January 17, 2012

BBC Stargazing Live – Charlton House

Report by: Grey Lipley

Charlton House	Crowds at Charlton House
Mike and Sumitra wait patiently for the clouds to clear	Grey demonstrates the joys of an iPhone

My goodness what an evening! Our Flamsteed volunteers covered themselves in glory by providing the backbone and several highlights of the BBC’s Stargazing Live event at Charlton House. It was the BBC’s London flagship event. Our team was joined by the ROG astronomers and groups from the Science Museum, Queen Mary College, and elsewhere.
For the first hour enthusiastic visitors were able to observe Venus briefly while Jupiter and its moons caused great excitement. Orion looked magnificent above a line of tall trees to the west, lit by the glow of a nearby football pitch.

Even when we were clouded out for a couple of hours, people of all ages continued to gather round members’ telescopes to ask questions. For many this was a first and all listened intently to what was being said while others asked tons of questions.

Inside the Elizabethan house our talks on Astrophotography were full to bursting at times, with members of the public filling in the corridor. Downstairs our Telescope Workshop was a huge success until finally being overwhelmed by increasingly large groups queuing for the planetarium.

Due to the hard work and practical knowledge of those who volunteered, the atmosphere was positively electric creating a great sense of occasion. I would like to thank personally all those involved for making the evening such a success. Well over 600 visitors came to the event and left content and happy.

More pictures from the event [by Mike Dryland and Grey Lipley]:

Moon recognition
‘What’s all this then?’ Visitors queue to enter
‘Stick it in this end’ Dave and Roger run the telescope workshop	‘Why are we waiting?’ The astrophotography workshop

‘Step right this way, Sir’ Roger & Dave drum up trade	‘Do try and stay awake at the back!’ The astrophotography workshop
Brian goes dutch	‘I’m sure it’s there somewhere’ Mike focusses hopefully
‘Har har, Jim lad!’ Stan is an avuncular greeter (aka ‘I see no ships!’)	Asra helps Brendan
‘It was there just now’ Chris has them spellbound	Malcolm and Pat stay cheerful
ROG astronomer Elizabeth Cunningham	ROG Public Astronomer Marek Kukula
‘Jus like that!’ ROG astronomers Brendan and Rad