July 2024 – News

31st July

Summer School Tour: The Week Four Summer School Observatory Tour was completely cloudy (except for a very brief view of Vega in a slightly thinner patch!), but that didn’t deter 28 pupils from joining GKWJ, JAG, DGR and a Friend at the Dome. The group split into two groups for one session in the Dome to learn about the Cooke 10-inch and the history of the Observatory, and a second session in the Warm Room to see a selection of images, follow the Radio Meteor Detector live stream, where multiple large meteor events were seen (early Perseids?), and handle the Wetton Meteorite Collection. The two groups joined together for a bonus session with our meteorite expert Friend, who showed a range of meteorites, including lunar and Martian rocks, as well as a number of Apollo mission items, such as a spare space suit name patch for ‘N Armstrong’ and his Apollo 11 ‘Eagle’ mission badge!

26th July

Summer School Observing: At the end of a mostly cloudy week, the final afternoon of GKWJ’s Practical Astronomy course had sufficient gaps in the cloud to allow the group to view the Sun at the Observatory. 6 pupils attended and the session started with Eclipse Specs, then the Sun was viewed in White Light at 90x magnification in the 10-inch, giving a full disk view showing multiple active regions. The magnification was increased to 140x to give a closer view of the active regions. The group moved outside to view the full disk in hydrogen alpha through the Lunt 2-inch, where an array of prominences were also visible. The session ended with a spectacular view of prominences and active regions in great detail with the hydrogen alpha filter on the 10-inch.

25th July

Summer School Observing: Finally, a clear sky enabled GKWJ to offer his Summer School pupils a session at the Observatory under the stars. 2 pupils attended and the evening started with the set up procedure for the Celestron 8-inch. The first target was M13 – the Great Hercules Cluster, which, once found, looked wonderful in the eyepiece. We moved to the 10-inch to view M13 as a comparison. The cluster started to fade… the sky had completely clouded over, bringing the session to an early halt. As we were about to leave, the sky started to clear again. One pupil had a pair of binoculars, which were used to view the rising Waning Gibbous Moon, Brocchi’s Cluster and M31 – the Andromeda Galaxy. The sky had cleared sufficiently to merit opening the Dome again and Albireo, M57 – the Ring Nebula, and M27 – the Dumbbell Nebula were all observed.

24th July

Summer School Tour: Cloudy skies befell the Week Three Observatory Tour. Nevertheless, 22 Summer School pupils, including an Old Marlburian, joined GKWJ, JAG and a Friend at the Dome. The history of the Observatory and telescope was recounted, including wonderful memories from the OM who had used the Cooke 10-inch when he was a boy at the College in the late 1950s. The group then observed with the Radio Meteor Detection System, where multiple meteor events were seen. The Wetton Meteorite collection was also examined.

17th July

Summer School Tour: 26 Summer School pupils from locations all around the globe joined GKWJ, JAG, DGR and a Friend for the Week Two Observatory Tour. The twilight sky was hazy with some high cloud, but large gaps allowed observing to take place. The session started with a view of the low 85% Waxing Gibbous Moon through the 10-inch and in binoculars, which gave a lovely view of the close approach to Antares. As darkness slowly descended and the stars started to appear, Alcor and Mizar were studied in binoculars. Meanwhile, the 10-inch slewed to Albireo and then to M57, the Ring Nebula.

11th July

Summer School Visit: 21 language students from the School of English and Culture along with 4 teachers visited the Dome in the afternoon with GKWJ and JAG. It was partially cloudy with high haze, but the group were able to view the Sun, first with eclipse specs and then in the 10-inch with the white light filter. Large active region AR 3738 was just visible by naked eye and very clear in the 10-inch, where its complex structure could be seen in great detail. Multiple other smaller ARs were also seen. The Waxing Crescent Moon was the next target, with lovely craters visible in the 28% illuminated region. Unfortunately, observing was cut short by thickening haze, but the session continued with the group enjoying an examination of the Sun and space weather.

10th July

Summer School Tour: 20 Summer School pupils attended the Week One Observatory Tour with GKWJ, JAG, DGR and a Friend. The sky was mostly cloudy, though there were some gaps which allowed the setting Waxing Crescent Moon to be seen intermittently in the west. As dusk descended, the brighter stars were seen to appear, including: Arcturus, the Plough, Polaris and the Summer Triangle.