UK Astronomy Events

Very proud of our junior UK Astronomer Aston. He’s always out inspiring others and is hosting his very own solar eclipse event today for his local community 🔭😀

Our youngest TGP Nominal Honorary Crew Member 'Aston Smith' appeared on BBC Northamptonshire this morning, talking about the Solar Eclipse! You can listen to him on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002zqkj (It begins at 1 hour 10 mins into the show)

☀️🌙 ECLIPSE GLASSES UPDATE 🌙☀️

What an incredible response to our eclipse glasses!

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported UK Astronomyy, and a particularly big thank you to The Talbot for helping us get so many pairs of glasses out into the local community. Having somewhere people could easily collect them made a huge difference.

Even better, while helping us distribute the glasses, The Talbot also raised money for the homeless charity, Social Bites (https://www.social-bite.co.uk/), so a huge thank you to everyone who donated too. ❤️

For anyone who doesn’t know us, UK Astronomy is a small, volunteer-run charity. There isn’t a big team behind the scenes. We do this because we want to make astronomy accessible and give people opportunities to enjoy things like this safely.

A couple of important updates:
👓 We have now run out of eclipse glasses.
🍺 The Talbot has also completely run out, so please don’t make a special journey there looking for some.
🏠 And a little plea from me personally: please don’t come to my house asking for glasses. I’ll be working the day job, and I genuinely don’t have a secret stash hidden away! If I had more to give out, I would.

Unfortunately, we are also aware that a small number of people are now selling the glasses that came from us. We completely understand that people still really want a pair, but please don’t support people reselling our glasses for profit.

These were supplied by a small charity in good faith so that people could safely enjoy the eclipse. It’s really disappointing to see anyone trying to make money from something that was provided for the benefit of the community.

And yes, we will recognise ours. They’re pretty unique!

If you missed out, please don’t worry. You do not need eclipse glasses to experience the eclipse. There are other safe ways to view it, and we’ve put together information here:
👉 https://www.ukastronomy.org/uk_partial_eclipse.php
⚠️ Whatever method you use, never look directly at the Sun without appropriate solar viewing protection. Ordinary sunglasses are not safe for viewing the Sun.

📸 WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH IT?
Our good friend, Wil Photography has also put together a really useful guide explaining how to photograph the eclipse safely:
👉 https://wilsnightsky.substack.com/p/your-free-solar-eclipse-photography

However you experience it, we’d love to see what you see.

📷 Take photos, share them and tag UK Astronomy.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who has supported us, volunteered, donated and helped get these glasses into the hands of the community.

Now we just need one final thing...

Clear skies! ☀️🌙

Your Free Solar Eclipse Photography Guide Is Here Simple tips for photographing the eclipse with cameras, smartphones and smart telescopes

Well todays the day!
We are currently chasing clear skies on our cruise liner towards the coast of Greenland, for the full solar eclipse so just want to wish you all the best of luck wherever you are and clear skies.

You can find info on how to see it here: https://www.ukastronomy.org/uk_partial_eclipse.php

I know we are all thinking about the eclipse tomorrow but our minds are already on our charity’s next event!

Looking for a fun family day out before the summer holidays disappear?

On Friday 28 August, our inflatable planetarium returns to Stowe House for six family-friendly shows beneath the dome.

For just £6.50 per person, per show, families can choose from two brilliant space adventures, suitable for ages 6+:

🪐 We Are Aliens
Blast off to Mars, Europa and distant worlds as we explore the big question: are we alone in the Universe? Narrated by Rupert Grint, best known as Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter films.

Shows at 10am, 12pm and 3pm.

🔭 An Incredible Introduction to Our Night Sky
Join UK Astronomy founder Ross Hockham for a live, interactive journey through the constellations, our Solar System and deep space, with plenty of chances to ask questions along the way.

Shows at 11am, 2pm and 4pm.

No astronomy knowledge needed. Just bring your curiosity!

It’s a wonderfully unusual way to round off the summer holidays, and where else can you travel through the Universe from inside one of Britain’s most remarkable historic houses?

Spaces are limited, so book your place and get ready for an unforgettable trip into space.

https://www.stowehouse.org/whats-on/

UPDATE: ALL ECLIPSE GLASSES HAVE NOW GONE

All of the eclipse glasses available at The Talbot Inn have now been collected.

If you haven’t managed to get a pair, there are other safe ways to view the partial solar eclipse. UK Astronomy has put together some useful information, including simple projection methods you can try at home:

https://www.ukastronomy.org/uk_partial_eclipse.php

Please remember, never look directly at the Sun without the correct protection.

First show of the cruise noctilucent clouds, probably the best we have ever seen we’ll worth the shout out from part of the team. Loads more photos with the Moon rising but we where genuinely shocked by how amazing it was at this time of year. Shot with an iphone.

While Ross is off doing all the exciting solar cruise stuff with Wil Photography, Frankie is holding the fort back at UK Astronomy HQ with the Astro Dogs.

If you’re local to Milton Keynes and still haven’t got your solar glasses for the 12th, Frankie has sorted it so you can collect a couple from our remaining stock at the Talbot Inn, Milton Keynes.

Once they’re gone though, that’s it, so don’t leave it too late.

We’ll be following Ross’s adventures and sharing anything he sends back, but for now Frankie and the Astro Dogs are keeping things running this end.

Clear skies for the 12th! 🔭

UK Astronomy are honoured to have been invited by Wil Photography to join him and a host of astronomers, astrophotographers and astrophysicist. Aboard a solar cruise, to experience a full solar eclipse and teach others on board how to photo, enjoy and watch this awesome event. Followed by perseid meteors, stargazing, aurora and some great talks and workshops. We hope to share our experiences with you and any pics we get. Clear skies for the 12th 🔭