Mars Express website contains further information. There are also details in EROS - October 2006.

FTS - WCAS Observation Programme
It was agreed that a date and time would be booked that would not require the CPR Learning Centre as a venue.

At the break members went outside to view the moon and night sky.

The meeting closed with a full agenda of topics still to be covered. Lesley Milner will talk about Solar Coronal Mass Ejection and Robin Waddling has a cosmological topic for the next meeting.