"Revealing The Unseen Cosmos – How Amateurs are Contributing to Scientific Research"
A presentation by Peter Goodhew, FRAS
Friday 24th October 2025
Starts at 19:00 BST [NOTE: earlier time than usual!]
Duration approx. 2 hours
Venue: Newchurch Pavilion, Newchurch, Isle of Wight [PO36 0LX]
About the talk: In recent years amateur astronomers have been increasingly engaging in research and discovery activities. Peter will describe the nature of such activities, how amateurs make new discoveries, and show some of the more beautiful discoveries made. He will further explain how such proactive research is now evolving into reactive research where amateur astronomers are responding to requests for support from professional astronomers.
About the Speaker: Peter Goodhew has been a keen astrophotographer for the past 11 years. As a result of frustration with the British weather and London light pollution in 2016 he established a remote robotic observatory at a dark site in southern Spain. He now operates 3 remote robotic telescopes in Spain, and leads a collaborate network of amateur telescopes in Spain, the USA, Chile and Australia. His images frequently win awards, and feature often in Astronomy Now magazine.
In recent years his main focus has been on research activities, and he works closely with professional astronomers from around the world. In 2018 Peter was elected a Fellow of The Royal Astronomical Society.
About the host: The Vectis Astronomical Society (
http://www.wightstronomy.org) meets on the 4th Friday of most months, excluding December. The talks are open for non-members to attend. We have a suggested donation of £2.50 for non-members of VAS. A wide variety of speakers are invited to give a presentation for around 45 minutes, with a chance for questions and answers afterwards.
This presentation will be given in a hybrid format in person at the Newchurch observatory site, AND available online over ZOOM, with tickets (for non-members) available from Eventbrite.
[Image credit: Peter Goodhew, FRAS]
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