Astro Nerds Magazine issue 1 June 2014

EXTANT LIFE ON MARS?THE MARS SOCIETY

ICY SCIENCE PUBLICATION: WWW.ICYSCIENCE.COM: WINTER 2013/14

32

A s t r o N e r d s J u n e 2 0 1 4 A s t r o N e r d s J u n e 2 0 1 4

ASTRO NERDS JUNE 20146. Mars Beautifual

and Majectic

13. Making Amateur

Astronomy Accessible

20. Look UP In Wonder

26. #ONESKY4 0 . K I D S CORNER-Fuzzballs48. Astro Camp

» p.6

» p.13 » p.20

» p.48

Welcome to the new Astro Nerds mini e-magazine.

Each month there will be a guide to the night sky.

WE WILL LOOK AT EVENTS FROM THE PEOPLEWHO GO TO THEM

AND MUCH MORE........

ENJOY......

CONTENTS ASTO NERDS

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EDITOR:David Bood

Front Cover:Malcolm ParkTwitter: @Starfest2014

Articles:Henna KhanJ L KennedyRalph WilkinsNicole WillettJoolz Wright

Observing GuideJohn Harper FRAS

Contact:E: [email protected]: @DavesAstronomyW: www.icyscience.com

By Andy Black (Scarborough)

Welcome to the new Astro Nerds mini e-magazine form Icy Science. Each month we will bring you a guide to the night sky. There will be articles and images from people around the world.

And best of all it is FREE................

ENJOY..........EDITOR DAVE BOOD

JUNE 2014 ASTRO NERDS

https://twitter.com/Starfest2014

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Mars, Beautiful and Majesticby Nicole Willettwww.marssociety.orgTwitter: @TheMarsSociety

There is a glowing red beacon in the sky, guiding us, no, calling

us to her. Mars, beautiful and majestic Mars…..she lures us in.

For those of us who are more Martian than Earthling, we under-

stand. Mars has been the focus of myths and stories for mil-

lennia. From Edgar Rice Burroughs’, A Princess of Mars, to H.G.

Wells’ War of the Worlds, Mars has been the setting for many

science fiction adventures as well. However, at The Mars Society,

our aim is geared toward science fact. Mars is a beautiful desert

landscape with rolling hills and plains. The Red Planet is also

home to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons

and an enormous 3,000 mile long canyon system named Valles

Marineris. One could easily imagine looking out over the rocky

landscape at the coral sky as the two moons, Phobos and Deimos,

quickly cross the celestial sphere. As the sun sets, the tempera-

ture plummets, dust devils traverse the landscape, and the sky

turns from a pale coral color to light blue.

The thought of one day standing on Mars and looking out

at the astonishing landscape, may be beyond the imag-

ination of some, but not to the members of The Mars

Society and all other people with a deep interest in the

exploration and human settlement of Mars. Our goal is

to reach out, educate the public, raise awareness, and

send humans to Mars. One way we accomplish this is by

hosting a convention once a year. This year’s 17th annual

convention (http://www.marssociety.org/a/marssociety.

org/www/conventions/2014 )will be held near Johnson

Space Center in Houston, TX. The convention will host

many scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs. The con-

vention will be held at the South Shore Harbour Resort in

League City, TX (near Houston). Previous years highlights

have included speeches by SpaceX founder Elon Musk

http://www.marssociety.org

http://www.marssociety.org

http://www.marssociety.org/a/marssociety.org/www/conventions/2014

http://www.marssociety.org/a/marssociety.org/www/conventions/2014

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MSL Curiosity program leader Adam Steltzner (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3VK9dF5eo ), Mars

Exploration Rover Principal Investigator Steve Sqyures (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbr9CEjI6c ),

and many more.

If you have ever heard the saying, “It takes a village….,” well we at The Mars Society are utilizing that concept to

send humans to Mars. As an entirely volunteer organization, we have accomplished many great things since our

inception in 1998. Examples of our current projects are the following: The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS)

(http://mdrs.marssociety.org/ ).

