Join us for our first stargazing event of the year

Our enormously popular monthly stargazing events are back to fill you with wonder in 2017. Join us as we look at our summer skies on Saturday 28 January.

Guided by our resident astronomer, Vincent Nettmann, these captivating evenings begin with a discussion on the mystery and enormity of our universe. Nettmann's extensive knowledge and passion for the stars make for fascinating and absorbing presentations that he follows with practical stargazing through his large-aperture telescopes (weather permitting). Dinner is also included and visitors are encouraged to ask questions throughout the evening.

This month, we'll be looking particularly closely at the Taurus-Orion region, a rich and varied part of our skies. The Great Orion Nebula is a vast cloud of dust and gas, a “stellar nursery”, where recently four hot young stars were formed. We'll be discussing and exploring the Seven Sisters or the Pleiades, an open cluster consisting of about 480 infant stars; Rigel, a huge, young blue giant star burning its nuclear fuels at a fast rate; and Betelgeuse, a red giant star that is 10-billion years old and coming to the end of its life.

We encourage our guests to bring binoculars to participate in a beginners' laser-guided sky tour. Large-aperture telescopes will be available and, subject to weather conditions, they will have the opportunity to observe the skies through these lenses.

Itinerary

6pm: Arrive for welcome drinks
6.30pm: Enjoy a stargazing presentation
7.30pm: Dinner at the restaurant. Stargazing through our telescopes will take place after dinner

What to bring

If you own a good pair of binoculars, please bring them along. Please also bring a warm jacket as the evenings can be chilly.

Weather

If it is raining or overcast, the talk and dinner will still take place but not the stargazing through the telescopes.

Get your tickets on Webtickets today for our first stargazing event of the year.