Inspiring the next generation of 'Stargazers'

The University of Southampton hosted a special ‘Stargazing’ event for all the family this week

On Wednesday 7 January 2015 from 5 to 9pm, over 200 members of the public watched the stars from the comfort of the two Soton Astrodomes – the University’s inflatable mobile planetariums. Unfortunately, tours to view the stars and planets through the roof telescopes had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions. As well as the Astrodome’s Planetarium shows during the evening there were astrophotography talks and astronomy lectures on black holes, auroras and life on other worlds.

There were a number of other free activities throughout the evening including hands-on activities from the University’s Astronomy Society, an ‘Ask the Astronomer’ stand, Astrophotography workshops and ‘World Wide Telescope’ tutorials.

Debbie Perkin and daughter Eden (9) attended the event, Debbie enthused:“We are just learning about the moon in our curriculum, so this event was perfectly timed!”

Dr Sadie Jones, Outreach Leader in Astronomy at the University of Southampton, said: “It was great to see the Physics and Astronomy department buzzing with conversations between members of the public and our academics about astronomy and stargazing. Despite the horrendous weather, which meant the roof top tours were cancelled, there was still a good turnout for the talks and planetarium shows.”