This station houses volunteer crews of six Marsonauts, who live and do research as if they were on the

surface of Mars. An upcoming and unprecedented mission, called the Mars Arctic 365 (http://ma365.mars-

society.org/ ), will be a one-year Mars surface simulation expedition in the Canadian High Arctic. We also

dare college students to participate in the University Rover Challenge (URC) (http://urc.marssociety.org/ )

where they build robotic rovers and compete until a winner is crowned. In step with the URC we also sponsor the Youth

Rover Challenge (YRC) (http://youthrover.com/ ) where middle and high school students compete in a rover design

challenge as well, utilizing Lego Mindstorm software. We have also launched an Education Task force (http://educa-

tion.marssociety.org/ ), to reach out to educators, students, and the general public to help expand their knowledge

IMAGE: MRDS

https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D8Y3VK9dF5eo%20

https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DKKbr9CEjI6c%20

http://mdrs.marssociety.org/

http://ma365.marssociety.org

http://ma365.marssociety.org

http://urc.marssociety.org/%20%29%20

http://youthrover.com/

http://education.marssociety.org/

http://education.marssociety.org/

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of Mars, astronomy, space news, and space exploration.

If you are interested in a presentation by a member of

the Education Task Force ([email protected]) or a

member of the Speakers Bureau, please contact us (info@

marssociety.org ). To learn more about The Mars Society

or for volunteer opportunities, please visit our main page

(http://www.marssociety.org/ ) or contact us (info@mars-

society.org ) for more information.

The character of the human race will be measured

by whether or not we have taken responsibility for our

own future. We must build our character by responding

to what is happening around us. What is happening is;

we are outgrowing the Earth. It takes a worldwide com-

munity of “Martians” to collaborate and reach the goal

set forth by Dr. Robert Zubrin in the late 1990’s. The goal

is to send humans to Mars. We wish to accomplish this

by pooling our resources as a worldwide community.

On April 17, 2014, NASA announced that the

Kepler Space Telescope (KST) has discovered the first

Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of its parent

star. Although this planet is 500 light years away, it only

begs the question, “When will we find an Earth-sized exo-

planet within reach of a generation of explorers?” The

answer is most likely within the next decade. The KST

has confirmed 966 extrasolar planets with another 3,845

planetary candidates. With these discoveries it is more important than ever

to explore and settle Mars. Some may say Mars is a frozen wasteland with

robots slowly churning through a dusty and rocky landscape. However,

we like to think of Mars as the new frontier of raw desert. She is waiting,

wonting, patiently orbiting her parent star while we decide when to step

foot on her precious soil. The time is now.

Top Image: Mars Sunset- NASA

Middle: Mars Landscape- NASA JPL

Below: Youth Rover

Bottom Right: URC2

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Making Amateur Astronomy Accessible

The skies in London are awful. Probably worse than awful.

New York City and Las Vegas are the only places I’ve seen that stand any

chance of taking London’s crown of being the most light polluted city in

the world and less suited to astronomy.

Except astronomy is available and available to enjoy for anyone, wherever

they live or work.

I hope this article inspires you to ignore the web-chatter and magazine arti-

cles that will tell you that you need to seek out light pollution-free skies,

far from free roaming photons of artificial light that will wreak havoc with

your ability to pick out faint galaxies, if you’re to enjoy real amateur astron-

omy. Firstly there is no such thing as real amateur astronomy; but there

are pedants who think that you have to do things the way they learned,

and want to keep it that way. Let me dispel a few myths. Recite after me:

goto is good, star hopping is optional.

Secondly, amateur astronomy is a very wide spectrum from the naked

eye International Space Station watchers at one end, to radio astronomy

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instrument builders at the other – with binoculared star hoppers, meteor watchers, sketchers and solar

observers in the middle. Each pursuit along this spectrum will have its purists and each will have its relaxed

enjoyer of the activity. This isn’t professional astronomy. There isn’t a right or wrong; just the way that eeks

the most enjoyment out for your own personal experience.

So when I joined the committee of the newly formed Baker Street Irregular Astronomers in the summer

of 2010, I had no qualms about running an astronomical society situated under the light polluted dome of

London - nor in August, when many astronomical societies make a sensible choice to take a summer break,

awaiting darker skies in autumn and winter.

Founder member, Simon Bennett of London’s astronomy showroom The Widescreen Centre, made the

crucial contribution (besides starting the group) of bringing telescopes to Regent’s Park – a venue made

possible by the other founding member, Royal Parks policeman, Carl Drake. A small range of telescopes

means that people don’t spend too much time waiting for a view and they can also compare telescope

types if they’re wishing to invest in one.

But perhaps the most valuable lesson I could offer is to make it accessible. I don’t just mean physically

accessible to get to, but welcoming, an event that people won’t feel too intimidated to try out if they

haven’t done so already.

