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2023-03-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From: 1 April 2022 Period start date To: 31 March 2023 Period end date

Charity name: Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society.

Charity registration number:1187777

Objectives and Activities

SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document		 To promote and advance the education of
the public in the theory and practice of
astronomy and related subjects.
The provision and maintenance of facilities
for the use of the inhabitants of
Nottinghamshire and surrounding counties.
Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.		 Our activities are mainly held during the
autumn and winter seasons, when it is dark
enough in the evenings to perform
astronomical viewing. All our main season
activities include telescopic viewing of
astronomical objects when weather
permits, and fall into one of three types:
1. Open Evenings, held on average once a
month, where we open our observatory
to the public, and include talks on
astronomy subjects.
2. Organised Group Visits, including
tailored talks on astronomy subjects. We
host an average of two groups per week
and are organised for groups including
school classes, youth groups such as
Scout Association and Girl Guiding, and
adult groups such as WI, Rotary Club,
and U3A.
3. Two Basic Astronomy Courses, held one
evening a week over a 6-week period,
where we provide broader presentations
on astronomy subjects.
We also have a radio astronomy centre
equipped with a number of aerials and
beacons that monitor various activities
within the atmosphere and further out into
the solar system and beyond. This facility is
also open to our visitors where they can
see these activities in real time displayed
on screen. It is also equipped with a
meteor detection beacon with a 400 mile
radius.
Outside our main viewing season we hold
occasional public opendays at our
observatory. These are mainly through the
summer months. At the open days, we give
talks about, and use our specially filtered
solar viewing equipment to safely view the
Sun and use our equipment to monitor and
display its radio emissions. We also take our
specialist solar viewing equipment to a
number of public festivals and open days
away from our observatory.
In addition, approximately once per month
throughout the year, we arrange guest
lectures mostly given by professional
astronomers orscientists.
Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit		 The Trustees confirm that they have had
regard to the guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on public benefit.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

SORP reference
Policy on grant making N/A
Policy on social investment
including program related
investment		 N/A
Contribution made by
volunteers		 The trustees are grateful for the many
hours our member volunteers contribute to
the running of our Society activities,
helping to run our public events, operating
our telescope viewing equipment, and
developing and delivering astronomy
presentations and courses, thus passing on
their expertise to the public.
Other None

Achievements and Performance

SORP reference
Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.		 Plans are in place to source a new mirror
for the main telescope, along with a
planned refurbishment of the main
telescope dome, plus the installation of a
new control panel. This will greatly improve
the ease of use and views through our main
telescope for the benefit or our members
and visiting public.
In March, a major achievement was the
approval of plans for the construction of a
science discovery centre and 60-seater
planetarium next to the Observatory,
utilising and old Victorian disused
underground reservoir. A large amount of
funding was secured from various sources as
outlined in the attached Trustees Report.
In February 2023, the Charity Commission
gave final approval for transfer of assets
from our previous, unincorporated, charity
(no. 518183). This completed our transition
to new CIO status, which provides more
protection and flexibility to our trustees in
pursuing the Charity’s aims, as we greatly
expand our facilities to provide more
opportunities for public and group visit in
our new Science Discovery Centre and
Planetarium.

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

N/A Achievements against objectives set N/A Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set N/A Investment performance against objectives None Other

Financial Review

Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period		 Funds in a good position with record
income. There was greater expenditure,
but a better closing balance than
previously.
Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held		 The charity has a formal reserves policy, in
which the trustees try to keep enough funds
in reserve to cover half a year of general
running and maintenance costs. This is
achieved by notification of financial
position at each monthly trustee meeting,
and reviews of current and planned
expenditure as needed.
Amount of reserves held £5500
Reasons for holding zero
reserves		 N/A
Details of fund materially in
deficit		 None
Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern		 None

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)		 Membership fees, entry fees to public
events, course fees, private group visits,
and general public donations towards the
upkeep and maintenance of the
Observatory. We also attract government
grants and donations towards the
planetarium and science discovery centre
build.
Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted		 N/A
A description of the principal
risks facing the charity		 The identification of more funding sources
for the planetarium and science discovery
centre development.
Other None

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s
trusts:
Type of governing document
(trust deed,royalcharter)		 Constitution
How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)		 CIO
Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees		 Election by members at the AGM. Can also
be appointed by the Trustees if a vacancy
or urgent need arrives between AGMs.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: N/A Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees N/A The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works N/A Relationship with any related parties None Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charityname Mansfield and Sutton AstronomicalSociety CIO
Other name the charity uses Sherwood Observatory
Registered charitynumber 1187777
Charity’s principal address Sherwood Observatory
Coxmoor Road
Sutton in Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG175LF

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20		 Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for
whole year		 Name of person (or body) entitled
to appoint trustee (if any)
Steve Binns Communications From: 06 / 09 / 2022
CraigBradford ObservatoryDirector
Scott Creed Treasurer To: 06 / 09 / 2022
Nigel Cunnington Chair / Radio Astronomy
Chris Dakin Curator of Instruments
Rob Dawes Chair / GroupVisits To: 06 / 09 / 2022
Michael Lowe Secretary
CraigMapleston ObservatoryDirector From: 06 / 09 / 2022
Brendan Scoular Events
Paul Sherratt IT & Website
Steve Wallace Planetarium Project From: 06 / 09 / 2022

Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name N/A

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year
Official Custodian forCharities

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets
held in this capacity		 N/A
N/A
N/A
Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects
Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own assets

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of
**adviser **		 Name
Address		 Name
Address
Legal Browne Jacobson Mowbray House, Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham
NG2 1BJ
Fundraising Greenwood Projects The Mount, 2 Trent Valley Road, Lichfield Staffs
WV13 6EG
Independent
Examiner		 Venusia Ltd Apt 316, Wimbledon Central, 21/33 Worple Road,
London SW19 4BJ

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

N/A

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

N/A

Other optional information

Most of the year, we will concentrate on the construction of the planetarium and science discovery centre project ready for opening in November 2024. Our programme of members meetings, outreach, and public events will also continue.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Michael Lowe Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)[Secretary ] Date 12 / 01 / 2024

Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society. Charity number 518183 Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society CIO. Charity number 1187777

Trustees Reports

Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society CIO

Annual Report for the July 2023 Annual General Meeting

The trustees are pleased to present their individual reports for the year ending June 2023.

Contents

Chair’s Introduction – Nigel (Sparky) Cunnington ........................................................................... 3 Planetarium Planning Manager – Dr Steve Wallace ....................................................................... 5 Secretary – Michael Lowe ............................................................................................................... 7 Public Events Coordinator – Brendan Scoular ................................................................................ 8 Group Visits ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Observatory Director – Craig Mapleston ....................................................................................... 10 Communications Officer – Stephen Binns ..................................................................................... 11 IT Administrator – Paul Sherratt .................................................................................................... 12 Curator of Instruments – Chris Dakin ............................................................................................ 13 Radio Astronomy Coordinator – Nigel “Sparky” Cunnington ......................................................... 15 Treasurer – Scott Creed ................................................................................................................ 19

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Trustees Reports

Chair’s Introduction – Nigel (Sparky) Cunnington

Memberships

We had another good year at MSAS with strong membership and many of our recent members supporting our outreach. Feedback from several new members has been that they have joined because they found us to be very welcoming when they attended our events. For example, at the start of the year we were short-handed in radio astronomy but now we have a great team supporting its development. Our membership numbers have slowly increased to 152 on the date that I have written this report, 14 June.

One of the benefits of being a member is getting a copy of EH every month. All the content in EH is written by our members and it is then expertly put together by our team of editors. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed over the last year. If anyone wishes to contribute to this successful venture, then please send your articles to the editors at newsletter@sherwoodobservatory.org.uk.

The Society would not be able to function without a management committee of trustees as well as a number of other named roles who do not necessarily attend the meetings. The committee meetings have been well attended by the trustees through the year, but it has remained challenging to recruit people to every trustee role. For that reason, whilst we must maintain a minimum number of trustee roles, we have relaxed the unofficial requirement for all committee members to be trustees to try to encourage more participation. If you would like to support the Society in one of the many named roles, then please let us know and we can let you have a job description.

Investments

Our Treasurer, Scott Creed, reports that we have had a record year for income of around £30,000, with about £25,000 of this being reinvested into the Society. Investments included purchase of new primary and secondary mirrors and a new mirror cell for our impressive 61cm Newtonian reflecting telescope (which will be 60cm with the new mirror). When they are installed this year, it will mean that members and visitors will experience even better wow moments. There is even the exciting prospect of a second large telescope being installed in the future. There has been a lot of interest from members over the year to get trained on our main telescope. This was great to see but it has meant that we have struggled to get everyone signed off. We are now in a position where some of the people who have been previously trained are now themselves training others.

Money was also invested in the Radio Astronomy Centre. A significant feather in our cap was to become the home of the UK meteor beacon, which won the Radio Society of Great Britain’s Wortley-Talbot Trophy for outstanding experimental work in amateur radio. This was a joint award with a UK wide team of enthusiasts including MSAS members.

Less visible, but no less important is investing in upkeep of the facilities. Over the year there have been a number of ‘behind the scenes’ improvements including a new hot water cylinder. Maintaining the observatory requires volunteers, so please have a word with our Observatory Directory if you would like to help.

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Trustees Reports

Activities & Initiatives

Our Society continues to attract great guest lecturers, although attendance in person has sometimes been lower than expected. We have tried to improve this by providing more information about the lecturer and their chosen topic well in advance of the meeting. We now have a regular ‘ Obscast’ hosted by Joe Gathercole. These are made available on our YouTube channel, so please look at the back catalogue for some interesting interviews. Progress on the Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium has started to attract media attention, with the observatory having featured on several TV and radio news stories.

We had another fantastic season of Voyages of Discovery (group visits) that I’m sure inspired a lot of young people to take more of an interest in the world around them. Our open events also remained strong, with some events selling out within hours of the tickets going on sale. Both the Voyages of Discovery and open events remain one of the main ways that we engage with the public and it could not be delivered without member volunteers, so please come forward and offer your assistance – it’s also good fun and a chance to sample some excellent home-made cakes.

Our Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium project took some big steps forward over the year but faced a challenge in September when our first main contractor went bust. However, a new contractor was soon found, and the project put back on track. In January we received the great news that we had been awarded £3.1 million from the Levelling Up Fund and that has helped us to secure more funding from other sources. Our members have directly contributed to the success of this project through demolition of the pump house and starting the clean-up of the reservoir, both of which will save us money on the contract. Thanks also go to those members who have helped to draft our grant applications. We should start to build the new Centre in August this year.

2023 and beyond promises to be another great year for MSAS with continued growth in all areas. I look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM and in the coming months.

Best Wishes

Nigel (Sparky) Cunnington

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Trustees Reports

Planetarium Planning Manager – Dr Steve Wallace

2022/23 has seen some significant challenges overcome and milestones delivered in our vision to create a Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium that will both serve to inspire people to follow STEM careers and be a regionally significant visitor attraction.

As the year opened, we had already secured a grant of £2.25 million from the Towns Fund Programme and this had enabled us to appoint Robert Woodhead Ltd (RWL) to lead a team consisting of PRB Architects, HSP (civil and structural engineers), and RSA Cosmos/ST Engineering Anycip to prepare detailed designs with the intention of submitting a planning application during September 2022.

All was going according to plan until, on the 14th September, we received a press release informing us that RWL had gone into liquidation. With support from our legal advisors, Browne Jacobson, and great teamwork from what remained of our supply chain, we reassembled the design team and eventually managed to submit our planning application on 31st October 2022, a delay of only one month. Working with SCAPE Ventures, we set about finding a new main contractor and, towards the end of 2022, we appointed GF Tomlinson Ltd (GFT) following a competitive tender process.

One of the first jobs for GFT to do was to review the designs to assess the buildability and the impact of construction industry inflation on the likely costs. We have all individually felt the impacts of inflation over 2022, and the construction industry is no exception so, as anticipated, this was not good news, with the original designs coming in well over budget. The team immediately set to work on what is known in the industry as a Value Engineering exercise – i.e., to work out where we could save money without severely compromising the functionality of the new Centre. This was not an easy task as significant savings had to be made - we all had our own personal favourite aspects of the original designs that we had to ask ourselves whether they were necessary (but which none of us would ever have missed had they never been thought of in the first place!). However, the team pulled together again, and we’ve ended up with a design that retains all the key aspects of the original and that I prefer, as shown below:

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Trustees Reports

On 22nd March 2023 we were informed by Ashfield District Council that we had been granted planning permission – a major step towards making our vision a reality and an important enabler for some of our grant funding applications. Due to changes made during the Value Engineering exercise, we are going to have to agree a variation to our planning permission before we start construction. However, this should be relatively straight forward as nothing in the revised designs is contentious (actually, some of the impacts associated with the original design have been reduced).

In parallel with the work described above, we initiated a plan to raise the remaining project costs. The main focus of this was an application for Levelling Up Round 2 funding. This was a major piece of work as it had to be fully compliant with HM Government Green Book assessment standards and the final analysis stretched to over 114 pages. In January 2023 we received the fantastic news that our application had been successful, with an award of £3.1 million. This has led to us being featured on BBC East Midlands Today on a couple of occasions, with their team saying that they want to do repeated features on the project as we progress through construction.

Core funding from the Towns Fund and Levelling Up Round 2 fund comes to £5.35 million, so £1 million short of our total project cost estimate of £6.35 million. In parallel with the Levelling Up application, we set about preparing applications to a number of private sector grant funders. Although strictly outside of this 2022/23 annual report due to the dates of award, it is worth noting that we have been successful with the following applications so far:

Outlook for 2023/24

Activity in the first half of 2023/24 will consist of progressing with the next stage of design known as RIBA 4. This is where the designs are developed in sufficient detail to be handed over to the subcontractors for pricing and construction (for example, the sizes and dimensions of all the steel work for the frame of the building must be specified). We will also continue to apply for funding, including a major push for corporate sponsorship. Subject to the Trustees being confident that the funding will be available when we need it, we remain on track to start construction in late August 2023, with a proposed opening date for the new Centre of November 2024. GFT are currently working on a construction site logistics plan to ensure that the Observatory remains operational during the works. Of course, some of the facilities will have to be shut down for a while. For example, the Radio Astronomy Centre will be relocated, but we are working to minimise the disruption.

This is a multi-disciplinary, one-of-a-kind, project. Delivery would not be possible without the support of many of our members, so thank you to them. You know who you are. If any other members would like to join the team, please get in touch.

Steve Wallace

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Trustees Reports

Secretary – Michael Lowe

Over the last 10 months since our AGM in September 2022, with all the pandemic restrictions lifted (but risk assessment still in place), we are more or less running as normal. However, it has not been business as usual.

The process of enrolling new members has kept me busy. As of June this year, the membership stands at 152 (including honorary and junior members), a net gain of 10 since last year. It was a bit disappointing to see that 38 members did not renew, 31 of them would have been “first time renewals”. However, something that I am yet to fully understand is that although they paid their subscriptions, none of them attended the Observatory either in person or remotely.

Maintaining the database accurately and updating it is carried out both by myself and the Treasurer Scott Creed, and I would just like to add in my personal thanks to him for his inputs.

There have been lots of different enquiries coming in every week. These have varied from anything to do with membership, visits, events (both on and off site), to people wanting advice and help in setting up a scope, or general enquiries about what is happening in the night (or day) sky. As usual, the enquiry has been passed on to the correct person, and we have received some excellent feedback through our social media channels. News from the FAS (Federation of Astronomical Societies) and the BAA (British Astronomical Association) continues to come in on a regular basis too, and several members have remarked that they have “attended virtually” or signed up to some of their events and courses. I would also like to thank those members who continue to send me good quality astronomy themed articles for distribution to the membership. These have proved popular, and in some cases, have raised interesting feedback. Please keep them coming.

The Society Newsletter “Event Horizon” (EH) usually arrives with me about the 3[rd] of each month and is circulated directly to all members inboxes within a few hours. However, we produce one hard copy monthly for just one member who does not use a computer.

Regular committee meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month, and these have been well attended by all the Trustees. There is also a facility to join via Zoom, but this is rarely used. I usually circulate the meeting minutes within a week of the meeting, having put out a draft copy first to ensure accuracy. I would like to thank all the Trustees for the timely manner in which they respond both to the call for agenda items, and also for the editing of the minutes before the final minutes are published. As we get closer to the building of our Planetarium and Science Discovery Centre, we have also convened a number of extra committee meetings which have been fully supported not only by the Trustees, but other Society members who have brought their expertise to the project.

I am pleased to say that even though all committee members now have access to our Twitter feed, our exposure on this site has risen from 1228 as of August last year to 1403 as of June this year. It has been good to also see increasing numbers of new followers both on Facebook and Instagram.

Once again, I have had a busy year. Next year, with our new project nearing completion, an even busier one, I think.

Michael Lowe

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Trustees Reports

Public Events Coordinator – Brendan Scoular

I’m pleased to report that the society remains in a strong position for delivering events and night school courses. Unlike previous years whereby we have succumbed to the occasional cancelation we have been fortunate to maintain a clear run of monthly events on site at the observatory. While the weather has largely been in our favour much gratitude goes out to the membership in sustaining a healthy level of corporation, as without membership participation we would certainly struggle. This does fill me with confidence, but never complacent in the fact we are on the right track for the future.

The outlook for events Sherwood observatory shall continue to be positive driver for showcasing what we do best. By using all the assets, we possess along with our members drive, enthusiasm, and willingness to inspire we can really make a positive difference - not only by delivering on our core objectives but also to enhance visitor experience. I’m particularly pleased that we have successfully incorporated the reservoir into our offering during open events, as this really does give the general public a taste of something rather unique and bespoke to our organisation.

This coming year will see a gradual transition of onsite operations with the build of the new Science Discovery Centre & Planetarium therefore we shall lose access to the reservoir. Not forgetting the relocation of the Radio Astronomy Centre, it may well mean a minor hiatus in delivering a full visitor experience. That aside I’m confident we shall continue to engage with the general public and could well be a convenient time to host more off-site events. Now we have our large marquee ablaze with new Sherwood Observatory logos we are certain to well and truly stand out, no matter where we are.

Night School

Two night-school course sessions have been delivered successfully during the past 12 months. With a healthy number of attendees enrolling on both the October and February it is satisfying to see we take on new members after these sessions run its course.

Kind Regards

Brendan Scoular

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Trustees Reports

Group Visits

The trustees would like to thank Rob Dawes for the following account of our group visits “Voyages of Discovery” programme.

As we approach our 53rd AGM I’m extremely pleased to announce that our society continues to enjoy a strong demand to visit our observatory.

Throughout the winter season of 2022/2023 a team of dedicated and talented members conducted a record number of visits to our observatory through our Voyages of Discovery program.

These visits consisted of a variety of children’s uniformed groups, including Brownies, Beavers, Scouts, Cubs and Girl Guides. The adult side of our operations were made up from WI, U3A and special occasion groups, such as birthdays and anniversaries. The latter two groups opting for our increasingly popular gift voucher option.

The unsurprising common theme running through everyone who visited our observatory was to learn more about the wonders of the night sky, and on this vital point our knowledgeable members delivered with aplomb. With talks ranging from uniformed badge requirements to what can be observed in the night sky, radio astronomy, and other bespoke topics.

Aside from the many informative talks given by members, our 24-inch Newtonian telescope continues to deliver fantastic experiences for our many visitors.

You can feel the mounting excitement as the young and not so young members of the public begin to climb our spiral staircase to gain access to the dome, and quite often the first word spoken on seeing our gorgeous Newtonian telescope is “wow”.

A pleasing aspect of this particular season is our radio astronomy centre, which has now been incorporated in our Voyages of Discovery program. Having a radio astronomy centre has allowed us to expand our appeal to the public.

The feedback our society has received from this wide variety of visitors is with the imminent build of our SDC and Planetarium our society will be even busier in the near future.

Sherwood Observatory can be justly proud of the quality of our public outreach program.

Thank you to everyone who supported our record-breaking Voyages of Discovery.

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Trustees Reports

Observatory Director – Craig Mapleston

Observatory and grounds maintenance

Since taking over the role as Observatory Director the Observatory has benefited from a few necessary upgrades including a new hot water cylinder, water filter, serving shelf and more, while also making the Observatory more energy efficient. The members are all keen to volunteer for such tasks and this is a real big help with the operation and maintenance of the Observatory.

Pump house demolition

With the original SDC developer quoting £20,000 to demolish the pump house on top of the reservoir, this has been a great opportunity to do it ourselves. This has been a brilliant team building exercise, while also saving the £20k on cost and then some – by selling our reclaimed bricks at prices ranging from 45p to £5 per brick!

The rest of the pump house bricks will be removed on the 20th June by 20+ volunteers from Experian which I have arranged.

Maintenance days

We now have maintenance days every 2 or so months which help keep up the upkeep of the grounds and its appearance. We have had a great response from volunteers giving their time and helping to make it a better place for everyone.

Lecture room refurbishment

We have been planning over the past few months to upgrade the lecture room to a more modern standard for the opening of the SDC. We are getting rid of the fire hazard wood panelling and replacing the ceiling with modern down lights to bring it up to the current time.

Craig Mapleston

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Trustees Reports

Communications Officer – Stephen Binns

Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society has had a great year. We now find ourselves in the enviable position of being one of the main topics of conversation within the surrounding area. This is mainly due to the construction of our new Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium later this year. The publicity has been achieved through society events, including open evenings, solar days, off site events and media activity.

In spring, Dr Dan Brown undertook a lecture for our society, but as he had a prior engagement with Notts TV earlier that evening he set his equipment up in the observatory and carried out the live recording from there. This was great publicity as the reporter asked many questions about the telescope and our site, which were duly answered by Dr Dan Brown.

Lectures

To obtain the widest possible interest in the subjects, I have tried to procure lecturers whose expertise lie in different fields of astronomy. Many lecturers have heard of our project, and are willing to give our society a talk, but only if they can have a look around our site first to see where the Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium is to be constructed, and also see the plans of the build. This speaks volumes for our society as they tell me ‘It’s all the talk around our office’.

I will continue to procure a varied array of speakers for our society in the future and will encourage members of our society to undertake talks on Wednesday evenings.

Media Coverage

Along with social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram we now have contacts at BBC East Midlands Today, Notts TV and Radio Nottingham. Vision West Notts College are also assisting our society with media filming, having done shoots already. They are also assisting our society by installing time lapse cameras in the dome for the installation of the new mirror, and within the reservoir area to capture the new build in real time.

In February of this year, I was invited to give a live talk on BBC East Midlands Today at our society within the dome, about comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). This was a great success, as there were lots of social media comments enquiring about our observatory, which is great news. After this talk the film crew stated they would love to come and carry out a half day shoot, maybe at an open event. I will let you all know when this happens.

At the moment I am in liaison with Ashfield District Council, where Nonsuch Studios are interested in filming our society for the Ashfield Arts Partnership-Wider Partner Engagement project. This is a 2- year project, starting in 2024 and our input will help shape the bid for the area.

Other Comms

Radio Astronomy: In the past year I have been assisting Nigel Cunnington in radio astronomy, and together we have produced a ‘ How To’ guide to assist members on the use of radio astronomy

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Trustees Reports

equipment. I am also writing articles for our monthly magazine, Event Horizon, to encourage and assist members on the uptake of this exciting subject.

Obscast : Joe Gathercole has created this event and is going from strength to strength. I have been lucky enough to appear twice on his show, which produces hundreds of hits on our society’s YouTube channel and Spotify.

I will continue to provide an Events Calendar and proofread Event Horizon, (although that’s not a big task as our editors are brilliant at their job).

It has been a pleasure to work alongside my fellow trustees and to serve the members of our society, and I hope to carry on for another term if elected.

Stephen Binns

IT Administrator – Paul Sherratt

This year has been light in terms of IT development. I’ve kept things ticking along, but the only notable improvement is the upgrade of our WiFi access points near the start 2023. Anyone using the observatory WiFi should have noticed a significant speed improvement.

Due to various other work and family commitments, I have decided to step down from the committee, however this isn’t a goodbye and I intend to be back and helping again with maintenance & development as soon as possible. I also wish the successor(s) to this role all the best in the next few pivotal years as we ramp up our operations.

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Trustees Reports

Curator of Instruments – Chris Dakin

Training Activities

I thought the previous year was a record with the number or people wanting to be trained to use our equipment. Well, this last year was the first time I've not been able to get everybody through their training who wanted it. I promise we will get you all signed off as soon as possible though.

Thankfully I've been getting help with this from some of the previous year's trainees who are now scope trainers themselves!

I look forward to continuing the training this autumn – if you would like to be involved then please reach out to me at: optical@sherwood-observatory.org.uk .

Instruments/Maintenance

We finally took delivery of the new 600mm mirror and are planning to get it installed into the big scope over the summer before the next season starts. I cannot wait to see this in action and I'm sure most of you can't either. I'll be sure to send an update out once it's all ready to go.

Now some of you might recall that a couple of years ago, we were able to gift a couple of telescopes to members that we had donated to us. We have had another 3 now that are not useful to the society for day-to-day use, so I'm planning on running the same scheme again in this coming year.

How this will work is that if you are picked to receive one after expressing interest, then this scope would be gifted to you with the following conditions:

  1. You must not already own a telescope.

  2. You must have been a member for at least a year.

  3. When you have finished with the telescope, you must offer it back to the observatory so we can run the same process again. In fact, one of these three scopes is being recycled in this way.

Keep an eye out for an announcement if you are interested.

Elsewhere, I'd be looking at offloading the binocular telescope to free up some room. As this telescope is so bulky and has not been used in many years, this seems the most prudent thing to do. Perhaps we can buy something more useful with the money we get from this, feel free to send me some ideas if there's a particular piece of kit you think we're missing/

13

Trustees Reports

Next up, as we had that other 24" telescope donated to us last year, this got me thinking about possibly extending the observatory building to create a new roll-off observatory behind the lecture room.

As I started to think about these plans, we've come across a potential collaboration with the Royal Greenwich Observatory which could result in a loan of a very nice solar telescope array for outreach. Therefore, this has changed my thinking somewhat, in that I still want us to build that extension but try and get this professional gear in there instead!

Once we get the big build underway for the planetarium, I plan to start pushing this extension idea, do you all think it's a good idea? I do!

And finally, we're looking at servicing the dome upstairs, work has already started on this, to make it free running again. This is involving removing all the dome rollers one at a time and cleaning the bearings before reinstalling. We've identified a few contributing factors to the dome sticking, so hopefully this will make it really smooth running again. This work will be completed with a new set of drive rollers being cast, which I'm working on at this very moment.

So, a lot of interesting stuff happened and a lot still ongoing. If anyone's interested in helping on the maintenance side of things, drop either me or the Observatory Directory a line and we'd love to have to help.

To end, I want to thank everyone who has helped me out in the last year on both training and maintenance. You are all very much appreciated.

Chris Dakin

14

Trustees Reports

Radio Astronomy Coordinator – Nigel “Sparky” Cunnington

This past year the Radio Astronomy Centre continues to come on in leaps and bounds.

Unfortunatly the 1/4λ reflected loop antenna took a blow from the wind, which toppled but suffered little damage. It was repaired and re-centred, but it was then caught by the trapdoor (we think) and this time was severely damaged. So much so it needed to be almost completely rebuilt, which has now been done. It is currently being tuned to resonate at the required frequency centred on 20 MHz. Its

use is planned for observing the Jupiter/Io interaction as developed by NASA’s JOVE project. They have recently updated the JOVE receiver to the now familiar type of SDR That we are now in possession of. (Note – this SDR is manufactured here in the UK).

This radio telescope can also be used for observing the Sun at this frequency and although it is fixed in position, the beam width still allows 4 hours a day of observation time, rain or shine!

Another project that continues to be popular with visitors is the Monatomic Hydrogen Line. This radio telescope was formerly a Wi-Fi antenna but was modified to resonate at the wavelength of 21cm or 1420MHz, the electron flip energy state. This type of Monatomic Hydrogen exists in large clouds in the arms of our Milky Way galaxy and the Doppler shift of the frequency is an indication of the relative motion of these clouds with reference to the Earth. From the results, the rotational velocity of our galaxy can be deduced.

15

Trustees Reports

Here is an example of a result of the Doppler shift; not just one cloud but two detected here. The higher peak on the left is from the Orion arm (our local one), and the second one is from the Perseus arm. Note they have been blue shifted, which gives a relative motion of them coming towards us. The sharp points are noise in the system.

We have also built an angled dipole antenna, which is used to pick up signals beamed down from weather satellites giving us a detailed view of weather patterns around us. Although we have had good success in the decoding of NOAA 18 images, further development work is being carried out by Mike Williams using a new data processing programme and we are also looking at other possible satellites to track.

A yearly report can’t go unpublished without a mention of our old faithful SuperSID. Right through the pandemic it was operational, except when it was shut down for maintenance work, giving us reliable results of solar flare activity, and contributing to Stanford University’s (USA) Solar Centre’s data hub.

During the last summer period temperatures soared and this high temperature damaged the monitor, so much so that 4 out of the 5 transmitters could no longer be detected. The decision was made to purchase a replacement monitor, which we should receive shortly.

An improvement to the way the temperature and humidity can now be controlled is much better than before, we hope this will help stabilise the conditions in the RAC alleviating atmospheric variations.

As we are now heading towards solar maximum, we have been seeing over the past year an increase in sunspot activity resulting in an increase in solar flares and in their intensity. Quite a number of X -Class flares have now been recorded by ourselves. Recently 5 C class flares in one day!

The “All sky” camera has now been reinstalled at the RAC and is recording great data as reported by Chris Dakin. Other cameras are expected to be installed later, expanding the compact views for determining meteor paths. It is hoped to be able to combine the two disciplines of radio and optical astronomy although this will depend largely on the weather.

16

Trustees Reports

And finally rounding up these reports on projects, you might have noticed on top of the green events store, a mast with two rectangular antennae positioned at 90º to each other. This is the new GB’s 6m-radio meteor beacon transmitter. The project was thought up by Brian Coleman, a BAA RAG member, and is supported in collaboration by the British Astronomical Association (BAA), and the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and ourselves. The team that put together the UK Radio Astronomy Meteor Beacon, call sign GB3MBA was award the prestigious Wortley-Talbot Trophy for outstanding experimental work in amateur radio, Well done to the whole team!

How the beacon works: The transmitter puts out a carrier wave at 50.408 MHz with a beam angle of about 120º, which gives a diameter of approx. 250 miles at the height at which meteors burn up in our atmosphere. So, any meteor that burns up within that diameter, centred on the Obs, the ionised trail will reflect the transmitted signal and any receiver tuned to that frequency will receive a “Ping”.

Setting this up and testing it out was the 1[st] phase; next comes phase 2. This entails building time-stamped receivers connected to the Internet with a smart computer program that can interpret the reflections and calculate the trajectory, speed and reverse project its orbital path around the Sun.

This phase is underway at present, but it will be a while before it comes to fruition.

17

Trustees Reports

Other news

A number of display boards have been built by Phil Randall, displaying information about the relative antennae and radio telescopes. They have been situated in front of each of them.

We have had our first work experience person attending the observatory from West Nottinghamshire College. Taylor is studying computer science and has been and continues to be a great help in developing our systems and also helping to simplify radio astronomy in-depth information making it easier to convey.

Interest in radio astronomy continues to grow, so it was decided to develop a “how to” manual for those of you who would like to take part in learning about amateur radio astronomy. This has been developing nicely since its conception last year and a special thanks goes out to Steve Binns, John Brown, and Taylor for leading the development of this project. A shout out also goes to all the participant’s that have helped test our procedures and advised the numerous alterations needed. You know who you are, and to those of you embarking in training.

Best wishes,

Nigel (Sparky) Cunnington

18

Trustees Reports

Treasurer – Scott Creed

We had yet another record year for income, expenditure and end of year balance caused by the Science Discovery Centre project. As a result, our accounts had to be produced in a more detailed and professional looking structure showing the income/expenditure (Statement of Financial Activities) and society assets valuations (Balance Sheet) broken down into categories. Both this new format and our original have been sent for you to read.

As for my summary, I am excluding the SDC figures and concentrating only on the “usual” society income and running costs. Stripping out those projects still leaves us with record approximate end of year figures of £30,000 income, £25,000 expenditure, and balance of £27,000.

And now I would like to highlight and explain some of the major changes in income and expenditure.

Income

19

Trustees Reports

Expenditure

20

Trustees Reports

End of Year Balance

----- Start of picture text -----
Income, Expenditure, End of Year Balance
Excluding Special/One-off Projects
£35,000.00
£30,000.00
£25,000.00
£20,000.00
£15,000.00
£10,000.00
£5,000.00
£-
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
Income Expenditure EOY Balance
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Income, Expenditure, End of Year Balance
£400,000
£350,000
£300,000
£250,000
£200,000
£150,000
£100,000
£50,000
£-
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
Income Expenditure EOY Balance
----- End of picture text -----

21

Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society CIO Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society CIO Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society CIO Charity No
(if any)		 1187777
Annualaccountsforthe period
Period start date 01/04/2022 To Period end
date		 31/03/2023

Section A Statement of financial activities

Recommended categories by
activity
Guidance Notes
Incoming resources (Note 3)
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
S01
Charitable activities
S02
Other trading activities
S03
Investments
S04
Separate material item of income
S05
Other
S06
S07
Resources expended (Note 6)
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
S08
Charitable activities
S09
Separate material item of expense
S10
Other
S11
S12
S13
Net gains/(losses) on investments
S14
S15
Extraordinary items
S16
S17
S18
Other gains/(losses)
S19
S20
Reconciliation of funds:
S21
S22
Total
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Total
Net income/(expenditure) before investment
gains/(losses)
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Other recognised gains/(losses):
Gains and losses on revaluation of fixed assets for the charity’s own use		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
Prior year
funds
£
£
£
£
£
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
Prior year
funds
£
£
£
£
£
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
Prior year
funds
£
£
£
£
£
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
Prior year
funds
£
£
£
£
£
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
Prior year
funds
£
£
£
£
£
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05
1,616 338,159 - 339,774 -
23,007 - - 23,007 -
4,919 - - 4,919 -
98 237 - 335 -
- - - -
- - - - 154,208
29,639 338,395 - 368,034 154,208
4,607 1,062 - 5,669 -
2,157 - - 2,157 -
250 117,352 - 117,602 -
17,460 - - 17,460 -
24,474 118,414 - 142,888 -
5,166 219,981 - 225,147 154,208
- - - - -
5,166 219,981 - 225,147 154,208
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
5,166 219,981 - 225,147 154,208
22,315 131,893 - 154,208
27,481 351,874 - 379,355 154,208

Section B Balance sheet

Guidance Notes
Fixed assets
Intangible assets (Note 15)
B01
Tangible assets (Note 14)
B02
Heritage assets (Note 16)
B03
Investments (Note 17)
B04
Total fixed assets
B05
Current assets
Stocks (Note 18)
B06
Debtors (Note 19)
B07
Investments (Note 17.4)
B08
Cash at bank and in hand (Note 24)
B09
Total current assets
B10
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year (Note 20)
B11
Net current assets/(liabilities)
B12
Total assets less current liabilities
B13
Creditors: amounts falling due after
one year (Note 20)
B14
Provisions for liabilities
B15
Total net assets or liabilities
B16
Funds of the Charity
Endowment funds (Note 27)
B17
Restricted income funds (Note 27)
B18
Unrestricted funds
B19
Revaluation reserve
B20
Total funds
B21
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
the trustees
Signature		 Guidance Notes
Fixed assets
Intangible assets (Note 15)
B01
Tangible assets (Note 14)
B02
Heritage assets (Note 16)
B03
Investments (Note 17)
B04
Total fixed assets
B05
Current assets
Stocks (Note 18)
B06
Debtors (Note 19)
B07
Investments (Note 17.4)
B08
Cash at bank and in hand (Note 24)
B09
Total current assets
B10
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year (Note 20)
B11
Net current assets/(liabilities)
B12
Total assets less current liabilities
B13
Creditors: amounts falling due after
one year (Note 20)
B14
Provisions for liabilities
B15
Total net assets or liabilities
B16
Funds of the Charity
Endowment funds (Note 27)
B17
Restricted income funds (Note 27)
B18
Unrestricted funds
B19
Revaluation reserve
B20
Total funds
B21
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
the trustees
Signature		 Unrestricted
funds
£
F01		 Restricted
income
funds
£
F02		 Endowment
funds
Total this
year
£
£
F03
F04		 Endowment
funds
Total this
year
£
£
F03
F04		 Total last
year
£
F05
- - - - -
90,978 40,000 - 130,978 -
- - - - -
- - - - -
90,978 40,000 - 130,978 -
2,492 - - 2,492 -
720 - - 720 -
- - - - -
27,235 352,120 - 379,355 -
30,447 352,120 - 382,567 -
- - - - -
30,447 352,120 - 382,567 -
121,425 392,120 - 513,545 -
- - - - -
- - - - -
121,425 392,120 - 513,545 -
- - -
- - -
- - -
-
- - - - -
Signature Print Name Date of
approval
dd/mm/yyyy

Section C Notes to the accounts

Note 1 Basis of preparation

1.1 Basis of accounting

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.*

1.2 Going concern

There are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

1.3 Change of accounting policy

The accounts present a true and fair view and the accounting policies adopted are those outlined in note { }.

1.4 Changes to accounting estimates

No changes to accounting estimates have occurred in the reporting period (3.46 FRS 102 SORP).

1.5 Material prior year errors

No material prior year error have been identified in the reporting period (3.47 FRS 102 SORP).

Note 3 Analysis of income

Donations and legacies:
Charitable activities:
Other trading activities:
Income from investments:
TOTAL INCOME		 Donations and legacies:
Charitable activities:
Other trading activities:
Income from investments:
TOTAL INCOME		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
£
Analysis		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
£
Analysis		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
£
Analysis		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
£
Analysis		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
£
Analysis
Donations and gifts 1,134 4,079 5,212
Gift Aid 482 80 562
Generalgrantsprovided by government/other charities - 334,000 334,000
Total 1,616 338,159 339,774
MembershipFees 7,738 - 7,738
Public Events,GroupVisits & Courses 12,736 - 12,736
Mansfield Museum Exhibition 2,533 - 2,533
Total 23,007 - 23,007
Merchandise Sales 3,410 - 3,410
Refreshments Sales 1,373 - 1,373
Other 135 - 135
Total 4,919 - 4,919
Interest income 98 237 335
Total 98 237 335
29,639 338,395 368,034
£
10,000
324,000
334,000
Government grant 1

Government grant 2

Total
Note 4 Analysis of receipts of government grants
SDC Project - Towns Fund(RWC Administration)
SDC Project - Towns Fund(RIBA Stage 4)
SDC Project - Towns Fund(RWC Administration) 10,000
SDC Project - Towns Fund(RIBA Stage 4) 324,000
Total 334,000

Section C Notes to the accounts (cont)

Note 6 Analysis of expenditure

Expenditure on raising
funds:
Expenditure on charitable
activities:
expense
expense
Other
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
Separate material item of
expense		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
Analysis
£		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
Analysis
£		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
Analysis
£		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
income funds
Total funds
Analysis
£
Fundraisingagents - 972 972
Advertising,marketing,direct mail andpublicity 300 90 390
Other tradingactivities 4,307 - 4,307
Total 4,607 1,062 5,669
Courses,Events & Visits 998 - 998
Mansfield Museum Exhibition 750 - 750
Lecturer Fees 409 - 409
Total 2,157 - 2,157
SDC Project Development - 117,352 117,352
Independent Examination of Accounts 250 - 250
Total 250 117,352 117,602
ObservatoryRunningCosts 4,097 - 4,097
ObservatoryEquipment & Maintenance 12,374 - 12,374
Land Transfer from Unincorporated Charity 988 988
Total 17,460 - 17,460
24,474 118,414 142,888

Note 8 Funds received as agent

8.1 Please complete this note if the charity has agreed to administer the funds of another entity as its agent. Note: If a charity is acting as an agent, it should not recognise the income in the Statement of Financial Activities or the Balance Sheet.

Description/name of party Related party
(Yes or No)		 Amount
received		 Amount paid
out		 Balance held at
period end
£ £
£
UK Meteor Beacon Yes 600 229 371
600 229 371

Note 10 Details of certain items

10.1 Fees for examination of the accounts
Independent examiner’s fees		 £
250

Note 14 Tangible fixed assets

At the beginning of the year
At end of the year
Net book value at the beginning of the year
Net book value at the end of the year
14.3 Net book value
14.1 Cost or valuation
Freehold land &
buildings
£		 Fixtures, fittings
and equipment
£		 Total
£
85,000 45,978 130,978
85,000 45,978 130,978
85,000 45,978 130,978
85,000 45,978 130,978

Note 18 Stocks

Other trading activities:
Added in period
Closing
Total this year		 For resale
£
2,492
2,492
2,492

Note 19 Debtors and prepayments

19.1 Analysis of debtors
Mansfield District Council (Inv. 2303-04)
Total		 £
720
720

Note 24 Cash at bank and in hand

£ Cash at bank and on hand 379,355 Total 379,355

Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society

31 Mar 2023 31 Mar 2023
Charity no.: 1187777 Company no.:

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for the year ended 31 Mar 2023

As the charity’s trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the

I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.