Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
STARRY, STARRY NIGHTS
The Royal Observatory is sometimes described as Edinburgh's best
kept secret but as Lorraine Wakefield discovered it is the ideal
place to take a trip into space this winter.
Nestling on Blackford Hill just three miles from Edinburgh city centre the Royal Observatory is an impressive looking building and has been a prominent landmark in the city since 1894.
Despite its presence on Edinburgh's skyline for over a hundred years and the opening of a dedicated visitor centre 20 years ago many locals and visitors miss out on the Royal Observatory as they don't even know its there.
However those that do make the effort to visit are never disappointed with a fascinating insight into space, stargazing and loads more activities on offer at family astronomy nights held every Friday from October to March.
Visitor centre co-ordinator Lizzie Stenhouse said the family nights are a great introduction to the world of astronomy and were a way of raising the profile of the observatory and its work too.
"The idea of the family astronomy night is to try and introduce people to astronomy and let them do it themselves, teach them in a way," explained Lizzie.
"We tell them about what they can see in the sky at this time of the year, can tell them what planets will be around and any special activities in the sky, like meteors and where to look for them.
"We teach visitors how to find the pole star and how to look for constellations then we will take them out on to the rooftop of the observatory with telescopes and let them look at the different planets, like Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and the moon.
"Because the rooftop is off the computer gallery visitors can also come into the warm and we have a computer programme, Starry Night, which shows you what is happening in the sky in Edinburgh at that minute of the night.
"So even if its cloudy outside visitors can see what would be in the sky and if the weather is bad there are always children's activities and things that they can make and take away with them."
Another
very popular activity at the Royal Observatory is the dome demonstration
when visitors get to sit in the astronomer's chair as the dome above
them is opened allowing the telescope, the second largest one in
Scotland, to peek out at the night sky.
"That is quite exciting and that is what a lot of people remember the most," said Lizzie.
Lizzie said the aim of the family astronomy nights was to increase awareness and even if the weather is bad they hope to teach visitors something about astronomy.
"We thought we would hold the nights even when the weather is bad as you can still learn something about astronomy," she said.
"Lets face it astronomy is free, you can do it with a telescope but there is a lot you can see and take an interest in without a telescope and children like to learn about the different stars."
As well as the family astronomy nights the Royal Observatory also holds free talks each Tuesday throughout the winter for visitors wanting to find out more about astronomy and perhaps develop it into a more serious hobby.
Some of the topics covered this year will be "Is Pluto a planet or not?" on 27 November and "Magnetic Lights - a guide to the Aurora" on 12 March. A full free programme of talks is available from the visitor centre.
Whatever your interest in space and the stars there is one thing for sure - a visit to the Royal Observatory will bring you one step closer to discovering what really is out there.
The Royal Observatory can arrange guided tours for groups, has an inflatable planetarium for hire, an astronomy shop and provides free monthly star guides for stargazing at home.
Information on opening times and admission prices can be found on the website www.roe.ac.uk
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