The Public Views the Planets

20th Anniversary Public Star Party

“Awesome”, “excellent” and “amazing” were some of the comments from members of the public who took advantage of a special opportunity to see some of the planets on the evening of Saturday, May 28. They had taken advantage of our invitation for everyone to come and have a look through our telescopes at a public star party. Our Chairman, Jerry Stone, had delivered flyers to schools and libraries in Letchworth, Hitchin, Stevenage and Baldock. He had also contacted all the local newspapers and did some interviews with Hertbeat FM and BBC 3 Counties Radio, and on the day itself he set up a publicity stand in the centre of Letchworth. However, as no-one needed to book, we had no idea of how many people might actually come along.

The other major unknown was the weather. At a similar event in March 2003, the sky was appalling. There was heavy cloud and it even rained a couple of times. However, on the grounds that “no-one else will go along in this weather” a huge number of people turned up! This year, clouds had plagued the skies for ages – in fact the observing prospects have been pretty awful for about the last 6 months, it seems. However, on the night itself we were treated to a meteorological miracle. The sky was totally clear for the entire evening, and visitors were treated to excellent views of Venus, Jupiter and some of its moons, and the magnificent spectacle of the rings of Saturn.

One of the visitors was Oliver Heald, MP for Hertfordshire North East, who was very impressed with what he saw. “The view through the telescopes was quite amazing,” he said. “It’s so much better than just looking at pictures in books.” Many of the visitors were equally taken with the event. There were families with young children around the telescopes long after 10 o’clock! Jean Avins, the manager at Standalone Farm, was able to take the opportunity to join in our activities.

What really struck the visitors was actually seeing the planets for themselves, instead of in a book or on TV. One of them said “Thank you so much for allowing us to do this. It’s been an incredible experience.”

There were two talks for the public, presented by society Chairman Jerry Stone and Honorary President Bob Forrest, which were very well received. A display was set out of astronomical models and pictures and for younger visitors there was an activity sheet with questions about astronomy, and a word-search. All in all, it was certainly an evening out with a difference.

Here are some photos of the event.

The entrance to Standalone Farm

Oliver Heald, MP for Hertfordshire North East, looks up at Jupiter whilst waiting to use one of the telescopes.

The Society's 10" reflector at the observatory. The bright object in the sky is Saturn.

Phil Bishop adjusts one of the scopes so that visitors can look at Saturn. This is a 6-second exposure, with the camera held on a fence-post!

Society Chairman Jerry Stone presents an introduction to astronomy to a packed audience in one of the barns.

Why not see if you can find the answers to the Activity Sheet.

Click here.for the flyer. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file.

If you would like any additional details, do not hesitate to contact our Society Chairman.

Page updated January 2006