As Christmas draws in I am doing my usual blog post summary of the year for Beauty In The Universe. Whilst you are all likely shutting down at work and securing the hatches for Christmas, as is everyone here except me, I have an extremely busy Christmas ahead of me, so it doesn't feel much like things are coming to an end for the year for me. Nonetheless, this year we stepped up our game in a big way and I've summarised our great successes below.
Our first residential trip
This year we ran our inaugural Space Camp. In partnership with Summer Fun 4 All we packed up our suitcases and cleared off to Longsleddale Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Cumbria, accompanied by the great Professor Ian Morison of Jodrell Bank. This went very, very well and I have no doubt that we will be doing it again. Photos from the weekend below:
Check out part 2 of the video diary I made (part 1 was before the children arrived):
Rocket building competition
This year we were involved in two rocket building competitions (with a third to come next year - more on that later). We staged one and judged another. Here is the one we judged at Calder Vale and Scorton schools in Lancaster:
Not only a brilliant education for the pupils, but if you watch to the end you'll see a remarkably powerful rocket built by one of the parents. It didn't even land in the same village! I'll never forget the children at Scorton and Calder Vale. It was such a great experience for me to go there and the staff and pupils were fantastic people. Photos of saying goodbye are below:
Stargazing and star parties
We staged a whole bunch of star parties at various schools, children's centres and other venues. These evenings are, for me, vital and among the best experiences we offer because no matter how good the classroom experience is, nothing can replace the experience at the eyepiece of a telescope. Below are selected photos from our events:
Great Wood School Alien Parade
Great Wood School in Morecambe was another brilliant place to go. They staged easily the most original astronomy-related event
I have ever seen, an alien parade. The photographs below tell you all you need to know:
Other highlights include the arrival of Kathryn Wright. She has been an outstanding addition to Beauty In The Universe. The long-awaited project launch of Beauty In The Environment which Kathryn herself took forward and completed was a welcome event and ended a frustrating period of development. That project has been extremely challenging to get of the ground, but now that it is up and running we have several big projects ready to go in 2012.
It has also been great to develop our working relationship with UCLAN, to the point where we are now collaborating on some phenomenally exciting projects, namely Wish Upon a Star and the 24 Hour Bottle Rocket Challenge (blog post about those here). The latter project also puts us in the sights of NASA, so we expect that this project will be a huge opportunity for us to develop what we do and expand our work. These projects will be my Christmas work, and the reason I am not really shutting down personally.
2011 has been our best year yet and the successes shown signs of stopping. Expect big things from us in 2012.
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Big Plans for 2012
We have been working very hard over the last few months in order to put in place some very exciting projects for the new year and now, after much deliberation and effort we are finally able to go ahead and announce them here. We have two coming up and they are huge.
Wish Upon A Star
This project is great. We are working with the University of Central Lancashire to produce a book. This is a sort of pseudo-sequel to one of their previous projects, Letters to Africa. Below is a promotional video about that project:
You can see that this was a tremendously powerful project, and the book is still available to buy as well.
This time, rather than exchanging letters, the children who get involved with this will exchange either a constellation, a star or some other astronomical object and the book produced at the end will be a sort of chronicle of the exchange process. The other difference is that rather than Africa, UCLan and Beauty In The Universe will fly out to India this time.
This is a tremendous project and we hope that, if you are from a UK school you will get involved. The official website will be up very shortly at www.wishuponastarproject.co.uk.
24 Hour Bottle Rocket Challenge
This is a very exciting project for us to be involved in. The background to this is the NASA Hi-C mission, an experimental spacecraft which will launch next year and which will photograph the Sun at a higher resolution than ever before. To commemorate this we are working with UCLan and NASA to see as many bottle rockets launched in 24 hours as possible. We will be developing learning materials and promoting this in schools to get as many involved as possible.
Very soon I will be able to direct you to the official website for this project.
2012 is set to be a very exciting year for us. Hope you come along for the ride! Read More!
Wish Upon A Star
This project is great. We are working with the University of Central Lancashire to produce a book. This is a sort of pseudo-sequel to one of their previous projects, Letters to Africa. Below is a promotional video about that project:
You can see that this was a tremendously powerful project, and the book is still available to buy as well.