The Baker Street Irregulars grew from 20 people in 2010 to one and a half thousand ‘members’ in 2014,

with the US Astronomy magazine editor, David Eicher, UK Astronomy Now editor, Steve Young and Tele

Vue Optics owners, David & Sandy Nagler, among our guests at our free monthly events. We don’t do

formal talks, have schedules or entrance times (not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that)

but we have a turn up when you want and leave when you’ve had enough attitude that we feel com-

fortable with, and we regularly team up with our friends from the British Astronomical Association to

give away telescopes in raffles.

People make a society and its people also define its character. A friendly and relaxed atmosphere will

attract friendly and relaxed people and help dispel the perceived myth of the socially inept, middle-aged

white guy, ‘amateur astronomer’. This is an exciting hobby (or career, if you’re lucky) where you get to

watch galaxies merging, the sun erupting and stars exploding a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Whether you’re taking your scope to a town square to give passers by a view of the moon or starting

up an astronomical society in a local park, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere will reap so

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many rewards in terms of how successful your gatherings are and in the type of feedback you’ll get back

(and you want that too – that’s your reward for the hard work you put in). If people think they need to have

their own scope to attend or have to have a good working knowledge of stellar evolution, they won’t come

and they’ll really be missing out.

Encouraging and accessible are the watchwords. Brian Cox is more popular than Saul Perlmutter. Perlmutter

discovered dark energy, that makes up 68% of the universe and you may not have heard of him. Brian Cox

isn’t an astronomer by trade but you will all have heard of him and his great work to get the public inter-

ested in astronomy.

It’s accessibility that led me to create

the Awesome Astronomy podcast to

explore new ways to bring the uni-

verse to wider audiences in a friendly

and engaging manner. At least I hope

it does! It also inspired me to start

the AstroCamp stargazing weekend

in the International Dark Sky Reserve

of the Welsh Brecon Beacons in 2012

to encourage learners and abso-

lute beginners to feel comfortable in

coming to an astronomy event for the

first time, or possibly alone. In the case of the AstroCamp, it then becomes the friendliness of the attend-

ees that sustains its fun and welcoming atmosphere.

And, whether it’s an event under pristine dark skies or passing city folk under soupy urban skies, a first view

of the rings of Saturn or a peer into a large lunar crater will give them that same visceral reaction – that

‘wow!’ – that may be so long ago now that you’ve forgotten how awesome it felt for you.

With my Awesome Astronomy and AstroCamp partners, Paul Hill, Damien Phillips and John Wildridge, we’ve

now begun taking scopes to busy thoroughfares in London as pop-up astronomy events. We show people

walking by their first ever views of bright objects – like the moon or the cloud belts and moons of Jupiter.

The moon and planets look just as good in city skies as they do in darker or clearer skies and astronomy truly

is the gateway drug to science. We must have hooked hundreds, if not thousands, of people on astronomy

IMAGE: ALEX SPEED

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What I’m trying to show is that the vast array of amateur astronomy targets and methods means that there really is

no such thing as real amateur astronomy, but there is enjoyable amateur astronomy. And that attracts more interest

from other people eager to promote the hobby, whether it be Sir Patrick Moore making a beeline to Regent’s Park to

film a rare episode of The Sky at Night with him on location in March 2011 (so keen was he to promote city amateur

astronomy) or the regular returns of the Sky at Night teams to our AstroCamp in Wales to show the sociable side of

astronomy in 2012, 2013 and now 2014.

It just takes a bit of passion, a bit of effort and a desire to show people the sky.

WORDS RALPH WILKINS

TWITTER @BakerStAstro

http://www.bakerstreetastro.org.uk/

https://twitter.com/BakerStAstro

http://www.bakerstreetastro.org.uk/

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LOOK UP IN WONDER :A GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY -JUNE 2014

As the month proceeds, the Sun climbs through the stars of Taurus until around 19h on the 21st, when it crosses

the border into Gemini, the solstice having occurred on the June 21st at 10h51, eight hours earlier. The earth-

sun distance is 152, 028,935 km. The solstice marks the astronomical start of summer in the northern hemisphere,

and the beginning of winter in the southern. Thus takes place the longest day and shortest night for us here in the

UK, and thereafter night length increases once again. The season of summer lasts 93.65 days. In the northern UK,

there is no true night, and at astronomical midnight, the sky is not black but a beautiful velvet deep blue, merging

to turquoise on the northern horizon. Don’t forget to look out for noctilucent clouds in the hour before and after

midnight as they catch the light of the sun, which is not very far below the northern horizon at this time of year.

The MoonMoon is at apogee (furthest from the earth) on June 3rd at 04h, and again on the 30th at 19h11. Perigee

(nearest to the earth) is on the 15th, at 03h35.

First Quarter takes place on the 5th at 20h39, on the Leo/Sextans border.

Full Moon is at 04h12 on the 13th, in the constellation of Ophiuchus, and is the second lowest Full Moon

of this year.

Last Quarter Moon is on the 19th at 18h39 near the circlet in western Pisces.

June twilight of evening around 21h, when its altitude is 8° above the NW horizon, between 300° and 310° in azimuth.

(Azimuth is a coordinate system marking the position on the horizon where an object might be seen, measured from

North 0°, through East, 45°, South 180°, West 270°, and back to North)

Throughout June, Venus rises between one and two hours before the sun, and may be seen low in the eastern sky as

morning twilight increases at around 03h. On the morning of the 24th, shortly after 02h you will see the thin waning

crescent moon and Venus, rising together; the two are 5° apart, the moon lying to the right of the bright ‘Morning

Star’. At this time the pair lie beneath the Pleiades, that beautiful open cluster of stars, commonly known as the ‘Seven

Sisters’ in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. You can use the moon later on, after the sun rises, to see Venus in full

New Moon occurs on the 27th, at 08h09, when the moon lies on the Orion/ Gemini border, and 5° south of

the sun.

The PlanetsMercury continues its favourable apparition in the evening sky during the first week of June, after which it is

lost rapidly in the sun’s encroaching light. Indeed, the elusive little planet reaches inferior conjunction and lies

between the sun and us during the late evening of the 19th. Use binoculars to look for Mercury in the strong

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daylight. Simply find the moon and then look towards where Venus was, and you will see as the textbooks state, that Venus is visble in a blue sky, if you know where

to look! As the short night begins to fall at 22h on the 7th, Mars and the gibbous waxing moon are in conjunction 25° in altitude in the SW sky. At this time Mars

will be seen just less than 3° above the moon. During June Mars is visible from sunset until 02h in the morning when it sets. However by the end of the month,

the planet is setting a few minutes before astronomical midnight. (01h BST). Mars is now fading as earth leaves it behind, and appears to move slowly eastwards

through midsummer in Virgo as it approaches the constellation’s brightest star Spica for the second time this year. On the last day of the month, Spica is some 5°

to the left of the brighter planet Mars, which by the month’s end, the latter’s magnitude is slightly less than Arcturus, (alpha Boötis), which lies 30° above the pair

Jupiter continues to be visible in the evening sky, although the days of the evening apparition of this giant planet are numbered. Conjunction with the sun takes

place next month. Look for the planet in the NW sky at around 21h. Jupiter is moving slowly eastwards in Gemini and by the end of the month is in line with the

constellation’s two chief stars Castor and Pollux, which seem to point towards Jupiter in the evening twilight.

Saturn continues to dominate Libra, the zodiacal constellation in which it lies, and may be seen crossing the meridian in the south shortly after sunset at an alti-

tude of some 20° in that direction. If you look another 20° to its lower left, you may see the giant red star Antares twinkling low in the SE, in the neighbouring

constellation of Scorpius, the same angular distance to the right of Saturn is Spica, and a further 10° on in the same direction is Mars.

(20° in the sky is a little over the distance of a span with the hand held out at arm’s length.)

Just after sunset on the 10th, the gibbous waxing moon is close to Saturn, the angular distance being some 2° at that time, with Saturn above the moon in the sky.

Both Uranus in Pisces, and Neptune in Aquarius are difficult to observe because of twilight this month, and also because there are no bright stars in their vicini-

ties to help you locate these remote worlds.

During this month the International Space Station is passing through a period of full illumination. This offers multiple opportunities for viewing the ISS for observ-

ers in the UK. Constellations visible in the south around midnight, mid-month, are as follows: Ophiuchus, Serpens Cauda, Hercules, and the head of Draco the

dragon, which is near the zenith.

All times are GMT 1° is one finger width at arm’s length.

WORDS: JOHN HARPER (FRAS) FOUNDER SCARBOROUGH & RYDALE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

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A couple and their 10 year old son

stopped by and had a look at Mars.

