Dates:19 MayTimes:17.00-20.30Fee:FREE*" Royal Observatory Greenwich
*All events are FREE but charges apply for the planetarium shows.
This free* event is part of Museums at Night 2012 and includes planetarium shows, workshops and talks for families and adults in the Astronomy Centre of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Including the planetarium shows Across the Universe and The Sky Tonight Live.
Make a planet finder (Drop-in session)
Times: 12.30 | Age: 5+ | In this workshop you will make a planet finder and be shown how to use it, allowing you to find planets in the night sky for years.
Ask an Astronomer (Drop-in session)
Times: 17.00~20.00 | Age: 5+ and Adult | Meet some of the astronomers working at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, find out about their research and ask them questions about astronomy.
Space is big… (Talk)
Times: 17.45, 18.30, 19.15 | Age: 11+ and Adult | This short talk explores how scientists measure distances in space: from the nearest stars and the most distant galaxies.
The Sky Tonight Live (Planetarium show)
Times: 17.45, 19.15 | Age: 5+ and Adult | Tickets: Adults £6.50, Child/Concession £4.50, Family (2+2) £17.50
Across the Universe (Planetarium show)
Times: 17.00, 18.30 | Age: 5+ and Adult | Tickets: Adults £6.50, Child/Concession £4.50, Family (2+2) £17.50
Celebrating the Transit of Venus, 5–6 June 2012, the Royal Observatory's Transit Season will highlight the Observatory's long history of observing past transits.
In previous centuries Transits of Venus were used to measure the scale of the solar system. Such transits occur in pairs, 8 years apart, each separated by over a century: after 2012 the next Transit of Venus will not be until December 2117.
The season is about the people, the telescopes and spacecraft which have extended our view of the Universe and allowed us to comprehend its immense scale. A story that has included figures such as Astronomer Royal Edmund Halley, King George III, Captain James Cook, the botanist Joseph Banks, astronomer Edwin Hubble and Turner Prize-winning artist Wolfgang Tillmans, in our quest to understand and measure the true size of the universe.
Image is a detail from 'Orbiting alone', an image of the NASA Space Shuttle "Discovery". Photo credit: NASA March 26, 2009
