Millennium Funding

We have been awarded a science grant application to the total of £15,000 by the Royal Society and the British Association and the monies come from the Millennium Awards. It will go under the title of: 'The Hanwell Community Observatory'. The project is aimed to bring astronomy to the general public via a series of hosted star parties based at Hanwell, Oxfordshire.

The group at Hanwell has been meeting for a few months and was initially formed to meet the continuing interest shown by students who had attended a set of astronomy lectures at Oxford given by Christopher Taylor, who heads the project. The Hanwell group functions more as a club rather than a society and the practical hands-on observational aspect of amateur astronomy lies firmly at its root. It was during these initial meetings and through a mutual desire to extend these activities, that a suitable source of funding was identified and an application submitted.

So what are we going to see? There are funds to buy a few small instruments, as is funding for publicity and other administrative tasks, but the main portion of the money is earmarked to build a 30" f/6 Newtonian reflector.

As for activities, we are working on the premise of running regular star parties of no more than 20 persons with trained 'star guides', though the precise details and organization is still being worked out. We also envisage opening up the large telescope for serious amateur and professional research, though the main thrust is clearly aimed at bringing astronomy alive to the general public. Towards this end the group are strengthening the connection that already exists with the successful and active Stratford upon Avon Astronomical Society, of which several of Hanwell's group are closely associated members.

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