The little guy was blown away by

Mars; he could see the top part

was “covered with snow” – Russell

Bateman, Nova Scotia.

On 9th May 2014, astronomers all around the world set up their

telescopes free of cost at various locations for anyone passing

by to take a look through them. Hundreds of people all around

the globe saw the Moon, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter for the first

time in awe and wonder.

Image Below: Credit: Scott Lewis (Space Fan News), USA

The event was organized as part of an International effort to remind people that in spite of the borders

and differences we have built between ourselves, we are still all connected by our One Sky. Click the

image below to play

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“Almost all of them had seen the planets FOR THE FIRST TIME!”

Credit: Syed Roshan, Pakistan

Knowledge Observatory; Credit: Andrew Davies, UK

It was a fun night with my neighbors and friends. We agreed we should repeat this again soon – Shirley Vuille, USA

Adorable children observing the Sun in Romania. Credit: Valentin Grigore

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Celebrations from Iraq. Credit: Hassan Sabbar

Celebrations in Japan. Credit: Takahiro Nakao

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Celebrations in Spain. Credit: ASTER-Agrupació Astronòmica de Barcelona

Celebrations in Malaysia. Credit: Amirul Hazim Kamarulzaman

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Celebrations in El Salvador. Credit: Ramon CentenoCredit: Michael Cook, Canada (BELOW)

Credit: Teale Britstra

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Credit: Muchammad Thoyib, Indonesia Credit: Siva Subramanyam

ARTICLE : Henna KhanTwitter: @henna_khan

https://twitter.com/henna_khan

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www.onlineastronomycourses.co.ukEmail [email protected]

www.onlineastronomycourses.co.uk

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KIDS CORNER

FUZZBALLS & THE SQUEAKY SQUIRT by J L Kennedy

Twinkle, the youngest Fuzzball in the Space Base, was reading an email in the Control Room.

His mother, Priscilla, came in carrying a plate of his favourite cupcakes.

“I’ve just made these, Twinkle. Would you like one?”

“No thanks… I’m not hungry –“

“You’re always hungry, Twinkle! You haven’t caught Fuzzball Flu, have you?”

“I’m OK but Squeak has a problem,” replied Twinkle.

Squeak was the smallest robot on planet, Quadro.

“Poor Squeak, what’s wrong?” asked Priscilla.

“He’s lost his voice – that’s why we have to email each other. It’s Squeak’s birthday next week – he just wants his

voice back – no other presents.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine by then –“

“Don’t think so, Mum. Squeak hasn’t managed even a small squeak for

more than two weeks. Yesterday he was reprogrammed and rewired but

that failed.”

“Speak to Drew - he’s the best space engineer - he might be able to help.

I think Drew’s having a shower though now – he’s just finished work on

my Comet Rocket.”

Twinkle fled down the Fuzz Flume and found Drew in the Star Spa.

“Drew!” squealed Twinkle. “Can you make a robot talk? Squeak’s lost his

voice –“

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Twinkle felt so much better after telling Drew about Squeak’s problem, that he ate two cupcakes! His

mother says sharing problems always helps.

“Well,” said Drew. “Radio the Squirts now – ask them to bring Squeak here.”

Twinkle zoomed back to the Control Room.

“Space Base to Quadro. Twinkle calling.”

“Quadro to Space Base. Senior Squirt here. Go ahead, Twinkle.”

“Drew might be able to help Squeak – when can you come to the Space Base?”

“I’m afraid we have another problem. Our space ship won’t lift off – we have to wait a week for a new part.”

“But we must fix Squeak before his birthday. I’ll ask Drew if we can fly to you but we won’t have room for

all the tools and equipment…”

“OK, Twinkle.”

After lunch, Drew and Twinkle landed on Quadro in their Comet Rocket; the Squirts lined up to welcome

them.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” said the Senior Squirt. “We can manage without the space ship for a

week, but Squeak is desperate to get his voice back –”

“No problem – shall we get started?”

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“Don’t worry, Squeak,” said Drew, “I’m going

to switch you off then carefully dismantle

you. You won’t feel a thing.”

Squeaked nodded but he was trembling

nervously.

Twinkle passed a large screwdriver to Drew.

Minutes later Drew unscrewed Squeak’s

head and put it gently on the workbench.

Twinkle shone a torch inside Squeak’s head, and Drew

removed several small parts to examine.

“Nothing wrong here,” said Drew. “We’ll have to open up

his back panel. Pass me screwdriver ‘number seven’ please,

Twinkle.”

