The group, as its name suggests, covers a wide range of interests. Our members offer presentations on topics such as cosmology, geology and so on. We also arrange visits to sites of interest in the local area.
| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Coordinator: | |
| Group email: | Science and Technology group |
| When: | On Friday mornings 10:30 am-12:15 pm We usually meet on 3rd Friday of each month but visits may be on other days |
| Venue: | Chippenham Museum |
| Cost: | Members contribute to the venue costs |
The group usually meets in Chippenham museum at 10:30 am on the third Friday of the month (members contribute to the venue costs)
N.B. Please contact group co-ordinator via the link above before joining
Recent and planned presentations and events
17th April 2026 - Visit to Museum of Electricity, Bristol
20th March 2026 - Forensic science (Guest speaker)
20th Feb 2026 - A discussion on defining the Habitable Zone around star systems (in-house presenter)
16th January 2026 - The Human Eye - how we see the world around us (in-house presenter)
21st November 2025 - Hydrogen (in-house presenter)
17th October 2025 - Visit to Wessex Water Treatment Plant , Saltford, Bristol
19th September 2025 - The Theory of Gravitation (in-house presenter)
15th Aug - Summer break - no meeting
18th July 2025 - visit to Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, Calne
20th June 2025 - Presentation on Remote Handling in the Nuclear Industry (Guest speaker)
16th May 2025 - visit to Aerospace Museum, Filton
21st March 2025 Raspberry Pi computers (in-house presenter)
15th November 2024: Astrophotography Pt 2 - see below
18th October 2024: Astrophotography (in-house presenter)
17th May 2024: Oil Refineries (in-house presenter)
19th April 2024: A Career in Geology
16th Feb. 2024: IT Development over the Years
17th Nov. 2023: The History of Orthopedic Medicine
23rd June 2023: Mechanical Testing of Materials
9th May 2023: Carbon Capture Usage and Storage
13th Jan. 2023: Cosmology – Our Universe
Astrophotography
At our meeting on Friday 18th October 2024 we had an fascinating presentation from David (one of our members) on Astrophotography – the art and science of taking photos of objects in the sky at night.
He spoke about the history of astrophotography, with examples from as long ago as 1852 through to the present day. We learnt about the basic equipment required, the software used for enhancing the images and some of the challenges involved in getting a clear, bright image. We also had the opportunity to see and handle some of the more sophisticated equipment, which can track the stars as the earth rotates. David’s presentation slides are available below.
At our November meeting, David gave a follow-on to the earlier session. He gave a demo of some specialist software, which he used to combine 280 separate digital photographs of the same feature (in this case the Orion Nebula) and process them to produce one ‘perfect’ image of that distant feature (see 'before' and 'after' photos below).
Recent excursions
| 16th May 2025 | Aerospace Museum in Filton (Bristol) |
| 21st June 2024 | Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath |
| 15th Mar. 2024 | REME Museum, Lyneham |
| 15th Sept.2023 | Science Museum National Group Collection, Wroughton |
The group at Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath