About Us
We're a friendly astronomy group based in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex. Whether you're passionate or just curious about astronomy, an expert or complete novice, everyone is welcome. Our activities are designed to suit all levels of interest, knowledge, and experience within the field of astronomy.
Our heritage dates back five decades as a small group known as the Lewes Astronomers. Astronomy has made significant strides during that time, yet it remains one of the few scientific disciplines in which amateurs can play a useful role.
Relaunched in 2022 as the Lewes Astronomical Society, we now have 165 members and hundreds more supporters on our mailing list. Yet our ethos remains simple: to promote all aspects of astronomy in a friendly and inclusive environment for people living in and around the Lewes area.
Join Us
Our membership season runs for 12 months from 1st September each year. Membership includes free admission to our public talks which are usually presented by a guest speaker. These meetings are normally held on the first Wednesday of each month (except July and August) at the Subud Centre in Lewes, BN7 2DS.
We also arrange other events throughout the year, such as stargazing evenings. Our events are a great way to meet amateurs and professionals in the field of astronomy and make new friends.
Join us now to enjoy full membership until 31st August 2026. See our membership page for more details.
By submitting this form, you agree to our Privacy & Cookies Policies. New members are automatically subscribed to our mailshots when joining our society.
Next Event
AGM, followed by Neutrinos - The Quest for the Ghost Particle
Tony Gwyther
Subud Centre, Lewes BN7 2DS
3rd June 2026 at 7:30pm
The discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen, of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel the following year, and of the negatively-charged electron by J. J. Thomson in 1897, turned our understanding of the world of the atom upside-down. That same year, Ernest Rutherford, discovered two further types of radioactivity that differed from X-rays in their penetrating powers; these he termed 'alpha rays' and 'beta rays (he later found a third type of radiation, with even greater penetration, 'gamma rays'). He was later to identify that the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is a positively charged particle: the proton.
Conservation of energy had been known for many decades; it is the principle underscoring the First Law of Thermodynamics. In 1905, Albert Einstein formulated his famous equation, E=mc2 in his Theory of Special Relativity, which postulated how energy could be stored and transferred. Radioactivity is an example of E=mc2. When alpha and gamma decay occurs, energy is conserved but, with beta radiation, where electrons are created during nuclear transmutation, this doesn't seem to be the case, and a fixed value for the energy of the electron emitted is not seen. Although he was regarded as relatively minor, and ignored by many physicists at the time such as Neils Bohr, the young and brilliant Austrian theorist, Wolfgang Pauli, refused to believe that energy conservation did not occur and proposed that an unknown particle took away the missing energy. This particle must be neutrally charged and with little or no mass: he named it the 'neutron'. A few years later, James Chadwick discovered the true neutron, at the heart of the nucleus, much the size and mass of the heavy proton. It was Enrico Fermi who took up Pauli's idea, developed the theory, and renamed Pauli's neutron as the 'neutrino' (the little neutral one). It took a further 25 years before real neutrinos were observed by Fred Reines and Clyde Cowan, and the work of a lifetime by Ray Davis and others on solar neutrinos before the nature of the elusive neutrino was ultimately revealed. This is their story.
Everyone is welcome. Non-members £4.
Contact Us
For general enquiries about our society, please send an email to secretary@lewesas.org.uk. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact any of the team members shown on our committee page.
Find Us
Our monthly public meetings are held in the Assembly Hall at the newly-renovated Lewes Subud Centre, East Sussex BN7 2DS (formerly Lewes New School). Entrance is in Talbot Terrace. Municipal car parks are free after 5pm. The Brook Street car park is just a few minutes easy walk from the venue.
Latitude 50.8765N Longitude 0.00835E /// tripled.collide.flattens