The 'Astronomical Society of London' was conceived over dinner on 12 January 1820.
The 14 men who met that day included Charles Babbage and John Herschel; they shared an interest in astronomy and were concerned about its future.The objectives of the Society were the promotion of astronomy in the form of accurate calculations and observations, but also in practical applications such as navigation.
Visis the RAS page that lists selected sources of reference material, including books, magazines, computer software, web sites, societies and distance-learning courses, for people interested in taking up astronomy as a hobby.
Getting started in astronomy.>