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| Events held by the group |
Public eventsAs a key objective of the Hanwell Community Observatory, we are to organise and host various locally organised star party events. These in the main will be held locally at our site although we are open to the possibility of hosting some of these events externally. However, at present the main thrust of the group's activities is directed toward the building of the large 30" reflector. But once the 30" telescope is up and running we will be open to invitations from locally-based groups for possible dates and venues. For external events we can bring along a selection of portable telescopes belonging to the group. In each case the event will be hosted by an experienced member of the group who will brief attendees on the use of the telescopes as well as pointing out the various objects visible at the time. Please note that owing to the nature of these events and restrictions on the number of people that can be accommodated, attendance at these public hosted sessions must be booked in advance. None of these advertised events will be of an open access nature where people can simply expect to turn up with no notice and partake.
Events held by the groupBelow we list details of organised events held by the group, with the estimated number of attendees indicated in square brackets. In the future, forthcoming public events will be clearly marked as such. 1999 2000 4 November 2000 : an evening using telescopes to look at the Moon, major planets, star clusters and other wonders of the night sky - Oxfordshire Family Science Programme - see below. [20] 4th November 2000: Oxfordshire Family Science Programme star party at Hanwell "This is the best night I've had since the Millennium!" - young person on seeing Saturn for the first time through a telescope. Volunteers from The Hanwell Community Observatory project hosted a successful star party on 4th November for The Oxford Trust as part of the Oxfordshire Family Science programme of events. The event went very well despite uncertain prospects for clear skies and the competing delights of bonfire parties. Five portable telescopes ranging from several 4 and 4.75 inch refractors to a 6 inch reflector were used to give youngsters and parents alike a chance to view celestial objects through the eyepiece. We started by observing the Moon near half-phase, with a good view of the craters, mountains and mountain ranges at the terminator (the boundary between the dark and sunlit hemispheres) until the until haze started to obscure the view. Later, however, a clear patch of sky developed high overhead, first in in the vicinity of the constellation of Lyra and the telescopes were then used to give views of various objects including the beautiful double star Albireo, the famous double-double star (epsilon Lyra) and a taste of deep sky objects with a view of the planetary nebula: M57 the 'Ring Nebula'. As seeing conditions deteriorated, group members took participants to view the site where the 30" reflecting telescope will be situated upon completion and seeing a clear patch of sky develop, were able to use the 12.5" Newtonian reflector to see M31 the Andromeda Galaxy. Back near the site where the public viewing had taken place, other group members noticed the sky starting to clear from the Eastern horizon, and set up two telescopes to show Jupiter and Saturn that had now risen. Delighted youngsters were able to pick out bands on the planet Jupiter and its four main satellites, while Saturn displayed the famous ring system (the Cassini division in the rings), the shadow of the rings on the ball of the planet, and its largest satellite Titan. This event gave us valuable practical lessons for the future, and proved that, with all the stunning images available on the web and on TV, there is still an appetite for live viewing at the eyepiece. Sarah and David Randell 2004 8th June 2004: Venus transit-watch event, University Parks, Oxford. This was run by the Hanwell Community Observatory in partnership with the Museum of the History of Science [est. 2,000] 2005 2006 2007
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