Family Open Dome 11th July 2019

The next Family Open Dome event is this Thursday the 11th July and will be an evening of myth busting and making.

Starting at 6pm the family session includes making a Space Shuttle glider that you can take home and fly. There will also be a fact or fiction sheet to fill in, the answers to which will be revealed during the talk starting at 7pm.

Mr M. Perkins will present a talk on the facts and fiction of space answering such questions as “Did NASA really invent a pen to write in space?” and “Are sailboats the future of space travel?”.

Activities start in LR2G at 6pm and refreshments will be available from 6.30pm in time for the start of the talk in the usual location of IT14G. All are welcome, under 16’s should be accompanied by an adult please. A suggested donation of £2 is appreciated towards costs.

If weather permits there may be opportunity for some solar observing prior to the main talk at 7pm and observatory tours will take place after the talk for anybody interested in seeing our observatory in detail.

Open Dome 6th June 2019 – Detecting Meteors

The next open dome event is on Thursday the 6th June at the usual time of 7pm. This month our guest speaker is Steve Ibbotson of Astrosphere Planetarium. Steve will be talking about how to observe and detect meteors. In particular the use of radio astronomy for detecting meteors. This will be followed up by Mr M Perkins who will introduce the Long Eaton School’s latest project, a meteor detector, currently being built by a group of year 7 girls as part of the Astronomy and STEM club.

Doors open at 6.30pm when refreshments will be available. Prior to the talk there will be opportunity to do some solar observing if the weather permits. Everybody is welcome, under 16’s to be accompanied by an adult please. A suggested donation of £2 is welcomed, with all proceeds going towards the cost of refreshments and other costs.

Open Dome 9th May 7pm – Black Holes and Revelations

The next open dome event at the Malcolm Parry Observatory Long Eaton is this coming Thursday evening, 9th May 2019 at 7pm.

Mr M. Perkins will be presenting a talk about Black Holes. Concentrating on the recent breaking news of a Black Hole being imaged for the first time, the talk will also cover a brief history of the understanding of these truly massive objects.

Weather permitting there will be chance for some solar observing prior to the talk which itself will start around 7.30pm. Doors open at 6.30pm and refreshments will be available. Admission is open to anybody, a suggested donation of £2 per adult is greatly appreciated towards running costs. Under 16’s to be accompanied by an adult please.

Family Open Dome Event March 28th ’19

The Malcolm Parry Observatory will be hosting the its next family open dome on Thursday 28th March and will be themed around the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

The first part of the evening, aimed at all ages, will include lots of hands-on activities about rockets and the Apollo missions. It starts at 6pm and will be followed by observatory tours for younger audiences that do not wish to stay for the presentation.

The second part of the evening starts at 7pm with Mr M Perkins giving a presentation focusing on human spaceflight and the Apollo missions. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for tours of the observatory and if clear observing time too. Refreshments will be available and a suggested donation of £2 is appreciated towards costs for the evening.

As the observatory itself is not heated, tours and observing sessions are, at this time of the year, quite cold so please do bring along suitable attire. Observing sessions are of course subject to clear skies. The evening will draw to a close at 9pm.

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Stargazing Live 2019 Jan 30th

The annual Stargazing Live event will be taking place on January 30th 2019.
Doors open at 6pm and will close at 9pm. This is a free event and booking is not required. On offer will be many exhibits and activities including: Hands on experiments, Astronaut training, local astronomy groups, “Cool Science” show, mobile planetarium, observatory tours and much more.
Our keynote speaker this year is Paul Money, reviews editor for Sky at Night magazine. The talk will take place in the main hall at approx. 7pm.

Open Dome Event 19th Dec ’18 – Christmas Quiz

The next public open dome event is on Wednesday the 19th December 2018 at the usual time of 7pm. This month we will be holding our (almost) world famous Christmas Quiz. Loosely based around Astronomy and Space, the Christmas quiz is a light-hearted multiple choice quiz with a prize for the winning score.

Doors open at 6.30pm for refreshments including mince pies. The quiz will start at 7pm. After the quiz there will be opportunity for tours of the observatory and if clear some observing too.

All are welcome with no need to book in advance. A suggested donation of £2 is appreciated towards refreshments etc.

Family Open Dome Event November 29th ’18

The Malcolm Parry Observatory will be hosting the second family open dome of the year on Thursday 29th November.

The first part of the evening, aimed at all ages, will include lots of hands-on activities about the Moon. It starts at 6pm and will be followed by observatory tours for younger audiences that do not wish to stay for the presentation.

The second part of the evening starts at 7pm and will also be about our natural satellite, the Moon. Mr M Perkins will give a presentation focusing on its creation, composition, discovery and exploration. After the presentation there will be opportunity for tours of the observatory and if clear observing time too. Refreshments will be available and a suggested donation of £2 is appreciated towards costs for the evening.

As the observatory its self is not heated, tours and observing sessions are, at this time of the year, quite cold so please do bring along suitable attire. Observing sessions are of course subject to clear skies. The evening will draw to a close at 9pm.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter pages to see more updates on our other activities at The Malcolm Parry Observatory.