Drew worked in silence, testing every part.

“Yes!” he shouted finally. “Look at this green sensor, Twinkle.

It’s overheated. Squeak probably squeaked too loudly for

too long!”

“Can you fix it?”

“No, I can’t … but I can replace it.”

Drew took another small sensor out of his tool box. “Squeak

should be talking again in minutes…”

And Drew was right!

“Yippee!” called Squeak in his usual squeaky voice.

“Can’t thank you both enough,” said the Senior Squirt.

“We’ve got a spare sensor in case Squeak needs it,” said Twinkle.

“Might be useful,” replied the Senior Squirt. “Squeak will be making a lot of noise at his party! You will both be

coming, won’t you?”

“Definitely!” said Twinkle.

“And I could help you fix your space ship if the new part has arrived,” added Drew.

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“What’s the problem?”

“It won’t lift off… just makes a little squeaking noise that we can’t stop –”

Twinkle giggled. “You had a robot called Squeak who couldn’t squeak, and a space ship that shouldn’t squeak but won’t stop squeaking!” Everyone was laughing, but Squeak was laughing the loudest. “Having my voice back is

the best-ever early birthday present!”

More stories on our website www.fuzzballs.co.uk

Follow us on FacebookCopyright © 2014 J L Kennedy. All rights reserved.

www.fuzzballs.co.uk

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Astrocamp Spring 2014

I would never have thought that Astrocamp would become part of my

regular yearly trips list….but here we were with four events under our

belts! This was the first time I arrived a couple of days early, as the

Astrocamp dates actually fell on the weekend preceded by the school

holidays. So my son and I decided to extend our camp by a couple of

days and so glad we did...for many reasons! Suffice to say we were

not alone and were greeted by old friends that we had made at pre-

vious camps.

We arrived to glorious sunshine and clear skies in the hope that they

would continue into the night. We were not disappointed and the

minute Jupiter appeared dazzling in the dusk…the scopes were already

out and poised ready! The weather forecast leading up to the weekend

had been a little bleak and social media frenzy had led to much specu-

lation as to how much we would be able to observe over the weekend

so we were grateful when the following evening meant we had views

of the stars and planets yet again. Just in case, we set up a gazebo

nearby and used it for shelter and social retreat and as more early

arrivals appeared it was beginning to feel more like Astrocamp was

really approaching!

“Mars with my DSLR, 127 Mak

and 2x Barlow through a gap in the

cloud!”

I was really happy to be able to get a great capture of

Mars with my DSLR, 127 Mak and 2x Barlow through

a gap in the cloud!

The next morning saw the arrival of the organisers

and Astrocamp was officially underway!

Unfortunately many arrivals on the Saturday were

greeted by rain and howling gales and that soon

meant that any hopes of clear skies were being

drowned out…literally. Many astrocampers were

out helping new arrivals pitch tents in dreadful con-

ditions but the camaraderie kept spirits high and

the anticipation of a great weekend, despite the

weather, was evident in the excited buzz around

the camp.

The social events were soon underway with a full

itinerary of fabulous activities…kicking off with a

DSLR Astrophotography and wide field imaging

demonstration from Pat ( @physicist13 ) huddled

under the gazebo during intermittent rain!

An unfortunate turn in the weather meant that

as the wind got stronger and the rain heavier…

any hopes of setting up the marquees on the

common (the central hub of the camp) were

dashed. Many campers retreated to the local pub,

whilst others sheltered in their tents or gazebos.

A few made the most of the gazebo placed from

the night before in a temporary position next

to our pitch. This meant that the curry we had

planned between a few of us from the previous

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Autumn Astrocamp (knowing the pub is always busy on the first night!) soon expanded and grew. Many arrived

to huddle from the wind and rain bringing anything from snacks, to drinks, their own tea to share…and of course

fantastic company… I think around thirty managed to huddle underneath two gazebos strapped together …

having to occasionally grab the corners to stop it from taking off!

Image Paul Hill

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A wonderful surprise was also a fantastic Astrocamp Cake which

was greeted by gasps and ahs by everyone! The creator, Helen

Knight, was very keen to have it cut as soon as possible due to

the adverse weather and lack of somewhere to keep it so it

only made it to the planned High Tea event on the Monday in

slices! But it was certainly the star attraction both visually and

gastronomically! As darkness fell the cloud remained persis-

tent so it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends

and make new ones over a glass of wine or two! Amazingly at

around 9.30 the rain stopped and the clouds managed to part

revealing the most glorious sky! It was one of the most magical

moments as it was totally unexpected and the excitement was

treasure to behold! As no one was set up observing or imaging

it was great fun watching lasers pointing out various celestial

delights…and I took the opportunity to take some fun wide field

shots to capture the moment!

