Public Open Dome April 26th – The Antikythera Mechanism.

The next Public Open Dome Event is on Thursday 26th April at the usual time of 7pm. Dr Maria Pavlidou of Birmingham University will be talking about “The Antikythera mechanism”

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek analog computer and orrery used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes decades in advance. It could also track the four-year cycle of athletic games which was similar to an Olympiad, the cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. Detailed imaging of the mechanism suggests that it had 37 gear wheels enabling it to follow the movements of the moon and the sun through the zodiac, to predict eclipses, and even to model the irregular orbit of the moon, where the moon’s velocity is higher in its perigee than in its apogee.

Refreshments are available from 6:30pm. All welcome with no membership required. Suggested donation of £2 per adult is welcomed towards refreshments etc. Under 16’s welcome but must be accompanied by an adult please.

After the talk if the weather permits there will be opportunity for observing in the purpose built observatory. If not then a short guide to the night sky will follow with opportunity for a tour of the observatory for those who wish to view the facilities.

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Public Open Dome Event March 22nd ’18 – Dr Julian Onions

The next public open dome event is on Thursday the 22nd March 2018 and features guest speaker, Dr. Julian Onions of Nottingham University. The content of this talk is yet to be confirmed but Julian is always a popular speaker with some very interesting talks indeed.

Refreshments are available from 6:30pm and the talk will start approx. 7pm. After the talk there will be chance to see the observatory and, if clear, opportunity for some observing.

Entrance is open to all, over 16’s to be accompanied by an adult please. A suggested donation of £2 per adult is welcomed towards running costs.

Open Dome Event February 15th 2018 – Hunting Orion.

The next public open dome event is on Thursday 15th February at 7pm. This month the talk will be presented by Mr M. Perkins of The Long Eaton School and is entitled “Hunting Orion”.

In the talk we shall discover some of the myths and legends surrounding the constellation of Orion as well as many of the fascinating things to look out for in this area of the night sky. The talk will start at 7pm with refreshments available from 6:30pm.

The event is open to the general public and with no booking required. Under 16’s welcome but must be accompanied by an adult please. Admission is via a suggested donation of £2 per adult. After the talk if the weather permits there will be opportunity to observe Orion in our purpose built observatory.

Update! Dr Suzie Imber joins us for Stargazing Live!

We are to be joined by Dr Suzie Imber tomorrow evening as part of our Stargazing Live 2018 event. Suzie joins Dr Helen Mason as we celebrate “Inspiring Women in Space”.

Suzie Imber, was revealed as the best candidate for space on the BBC2 show “Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?” in 2017. The University of Leicester associate professor said the experience was “incredible” but “really tough”. Dr Imber, who triumphed over 11 other people, will now get a recommendation to join the European Space Agency.

Suzie will be on hand to help out with various activities and will be presenting a short talk in the main hall about her time on the Tv show.

Our event is free to enter and starts at 6pm. See main blog post for more details…. Stargazing Live 2018 – Jan 24th 6-9pm

 

Stargazing Live 2018 – Jan 24th 6-9pm

The sixth annual Stargazing live event at the Long Eaton School takes place on January the 24th 2018 from 6pm until 9pm. Admission is free of charge and offers fun for all the family. We are very pleased to welcome Dr Helen Mason of Cambridge University as this years guest speaker. Helen is a solar astronomer who also works on the NASA SOHO mission which studies the Sun from space.

On offer as always will be a variety of exhibits to look at, experiments and demonstrations, astronaut training and a mobile planetarium. No matter what the weather may do on the night there is a chance to see some stars in the fabulous 5m inflatable star dome from Astrosphere.*

If the weather allows there will be a range of telescopes pointing skywards for visitors to look through and the observatory will be open for visitors to have a tour even if cloudy. The observatory is one of only three to be housed in a school in the UK and boasts a range of cutting edge instruments.

Refreshments will also be available for a small charge.

*places in the planetarium are restricted and strictly first come first served.

 

Public Open Dome Event 14th Dec – Christmas Quiz.

Thursday 14th December. It’s that time of year again where we gather for the world famous (maybe a slight exaggeration) Christmas Quiz! It will as usual be nothing short of random, knowledge of astronomy is optional for the quiz since the questions are often very tenuously linked to space. A prize will be on offer to the highest score.

 Start time is the usual 7pm with refreshments, including mince pies, available from 6:30pm. Attendence is by suggested donation of £2 towards costs with all profits going to the observatory fund. Under 16’s to be accompanied by an adult please.

 

Open Dome Event 23rd November ’17 Dr Phil Sutton

The next open dome event will take place next Thursday the 23^rd November 2017 at the usual start time of 7pm. This month our guest speaker is Dr Phil Sutton of Lincoln University with a talk entitled ” How to find Exomoons and Exorings and their importance to understanding the universe”. Dr Sutton will briefly look at how we can find exomoons and exorings then some interesting things about why we should be looking for them. Exomoons is a part of Dr Sutton’s research and personal interest.

 

After the talk there will be an opportunity to do some observing if the weather permits, a chance to tour the observatory for any new visitors who so wish and a very brief talk by myself on topical matters relating to astronomy if the weather is poor.

 

Refreshments are available from 6:30pm onwards. A recommended donation of £2 towards costs is suggested. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult please. Approx finish time will be no later than 9:00pm