ASTRONOMY IN THE PUB

Saturday 22 February 2014

The Horns Lodge Inn

South Chailey

Yet again, this was a really fun evening, enhanced this year by the fact that we actually enjoyed clear skies too! As a result, Richie Jarvis took a crowd outside The Horns Lodge Inn to witness the passing of the International Space Station, as well as sharing the stunning views of Jupiter and Orion against the darkest skies in Sussex. A raft of telescopes were also set up and members of the public enjoyed some amazing views of the gas giant planet as well as the Great Orion Nebula.

To complement the practical viewing sessions, astronomy author and broadcaster, Ninian Boyle, joined Richie and me in offering astronomy presentations. Ninian shared the perils of Near Earth Objects, Richie, the latest rover activities on Mars and me, a journey from a speck of cosmic dust to the observable Universe, and beyond! The pub was packed for its entire length, and was at least three people deep along the bar. Subsequent feedback has been amazing.

It truly was a fantastic night - a gathering of like-minded people who clearly loved the subject, and a gathering of those who had very little idea about the great 'out there' but were possessed of an enormous thirst to know! I felt privileged to play a part.

A big thank you to Richie, as ever, for organising the event and an even bigger thank you to all the lovely people who came along and made it so enjoyable. Here's to another one next year!

And a few more photos ...