The following day more brilliant events were kicked off with Eric’s

(@EmmsStarGaze) SUN-day solar observing on the common

with many astros with specialist scopes and modified observing

equipment…and yes, there was intermittent sunshine!

Never dull moments at Astrocamp -there were astro

imaging workshops from Damien (@Dephelis) ongoing

throughout the weekend and a comet making session

with Paul Hill (@SiriusAstro) using some easy accessi-

ble household items (including HP sauce!) and dry ice!

This was great fun as many got to handle the ‘comet’

using gloves, of course!

No one misses out at Astrocamp! (Image HowardCooper)

5554


There was also a chance to view the Cloud Chamber

which was painstakingly constructed by John (@north-

ern1979) and proved to be another star attraction at

Astrocamp! This again was a chance to watch some real

science in action – using alcohol and dry ice it was pos-

sible to follow the trails formed by cosmic rays passing

through the forming vapour inside the sealed tank. After

the excitement of the morning events most of the camp-

site then migrated to the local pub where the afternoon

events were to be held.

After a fabulous Sunday carvery the tables were cleared

and many were crammed into a room to hear a fabulous

talk by Chris Lintott (BBC Sky at Night). This was then fol-

lowed by the infamous Astrocamp Pub Quiz with some

amazing prizes! Everyone was given a chance to win as

random numbers were used as “winning score posi-

tions” so very good and not so good answers were all in

with a chance! During the weekend another great fun

activity was a Solar System themed Limerick competi-

tion ran by Jeni and John Millard and the results of these

were read out in the pub too! After retreating back to

the camp site, we eagerly set up ready for the evening

to arrive…hoping desperately for clear skies! Meanwhile

the BBC Sky at Night team was filming around the camp-

site and intermittent cloud and sunshine kept the solar

observers happy! When darkness fell there were some

Top: Comets!

Below: Viewing the Cloud Chamber (Image David Woodford)

opportunities for observing and imaging in between the cloud but an unexpected visit from the Sky at Night

team, interested in wide field imaging, resulted in three of us being whisked away into the bottom field to

film with Pete Lawrence to discuss our techniques! After an hour of watching various parts of the show in

action we were filmed from various angles and then released back to our camp, by which time the sky had

completely clouded over and it was well into the early hours of Monday!...but hey…we were TV stars!

The final full day of Astrocamp was ever so quick to arrive and the obligatory full English breakfast at the

local café was a great start to the day! Astro High tea in the afternoon, which was a last minute get together

last camp, was now on the event schedule! Lots of cakes, snacks, treats and beverages made an impres-

sive banquet for this social gathering! (Yes, the clouds meant there was lots of eating and drinking over the

weekend!)

Image P.55 Top: A very packed pub! (Image Lillian Kwok)

Image P.55 Bottom Left: Paul HIll

5756


The social aspect of Astrocamp is what makes it really special and the sharing of tips and just general astro

chit chat is always a great pleasure…and great moments when a camper brings out his guitar and sings in

front of newly made friends and then shares it around for others (who can!) to play a tune…are just fabu-

lous memories.

Monday evening was pretty much clouded over, with a great rainstorm thrown in for good measure and at

11pm I decided to call it a night. Around 1am I was woken by knocking on the caravan window with a friend

so excited that the clouds had dispersed leaving the best view yet of the sky of the whole weekend! After

togging up again, I went outside to be greeted by that glorious Cwmdu sky we have all grown to know and

love. The views of the Milky Way were breathtaking…both naked eye and on imaging!

What a finale!

After a good hour under a gorgeous clear sky I felt like it had all come to a fantastic end. I always enjoy

Astrocamp for many reasons…the location, the space, being able to just geek out with my scope and camera

24/7 with no other distractions, the company, the laughs…but it all really boils down to one thing. That sky…

and our passion for it that brings us all together twice a year…and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Home Sweet Cwmdu Home

Article: Joolz WrightTwitter: @farmerswifee

https://twitter.com/farmerswifee

58

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Astro Nerds Magazine issue 1 June 2014