Public talks

We meet approximately every two weeks for talks on astronomy and related topics. These talks are open to the public - no need to book.

Our meetings are in the small hall, Shirley Methodist Church, Eldon Avenue, CR0 8SD and will be held on the first and third Friday of each month. Our meetings will run, as now, from 7:30 – 9:30.

Shirley Methodist is within walking distance of Trinity School and is easily accessible by bus from East Croydon. There is parking on site but, if it is full, there is ample parking on nearby roads.

Programme

The dates for the rest of 2026 will be the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month:

We will meet on July 3rd & 17th, August 7th & 21st, September 4th & 18th,

October 3rd (note we can not meet on 16th), November 6th & 20th, December 4th & 18th.

June 19th.

An evening of short talks for this meeting:

First we welcome Roy Easto who will speak on "The Science and Astronomy of Svalbard" looking at the island's place in the history of science as well as continuing programmes to study the upper atmosphere.

After the tea break we welcome Konrad Malin-Smith talking on "Max Planck's Great Breakthrough".

The third talk is from Peter Bartholomew and is "Total Solar Eclipses I have seen" and is a round up of previous Total Solar Eclipses Peter has seen and the prospects for this years eclipse on August 12th.

July 3rd.

A warm welcome back to Neil Phillipson who will tell us about "Mankind's Next Great Leap".

Neil was the proprietor of "Astronomia" the telescope shop which was in Dorking High Street and now runs a company which builds bespoke observatories.

Following the tea break our own John Maltby will be talking on "Introduction to Smart Telescopes" sharing his experience and results with his own Dwarf 3 system.

July 17th

Our main talk tonight will be after the tea break at about 8:15pm. Tea will be preceded by our short talk TBA.

Stardust Embodied: Finding the Universe in your own anatomy

We often think of astronomy as the study of things "out there"—distant, impersonal, and unimaginably far away. But every atom that makes up our bodies has a history as old as the cosmos itself. In this talk, astrophysicist and Zen teacher Mark Westmoquette takes us on a journey, mapping the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe directly onto our own anatomy, exploring the stellar origins of our bodies and sensations. This talk is an invitation to stop peering at the universe as a spectator and start experiencing yourself as the universe “universing” - a living, breathing expression of cosmic evolution.

Location

The church is between Wickham Road and Eldon Avenue, but the entrance is in Eldon Avenue.

If driving from West Wickham turn right down Shirley Avenue then first left to Eldon Avenue.
If driving from Croydon or London Eldon Avenue is a turning on the left off the dual carridgeway.
If driving from New Addington go right at the roundabout into Wickham Road, then left into Shirley Avenue then left into Eldon Avenue..

There is a small parking area in the church grounds, otherwise park on the local roads (Barnfield Avenue, Eldon Avenue or Shirley Avenue for example).

These buses stop close by and all of them connect with East Croydon Railway Station and tram stop.

119: Croydon Airport to Bromley Catch the bus at stop E1

194: West Croydon to Lower Sydenham Catch the bus at stop E1

198: Shrublands to Thornton Heath Catch the bus at stop E1

466: Caterham-on-the-Hill to Addington Village Catch the bus at stop E3

If coming from East Croydon get off at Valley Walk. This stop is on the dual carriageway. Walk up the slight hill, left into Eldon Avenue, and the church entrance is on the right.

(Note that to go back to East Croydon you will need to go to stop M (named Upper Shirley Road) in Wickham Road and catch the 119, 194 or 198 )