**Tickets Live Now!**
The Norman Lockyer Observatory is pleased to announce that Astrofair will be back this year.
Entrance fee
Adults £15• Children Free •
Lecture Tickets £5 Per Speaker Per Person
(book early, limited seating)
Activities at the event:
– Free tours with talks of the Historical Telescope Domes
– Free Access to The Planetarium Shows
– Free programme of Events and Talks by the NLO Groups
– Live Solar Observing (weather permitting)
– Displays from Astronomy Societies, Mission Astro, Institute of Physics
– Trade Marquee with Exhibitors: Widescreen Centre, First Light Optics, Bresser, MSG Meteorites, Society for Popular Astronomy
– A raffle featuring a top prize of a SeeStar telescope generously donated by ZWO.
– Lockyer Technology Centre
– More activities currently being planned
The Guest speakers will give interesting talks on a topical area within current astronomy and will include visual presentations. These will be held in the main Lecture Theatre. Due to demand, tickets can be purchased in advance; the cost is additional to the event entrance fee.
Here’s the full line up of talks with synopses:
Chris Lintott: Our Accidental Universe
Exploring a cosmos as vast as ours is bound to result in a few surprises. In
this talk, Chris Lintott (BBC Sky at Night/University of Oxford) explains
how astronomers stumble across their discoveries. From the rich diversity of
worlds in our Solar System to the edge of the observable universe, he will
explain what we know about the cosmos is usually the result of happenstance.
Along the way, we get a whistle-stop tour of cutting edge science and
encounter sometimes profound, sometimes amusing but always thought-provoking
stories from astronomy's past. Prof Chris Lintott is an author, a
broadcaster for the BBC's long-running Sky at Night program, and involved in
all sorts of public engagement and outreach projects.
Megan Argo: How not to go the way of the way of the dinosaurs
We all know space is a very big place - the fastest rocket to ever leave the
Earth took nine years to reach Pluto, and that's just our cosmic back yard.
But when we hear news stories about asteroids passing close to Earth, our
local corner of the Universe can sometimes feel uncomfortably crowded. Have
you ever wondered just how much stuff is floating around in the inner solar
system? How many asteroids are there, and what are they made of? Just how
much of a risk do they pose, and what are the chances of another impact on
the same scale as that which wiped out the dinosaurs many millions of years
ago? Join astronomer Megan Argo for a crash course in planetary defence as
we tour the local astronomical neighbourhood, looking at the numbers, sizes,
shapes, and even composition of asteroids. We will take a look at how
astronomers go about detecting asteroids, why this is becoming more
difficult all the time, and how we might do something about it if we did
spot one on a collision course. Dr Megan Argo BEM, is a professional
astrophysicist and award-winning science communicator, she is a Senior
Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire.
Martin Lewis: Practical Aspects of Modern Hi-Resolution Planetary Imaging
The talk will start with a quick overview of the current best method of
planetary imaging - using a high speed digital video camera at the eyepiece
end of the telescope to gather thousands of frames of data. This data is
then processed with specialised free software to give amazingly detailed
views of our near-neighbours in space. The principles of digital video
imaging will be discussed along with factors affecting the resolution and
how to optimise the imaging set-up. Mention will be made of the benefits of
stacking, which magnification to use, what gain and exposure settings are
best, and the benefits of accessories such as atmospheric dispersion
correctors. The aim of this talk is to give an idea of what the current
'state of the art' is in modern planetary imaging. The talk will be
extensively illustrated with Martin's own images and videos, all taken from
his back garden in St. Albans. Martin is a professional engineer and
part-time planetary imager, telescope builder, and deep sky sketcher. He
images using his home-built 444mm and 222mm Dobsonian telescopes. Martin has
been shortlisted in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year for the last 8
years, primarily in the Planets section, and has been a category winner
twice.
Mike Foulkes: The Full Moon
Mike's talk on the Full Moon will feature the Moon in general, but in
particular will show us what can be seen around the time of Full Moon
including lunar eclipses. Mike Foukes is director of the BAA Saturn, Uranus
& Neptune section.
Also check out other Arts events in Axminster, Workshops in Axminster, Theatre events in Axminster.
