30/07/2026
MESSAGE RE 28th AUGUST MEETING
Unfortunately we have received a message from our August guest speaker Freddy Munoz who was planning being our speaker for the August meeting. Following our online talk we were really looking forward to having him speak in person. He has sent us a message part of which is below. Unfortunately Chile is also having extreme weather but unlike us cold and storms.
As our August meeting clashed with the OSC Astronomy festival , which a large number of our members are planning attending, and there will be lectures and stargazing at the OSC on the evening of 28th August we have taken the decision to cancel our meeting.
We look forward to having you all join us at the OSC where we will have our Wealden marquee and telescopes on the lower lawns
Freddie’s message
“I hope you are well in England. I am writing to provide an update regarding the situation here in Chile, which unfortunately is not so good at the time.
Northern Chile, specifically my city La Serena and the Rubin Observatory area, has recently been hit by the most severe rainstorm in the last 30 years. While the storm is currently receding, many families, towns, and roads have been severely impacted by flooding and bad weather might return in the incoming weeks.
The observatory is completely covered in snow and operations have been halted for the past 10 days, posing a major issue for our instruments. We are currently unable to start the systems up, and we anticipate numerous technical issues to resolve once we do.
Because of this, I need to review our project priorities and necessary actions with my local management for the upcoming month”
