ASTRONOMY IN THE PUB

Following the great success of the previous two ‘Astronomy in the Pub’ events, Richie Jarvis, ace astro-imager and IT guru, again organised a fabulous evening at this lovely pub in South Chailey in partnership with the Brighton Science Festival and the East Sussex Astronomical Society.

The inn was packed with standing room only and, on some occasions, no standing room!

Our audiences were treated to a presentation by Richie about the celestial objects currently visible in the night sky and the types of astronomy equipment available with which to view them. I followed with a presentation about our Sun and other stars, and Charlotte Clarke of Sussex University rounded off the evening with a fascinating and insightful talk about the algorithmic links between astronomy and medicine and how these data links can be exploited to speed up statistical analysis and, therefore, medical diagnoses.

But the star of the show had to be the sky itself. How could it not?! In the afternoon, many enjoyed stunning views of our Star through solar scopes in situ. In the early evening, others witnessed the passage of the International Space Station and an Iridium flare and, later, after a brief shower whizzed through, the glorious dark skies of South Chailey came into their own. The views were simply stunning: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, a gorgeous crescent Moon and Orion were just some of the highlights captivating sky watchers armed with telescopes and binoculars galore!

It was a fantastic, fun night. Perfect. For those of you who missed us … why not join us next year? See you then! And an enormous thank you to all for making it possible!