November 2024 – News
28th November
Shell Visit: 7 pupils from the Cotton Shell visited the Dome. Patchy cloud allowed GKWJ to show them Jupiter in the 10-inch, but no further observing was possible, so the group enjoyed a series of images taken at the Observatory.
27th November
GCSE Observing: 8 pupils from the Hundred joined GKWJ at the Dome to make a start on their Aided Observing Tasks. The sky was clear and dark, though with some gathering high haze. Sketches were made of Messier 45, the Pleiades, as seen through binoculars, two pupils set up cameras to capture star trails to measure the sidereal period of the Earth, Jupiter with four moons was observed through the 10-inch, and an in depth Sky Tour was given to cover not just the required asterisms, but identify as many constellations on view as possible.
26th November
Blackett Lecture: An impressive turn out of over 100 pupils and Friends attended the Blackett Science Lecture this year. The speaker was Professor Andrew Coates from UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory. He has had an illustrious career in space exploration and currently leads the team creating the PanCam instrument onboard the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars 2028 mission. Professor Coates spoke on the subject of ‘Exploring the Solar System’, looking at missions past, present and future involved in the search for life beyond Earth. He went into particular detail about the Rosalind Franklin mission, highlighting the motivation and decisions behind the mission and its objectives. Many excellent questions were asked by pupils and Friends alike, showing just how well he had captured the audience’s engagement in the subject.
25th November
Public Open Evening: 35 members of the public attended the Open Evening across two sessions. Clear skies, with some passing cloud, allowed observing to go ahead. The first group enjoyed a Sky Tour outside, given the early start of 6pm, many satellites were seen crossing the sky. They took the ‘Greek Eye Test’, with some passing! The Pleiades (M45) was seen through binoculars. The group moved to the 10-inch and first observed Saturn with moons Titan, Rhea and Tethys, then on to Jupiter with all 4 Galilean moons, next to double star Almach, and finally to open cluster M34. A bank of cloud covered the sky during the break between groups, but thankfully cleared as the 8pm attendees arrived. Fearing more cloud, the group started at the 10-inch to view Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons. Thankfully, the sky cleared beautifully and so the group moved outside for a Sky Tour. Then back to the 10-inch to observe: Almach, M34, Saturn and 3 moons, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and Neptune. The session ended with a view of Mars rising as the group departed.
22nd November
Friends Observing: This year’s planetary observing session was well attended with 28 Friends braving the cold conditions to spot the line up of planets. Unfortunately, hazy conditions meant that the view was far from perfect, but the 10-inch cut through and gave an impressive view of Jupiter with its 4 Galilean moons. Boldly, we slewed to Saturn, but the thickening haze meant the distant planet was distinct but faint and no moons could be seen. A desperate attempt to spot Neptune was made, but to no avail, so the telescope returned to Jupiter for a final view, where a small change in the positions of the moons was noted.
21st November
Outreach Visit: 14 Cubs and 5 Adult Leaders from the Ramsbury Cub Pack came to the Dome on a beautiful clear evening, though extremely cold at -2°C. While waiting for all to arrive, a string of about a dozen Starlink satellites was seen marching across the sky. Once assembled, the group started at the 10-inch to observe Saturn and its moon, Titan. We then moved outside for a Sky Tour, dodging the occasional passing cloud bank. Whilst outside, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Pleiades (M45) were observed in binoculars. The session ended back at the 10-inch with a view of Jupiter and its 4 Galilean moons.
Shell Visit: The 10 boys of C3 Shell and 2 tutors joined GKWJ at the Dome. They enjoyed a Sky Tour outside under a clearing sky. We then moved to the 10-inch to observe Jupiter and 4 moons, Almach, open cluster M34 and finally the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
20th November
Outreach Visit: On a freezing cold, clear night, 18 students from the Bradford-on-Avon u3a visited the Dome with GKWJ and JAG. The session started outside with a Sky Tour, then moved inside to the 10-inch, where Saturn and 3 moons was observed. Next up was double star Almach, then an attempt at M31, but its extreme high altitude and some gathering high hazy cloud led to failure. The telescope was slewed to Jupiter, with success, revealing the planet and all four of its Galilean moons.
19th November
Shell Visits: 10 boys from C1 Shell and 12 boys from C2 Shell along with their house Tutor visited the Dome with GKWJ. The sky started with patchy cloud that steadily cleared. C1, the first group, saw Saturn with three moons and Jupiter with four moons through the 10-inch. At the changeover, both groups enjoyed a sky tour outside. Then C2 went inside to the 10-inch, where they too saw Jupiter and Saturn. The session ended with a fairly hazy view of globular cluster M15 as high cloud accumulated. As the group departed, they admired the Waning Gibbous Moon rising through the streaky cloud.
18th November
Outreach Visit: A group of 6 came to the Dome on a wet and windy night with GKWJ, having won the visit in a charity auction. The group discovered the history of the Cooke 10-inch, enjoyed a wealth of images from the Observatory, watched the meteor detector live stream, and marvelled at the Wetton meteorite collection.
17th November
Friends Observing: Thick cloud meant that this year’s Leonid meteor shower watch concentrated on the radio meteor detector live stream. 8 Friends joined GKWJ and JAG to see more than 60 events over the two hour period. A huge number of satellite reflections were seen in the stream; SpaceX has launched over 200 Starlink satellites in the last month alone.
14th November
Outreach Visit: 11 members of the Ramsbury Cubs and four pack leaders came to the Dome on a partly cloudy evening. GKWJ was able to show them the Full Moon in the 10-inch through thinner gaps in the cloud. The group enjoyed a virtual sky tour in Stellarium and a selection of question provoking images.
12th November
Shell Visit: 11 members of the Barton Hill Shell and a House Tutor visited the Dome with GKWJ. It was cloudy, but thinner patches in the cloud allowed the Moon to be observed in the 10-inch. The radio meteor detector live feed was then followed, with multiple meteor events and satellites spotted. The group enjoyed handling and discussing the Wetton meteorite collection.
11th November
English Set Visit: 20 Hundred pupils and their teacher spent their Period 8 English lesson at the Observatory with GKWJ seeking inspiration for their topic on ‘The War of the Worlds’. The Moon was viewed in the 10-inch, and then on to Saturn, where two moons, Titan and Rhea, were also visible. A discussion ensued about the possibility of life on Titan.
GCSE Observing: The weekly Period 9 extra Astronomy lesson was held at the Observatory this week, and two pupils joined GKWJ first to observe Saturn and two of its moons (Titan and Rhea), then the Moon, allowing them to make a sketch and identify as many of the required features for GCSE as possible.
Radcliffe Society: Clear skies, though the seeing was very poor given the recent continual cloud, allowed this term’s main meeting to be held at the Observatory for some proper observing! 10 members joined GKWJ and JAG at the Dome where first up was Saturn in the 10-inch, with moons Titan and Rhea, observed at 140x magnification. The group moved outside for an extensive Sky Tour with the hope of seeing a Taurid meteor or an early Leonid, but to no avail. Back inside to the 10-inch, where the Moon was admired in fine detail at 90x magnification. Then on to make the first observations of Jupiter this school year. The planet is at a declination of +22°, allowing for a stiller view than low down Saturn (Dec = -8°). Good detail in the planet’s cloud belts was visible along with its four Galilean moons. The session ended with a well-earned cup of warming hot chocolate!
7th November
Shell Visit: The Shell Visit season kicked off under thick cloud as 10 pupils from B1 visited the Dome with their tutor. GKWJ showed them the facilities, a number of images and they followed the Radio Meteor Detector live stream, seeing multiple small meteor events and copious satellite events.