There is a large number of amateur astronomical societies around the world that serve as a meeting point for those interested in amateur astronomy, whether they be people who are actively interested in observing or " armchair astronomers " who may simply be interested in the topic.

With three further mergers in each of 2009 and 2010, and a demutualisation and a merger in 2011, the current number of building societies is at 47.

Over succeeding decades the number of societies has decreased, as various societies merged to form larger ones, often renaming in the process, and other societies opted for demutualisation followed by-in the great majority of cases-eventual takeover by a listed bank.

The management of a number of societies still felt that they were unable to compete with the banks, and a new Building Societies Act was passed in 1986 in response to their concerns.

A number of the larger societies made such proposals to their members and all were accepted.

In the end, after a number of large demutualisations, and pressure from carpetbaggers moving from one building society to another to cream off the windfalls, most of the remaining societies modified their rules of membership in the late 1990s.

However, in enlightened absolutism ( also known as benevolent despotism ), which came to prominence in 18th century Europe, absolute monarchs used their authority to institute a number of reforms in the political systems and societies of their countries.

Scientific and educational societies were active in a number of cities.

The Quran introduced a number of different rights and restrictions on matters of inheritance, including general improvements to the treatment of women and family life compared to the pre-Islamic societies that existed in the Arabian Peninsula at the time.

Orton became interested in performing in the theatre around 1949 and joined a number of different dramatic societies, including the prestigious Leicester Dramatic Society.

Law in all societies has tended to develop towards reducing the number of things not having clear owners.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as Mecca and Medina, located in the Hejaz in the west of the peninsula, most of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic tribal societies or uninhabitable desert.

Today, it is one of five religions recognized in the PRC, and although it does not travel readily from its Asian roots, claims adherents in a number of societies.

A number of religious utopian societies from Europe came to the United States from the 18th century throughout the 19th century, including the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness ( led by Johannes Kelpius ), the Ephrata Cloister, and the Harmony Society, among others.

The emphasis on classics gave rise to a number of private student societies, open only by invitation, which arose primarily as forums for discussions of modern scholarship, literature and politics.

A number of important philosophical societies were formed, which were centers of the city's intellectual life: the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture ( 1785 ), the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and the Useful Arts ( 1787 ), the Academy of Natural Sciences ( 1812 ), and the Franklin Institute ( 1824 ).

Anthropologists have documented a great number of societies where marriages between some first cousins are prohibited as incestuous, while marriages between other first cousins are encouraged.

Contemporary multicultural societies have established a number of taboos rooted in the perceived injustice and deleterious effects of modern history, particularly neocolonialism.

In Chinese societies, prices are generally either a round number or sometimes some lucky number.

Given the number of unpleasant, harmful or even fatal consequences of coming out in world societies, it is questionable to call being closeted a choice.

The practice encountered criticism from its first import into the Western world onwards, but embedded itself in certain strata of a number of societies before becoming widespread upon the introduction of automated cigarette-rolling apparatus.

In the UK, it charted 8 times between 1970 and 1972, peaking at number 5 and spending a total of 75 weeks on popular music charts.

It hit number 1 in the UK singles chart in April 1972, spending 24 weeks total on the charts, topped the RPM national singles chart in Canada for three weeks, and rose as high as number 11 in the U. S. It is also a controversial instrumental, as it combined pipes with a military band.

The number of UK units of alcohol in a drink can be determined by multiplying < var > the volume of the drink ( in milliliters )</ var > by its < var > percentage ABV </ var >, and dividing by 1000.

In 1983 an a cappella group known as The Flying Pickets had a Christmas ' number one ' in the UK with a cover of Yazoo's ( known in the US as Yaz ) " Only You ".

The Movie has now become the most successful movie musical of all time and has been named the number one box office smash of 2008, and the biggest-selling DVD ever in the UK.

PolyGram ( London Records ' parent company at that time ) had pressed a number of promo singles and 12 " versions of the song, sending them out to both radio and record stores in the UK.

* Since Big Brother 2, the UK series always opens with a twist which have included the public being able to choose the final housemate out of three possibilities ( Big Brother 2 ), the public voting for a housemate to leave during the first week and then the housemates choosing between the two housemates with the least number of votes ( Big Brother 3 ), First Night Nominations ( Big Brother 4 ), Suitcase Nominations ( Big Brother 5 ), Unlucky Housemate 13 ( Big Brother 6 ), Big Brother Hood ( Big Brother 7 ), an all-female House and the first inclusion of twins as contestants ( Big Brother 8 ), the first couple to enter as housemates and set a secret task to hide their real relationship ( Big Brother 9 ), all " housemates " really being " non-housemates " who had to earn their housemate status ( Big Brother 10 ), a mole entering the House with an " Impossible Task " ( Big Brother 11 ), Jackie Stallone entering a house containing her son's ex-wife ( Celebrity Big Brother 3 ), the entrance of a non-celebrity in a celebrity edition ( Celebrity Big Brother 4 ) and Jade Goody's family announced to be visiting.