This time, rather than exchanging letters, the children who get involved with this will exchange either a constellation, a star or some other astronomical object and the book produced at the end will be a sort of chronicle of the exchange process. The other difference is that rather than Africa, UCLan and Beauty In The Universe will fly out to India this time.
This is a tremendous project and we hope that, if you are from a UK school you will get involved. The official website will be up very shortly at www.wishuponastarproject.co.uk.
24 Hour Bottle Rocket Challenge
This is a very exciting project for us to be involved in. The background to this is the NASA Hi-C mission, an experimental spacecraft which will launch next year and which will photograph the Sun at a higher resolution than ever before. To commemorate this we are working with UCLan and NASA to see as many bottle rockets launched in 24 hours as possible. We will be developing learning materials and promoting this in schools to get as many involved as possible.
Very soon I will be able to direct you to the official website for this project.
2012 is set to be a very exciting year for us. Hope you come along for the ride! Read More!
Christmas Approaching
We are now in December and in a way things are starting to wind down for Christmas as one might expect, but at Beauty In The Universe we find ourselves busier than ever. Our sister company, Beauty In The Environment has just completed its first project and is currently in the planning phase of several big projects that will go live in the new year, so we have plenty to do on that front. As for astronomy activities, our adult education initiative, Stars and Stuff is four weeks in and due to end the last session of this first run of adult education on December 21st. Last night I took a chance and took some telescopes over to do some real stargazing. We were having intermittent spurts of clear sky and the weather held for around a half hour before the rain arrived and prematurely ended the session. Unfortunate, but it was half an hour gained, during which people got a glimpse of the Moon and Jupiter. I hope to do it again before we shut down for the holidays.
2012 brings with it some extraordinary opportunities for us. Although I cannot say a great deal about most of these things for now, it is looking a near-certainty that we will be going global and taking Beauty In The Universe abroad to continue our great work with an international audience. We will be collaborating with some fantastic organisations and doing some innovative work among great people. We will also be taking astronomy and also environmental science to new audiences and different demographics in the UK, maintaining one of our big priorities, which is to take the phenomenal discoveries of humankind to those who have never benefitted from, or learned about them before.
I will post more information as and when I can, so stay tuned. Read More!
2012 brings with it some extraordinary opportunities for us. Although I cannot say a great deal about most of these things for now, it is looking a near-certainty that we will be going global and taking Beauty In The Universe abroad to continue our great work with an international audience. We will be collaborating with some fantastic organisations and doing some innovative work among great people. We will also be taking astronomy and also environmental science to new audiences and different demographics in the UK, maintaining one of our big priorities, which is to take the phenomenal discoveries of humankind to those who have never benefitted from, or learned about them before.
I will post more information as and when I can, so stay tuned. Read More!
Stars and Stuff
Stars and Stuff is now off the mark and we delivered our second session of astronomy education for adults this week. It has been a resounding success, with 36 people in attendance thus far. Home cooked food served, tea and coffee served and astronomy in an comfortable environment, with plush seating and a relaxed, friendly approach. what we are doing is going down every very well and we are thrilled to be having such a significant impact on people in Lancashire. This is all down to our excellent team at Beauty In The Universe. They have done a superb job on this project.
Registration is still open for the second round and we are already building a waiting list for that, to be delivered in the new year. If you are in the Darwen area of Lancashire and would like to come along then please register at the official Website. Read More!
Registration is still open for the second round and we are already building a waiting list for that, to be delivered in the new year. If you are in the Darwen area of Lancashire and would like to come along then please register at the official Website. Read More!
Stars and Stuff
We have spent the last few weeks and months gearing up for one of our biggest projects to date, Stars and Stuff, and now we are less than two weeks away from commencement.
Today Erica and I spent a couple of hours at The Bee, one of Lancashire's radio stations, developing and recording an 'infomercial' to publicise it and suddenly this whole project came alive in my mind and now we are all extremely excited to see the people of Darwen learn about astronomy and the accomplishments of the human race in space exploration. The sessions will involve stargazing, sightseeing in space, touring the planets and much more and they will be set in a comfortable environment with food and drinks and a friendly atmosphere where absolutely any question can be asked.
