News Letter #4

20th February 2005

Dear Friends

The official winter seems to have passed with remarkably few clear nights, though as I write we may get a few next week as the temperature falls, nevertheless some 118 visitors (mainly pupils) have been to the Dome since the New Year.

The night assigned to the Tour of the Winter Sky was one of the most miserable wet nights of them all and the 3 Friends who turned up deserved the glass of Madeira with their virtual Tour. I hope the Spring Sky evening on 23rd March fares better.

The few good nights did enable the Comet's (Machholz) progress to be followed and though no longer visible to the unaided eye, we managed to follow its orbit across ¼ of the Sky. The Primary School visits were fully attended and like the GCSE Course from Swindon College, the weather did not allow any observing. College GCSE Astronomers who need one more Coursework observation are feeling the pressure.

I can only emphasise the need to seize any window of opportunity and to reiterate that you must not be afraid to phone if you are free and the night is clear, to see if the Dome will be opening.

The website www.blackettobservatory.org is at last on Google and continues to be well used (averaging 100 hits per week) especially the Whatsup!, Weather and Images sections. If you haven't looked recently there have been many additions, with more to come for Pupils (drawings/projects and GCSE specifications etc) I hope the site has a sufficiently active feeling to it.

The next Public event (and it isn't weather dependent) is the 2005 NASA Sun-Earth Day Lecture, Ancient Observatories-Timeless Knowledge on Sunday 20th March at 6pm in the Ellis Theatre, Marlborough College. There are no tickets. All Friends will of course be especially welcome, do feel free to bring your friends!

If the nights do clear then Saturn is now high in the evening Sky and we can look forward to Jupiter's return as an evening object as Spring arrives.

I look forward to seeing you at either a prearranged event or indeed a 'seized moment' one clear evening, especially those who have not yet had an opportunity to observe.

Best wishes

Charlie