There are also a number of acts both in the US ( Johnny Rogers, John Mueller ) and UK ( Marc Robinson, Spencer J etc.

Four years following its original release, it became the number one movie in the UK.

It was expected that the UK Government's liberalisation of the UK bankruptcy regime would increase the number of bankruptcy cases ; the Insolvency Service statistics appear to bear this out:

When the UK Channel 4 television program " The Bermuda Triangle " ( c. 1992 ) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurance market Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area.

* In 2002, on a UK poll broadcast by the BBC, Chaplin was ranked number 66 on a list of the 100 Greatest Britons.

The album gained a following in the United Kingdom, charting at 59 on the UK Albums Chart, as well as its lead single, " Teenage Whore " entering the country's Indie chart at number one.

Because of this potential for confusion, a number of Conservative Rabbis have proposed renaming the movement, and outside of the United States and Canada, in many countries including Israel and the UK, it is today known as Masorti Judaism ( Hebrew for " Traditional ").

Released in October 1987, it became a breakthrough hit for Eric B & Rakim outside the U. S., reaching # 15 in the UK and the top 20 in a number of European countries.

The album reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia, number six in the UK and made the top 20 in several European countries.

It topped the New Zealand Album Chart, reached number 2 in Australia and number 4 in the UK.

The album debuted at number one in Australia, New Zealand and the UK in July 1996.

It topped the album chart in New Zealand and made number 2 in Australia and number 3 in the UK.

In the mid-5th century the number of adult male citizens was perhaps as high as 60, 000, but this number fell precipitously during the Peloponnesian War.

Her acquaintance with him parallels her writing a number of poems, which may suggest she fell in love with him.

Zonaras vividly narrates how " he and his son and a large number of Romans fell into the marshland ; all of them perished there, none of their bodies to be found, as they were covered by the mud.

Although Secret Messages debuted at number four in the United Kingdom, it fell off the charts, failing to catch fire with a lack of hit singles in the U. K. ( though " Rock ' n ' Roll Is King " was a sizeable hit in UK, the US and Australia ) and a lukewarm media response.

The number of Scottish seats represented by Unionists ( known as Conservatives from 1965 onwards ) went into steady decline from 1959 onwards, until it fell to zero in 1997.

After surveying a number of different locations, Pei fell in love with a valley once used as an imperial garden and hunting preserve, known as Fragrant Hills.

According to Rashi, the ladder signified the exiles that the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the Jewish Messiah: the angels that represented the exiles of Babylonia, Persia, and Greece each climbed up a certain number of steps, paralleling the years of the exile, before they " fell down "; but the angel representing the last exile, that of Rome or Edom, kept climbing higher and higher into the clouds.

Around 1760 the university reputation dropped as the number of students fell below 200, most of whom hailed from around the province.

From 1993 to 1994, for example, the total amount of transported goods fell by 31 percent, passenger traffic decreased by 28 percent, and the number of passengers declined by 24 percent.

The stone reportedly fell through a number of banana leaves before striking the boy on the head, causing little to no pain, as it was small enough to have been slowed by both friction with the atmosphere as well as that with banana leaves, before striking the boy.

Depopulation accelerated, and in the next twenty years the number fell to 181, its lowest ever.

The film won a number of prestigious film awards but fell from grace, particularly in the United States when, in November 1938, the world learned of the pogrom against the Jews.

During early 772, as Stephen fell ill and was soon clear that he was dying, Afiarta took advantage of this to exile a number of influential clergy and nobles from Rome, while others he put into prison.

In surveys, the number of high school students admitting to trying PCP at least once fell from 13 % in 1979 to less than 3 % in 1990.

He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images that fell under the umbrella of surrealism.

Total fertility rates ( the average number of births a woman will have during her lifetime ) fell from 6. 1 births per female in 1960 to 4. 2 in 1970, 2. 8 in 1980, and 2. 4 in 1984.

The number of ships calling at the island fell from 1, 100 in 1855 ; to 853 in 1869 ; to 603 in 1879 and to only 288 in 1889.

Structural anthropology fell out of favour in the early 1980s for a number of reasons.

During the twenty years following the riot, the number of lynchings statewide fell to 2.

With the advent of photography the number of variables piled up quickly, and variable star names soon fell into the Bayer trap of reaching the end of the alphabet while still having stars to name.

However people are walking less in the UK ; a Department of Transport report found that between 1995 / 97 and 2005 the average number of walk trips per person fell by 16 %, from 292 to 245 per year.

The number of Poles as a percentage of the total population fell to just 0. 5 % after the reconstitution of Poland in 1918, when many returned home.

The number of Jews remaining in Breslau fell from 23, 240 in 1925 to 10, 659 in 1933.