Keen astronomers not put off by rain as local stargazing event goes ahead thanks to University and Preston and District Astronomical Society.
More than 120 people turned out for our Stargazing Live event on January 13th. The weather was unfavourable, but keen stargazers were not put off by the rainy weather for the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) Stargazing Live event and still managed to glimpse the night sky with help from modern technology.
UCLan astronomy experts joined forces with the Preston and District Astronomical Society (PADAS) to share their knowledge with visitors young and old who were still able to star gaze through a large screen set up in 53 Degrees that used a programme to share images of what the sky would look like.
They were also given expert advice on how to best use their own telescopes from PADAS and staff from UCLan’s Jeremiah Horrocks Institute (JHI) for Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy. Budding young astronomers, including Catforth Beaver Group, also visited the Little Astronomers Activity Corner to try lots of hands-on star themed activities and a chance to win a Galileo telescope.
One attendee commented: “Thank you very much for putting this on. It gave me renewed enthusiasm to actively view the skies. Fantastic.”
Another added: “The talk was brilliant and UCLan’s Dr Stewart Eyres made it very clear, understandable and interesting.”
UCLan lecturer Dr Joanne Pledger from the JHI led the event. She said: “We can never predict the weather and while it was a shame we weren’t able to go outside and view the night sky, we still put on a great event for the whole community with the excellent support from PADAS. We’ve had lots of positive feedback so far and it’s great to know that many of the visitors have been inspired to go on and pursue their interest in astronomy.”
For more information on other astronomy events at UCLan please follow Alston Observatory on Twitter via @AlstonObsy. The observatory is a purpose-built teaching facility with its own Discovery Dome planetarium system that hosts events open to the general public throughout the year. People can also email alstonobservatory@uclan.ac.uk for more information.
Stargazing Live visitors watch a virtual sky tour.
Young stargazers learn how a telescope works.