Members of a St Neots club have their eyes set firmly looking upwards towards the heavens as they study stars, planets, comets and galaxies beyond our atmosphere.

The St Neots Astronomy Association was formed in 2006 and meets on the first Monday of every month (second Monday if it’s a bank holiday) at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve Visitor Centre from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

The club is always looking for new members and is open to seasoned veteran observers of the galaxies or complete beginners.

Committee member Peter Howarth said: “We are open to anyone who has an interest in astronomy – perhaps someone is thinking of buying a telescope as an early Christmas present to themselves and wants to know how to get the best from their equipment.

“A year’s subscription will be a great Christmas present also for anyone interested in astronomy. We have regular presentations with expert speakers and regular observing nights, a library of great books to borrow from, as well as advice on buying your first telescope.”

The club was launched in 2006 by a small group of enthusiasts who had been attending evening classes at Ernulf School and wanted to continue to meet on a monthly basis. They moved to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve to take advantage of its good dark site with much less light pollution.

A grant was applied for and the club bought two pairs of binoculars plus some astronomy books which was then followed by a grant for a solar scope.

INFO: Visit www.snaa.co.uk or contact Peter Howarth by email at peter@snaa.co.uk if you are interested in becoming a member. Annual subscription is £36 and the first meeting is free.

Club meetings include visits to schools/scout/cub/brownie groups usually for a moon watch demonstration followed by a video presentation on the solar system.