Special events

In the past the predictability of the sky meant that it was used as both a clock and a calendar. But there are random or infrequent events which generate special public interest. During these times the observatory is opened to help the public get a greater appreciation of the majesty of the heavens. In the past this has included comets, eclipses, transits and unusual planetary events.

In addition to these sky-driven concerns we also open the observatory for more human considerations. Science week is a good example of this.

News service

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Upcoming events

Special observing evening December 31st. 2009. Providing that the sky is clear, the Observatory will be open from 4:30 pm to observe a shadow of Jupiter's moon Io and then to observe a partial eclipse of the Moon and later to observe Mars.

Jupiter Impact August 2009

Those of us with long enough memories will be casting them back to the glorious July 1994 event when the remains of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 ploughed into Jupiter, leaving little black marks across its disk. Unexpectly sometime in July this year an object did the same thing, and it has left a small black dot near the south pole of Jupiter. There is more information over here.

Previous events

Lunar Occultation of the Pleiades: 27/10/07

In the constellation of Taurus is the Seven Sisters Cluster, as seen here on their own and with Comet Machholz over here. On Saturday 27^th of October the Moon will pass in front of these stars and the observatory will be open until around midnight to cover this event. Mars will be handily placed at this time.

Disappearing London: 16/01/07

The observatory featured on the January 16 edition of ITV London's Disappearing London. Doug Daniels starred along with the Cooke telescope from 7:30pm.

Rare conjunction: 07/02/07

There was a conjunction of Venus, Mercury and Uranus early in the evening of the 7^th of February. Mercury and Venus were separated by about 5° and Uranus was only 30' from Venus! This made a good opportunity to see some of the less obvious planets as we can use the obvious sky mark of Venus to locate the mercurial Mercury and faint Uranus.

Total lunar eclipse: 03/03/07

On Saturday 3^rd March 2007 there was a total lunar eclipse and the observatory had extended hours to cover this lovely spectacle. About 100 members of the public took advantage of this and enjoyed an in-depth look at the Moon and Saturn.

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Special Events