Society monthly meeting recorded on 20250820 at The Briars Mount Martha Observatory.

Meeting introduction was by the President, Dr. Peter Skilton. Vice President, Chris Kostokanellis then presented the Astrophotographic challenge for the month, with a high number of entries covering the last 2 months. This was followed by Peter Skilton presenting the Sky for the Month slides on behalf of Committee member, Dr. Guido Tack, who was overseas at the time.

The main topic was “From Apollo to Artemis” in 2 talks. The first was about “Apollo and the Geology of the Moon”, presented by Apollo 17 astronaut and Geologist, Dr. Harrison Schmitt, on 19731219 at the Geological Society, London as the 28th William Smith Lecture. The second was about “From Apollo to Artemis: Paving The Way To The Next Giant Leap in Lunar Exploration”, by Dr. Giulia Magnarini, Planetary Geomorphologist from the Natural History Museum, London, held on 20250218. These public lectures are courtesy of the Geological Society, London.

A science video on the subject of “What Happened to the Missing Apollo 2, 3, 18, 19 & 20 Missions?” was then presented by Amy Shira Teitel, Canadian Space Historian, courtesy of her The Vintage Space YouTube channel.

A musical closure followed, showing the 1959 public domain “Elements Song” by Tom Lehrer, but updated for the currently known chemical elements as of 2019, being the International Year of the Periodic Table. This is courtesy of the Royal Society of Chemistry and their Chemistry World publishing arm, London. It is sung by Helen Arney and numerous Chemists from around the world, backed by the Waterbeach Brass Band. The introduction to the video unfortunately did not record successfully.