You can register interest at the Stars and Stuff website if you would like to attend, or you can telephone Kathryn on 07528 299044. We will collate all of the enquiries and contact you very shortly with details of Stars and Stuff. Read More!
Today Erica and I spent a couple of hours at The Bee, one of Lancashire's radio stations, developing and recording an 'infomercial' to publicise it and suddenly this whole project came alive in my mind and now we are all extremely excited to see the people of Darwen learn about astronomy and the accomplishments of the human race in space exploration. The sessions will involve stargazing, sightseeing in space, touring the planets and much more and they will be set in a comfortable environment with food and drinks and a friendly atmosphere where absolutely any question can be asked.
You can register interest at the Stars and Stuff website if you would like to attend, or you can telephone Kathryn on 07528 299044. We will collate all of the enquiries and contact you very shortly with details of Stars and Stuff. Read More!
Welcome Aboard
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This month we welcome aboard the talented and innovative Kathryn Wright. She comes to us with a huge amount of experience in education and she will be working on developing our existing projects in to educational powerhouses. She is one of the most talented and gifted people I have met so we are all looking forward to what she will bring to the company. Read More!
This month we welcome aboard the talented and innovative Kathryn Wright. She comes to us with a huge amount of experience in education and she will be working on developing our existing projects in to educational powerhouses. She is one of the most talented and gifted people I have met so we are all looking forward to what she will bring to the company. Read More!
Why Education in Physics and Astronomy is Cool
One bike pump, plus one two litre bottle and a suitable reaction mass (water) equals a Newtonian Rocket. This is what we did this summer, and this demonstrates why physics will always be cool.
Working in partnership with the marvellous Summer Fun 4 All we were able to give a bunch of kids a great time, a rocket to take home and launch, and a physics lesson. Read More!
Working in partnership with the marvellous Summer Fun 4 All we were able to give a bunch of kids a great time, a rocket to take home and launch, and a physics lesson. Read More!
Press Release and Project News: Stars and Stuff
Our Stars and Stuff press release hits the stands - read in full here.
Read More!
Stars and Stuff
Today I have the privilege of announcing our latest project, and I can tell you that sitting on this information until things were ready to go live has made me want to burst.
Beauty In The Universe has secured funding from the NIACE Adult and Community Learning Fund which will enable us to roll out a brand new, nine month adult learning project entitled Stars and Stuff. This represents our largest funding award to date and this project will be by far the biggest we have ever implemented, and we simply cannot wait to get our teeth in to it.
Stars and Stuff has a website that you can visit right now and the project is already under way with the planning stages almost complete, and delivery being scheduled as I write this blog post. Our innovative approach and desire to reach the whole world with the awesome science of astronomy, along with the accomplishments of the space explorers of humankind, allows us to reach an enormous number of people.
To that end we welcome on board Professor Ian Morison who will become an employee proper of Beauty In The Universe. Ian has worked with us for some time now, leading our stargazing events and doing an amazing job at Space Camp so we are thrilled to have him as an official Beauty. Ian's experience is extensive and his reputation stands up to scrutiny impeccably as one of the UK's finest astronomers and academics.
We also hope to make an announcement very soon regarding the development of this project and also Space Camp, as we look to push each of these forward to reach more people and uncover the next generation of space explorers, scientists and teachers.
I should acknowledge at this point the role played by Erica in this success. It was she who spotted this opportunity and drove it forward, completing almost all of the work and seeing the potential to do more amazing work. Her diligence and hard work has ensured that many people will be thrilled by this science we love so dearly. Well done and thank you Erica.
We will continue to keep you all updated as we roll out Stars and Stuff. Look for more news here or on the usual social networking sites. Links are on our website. Read More!
Beauty In The Universe has secured funding from the NIACE Adult and Community Learning Fund which will enable us to roll out a brand new, nine month adult learning project entitled Stars and Stuff. This represents our largest funding award to date and this project will be by far the biggest we have ever implemented, and we simply cannot wait to get our teeth in to it.
Stars and Stuff has a website that you can visit right now and the project is already under way with the planning stages almost complete, and delivery being scheduled as I write this blog post. Our innovative approach and desire to reach the whole world with the awesome science of astronomy, along with the accomplishments of the space explorers of humankind, allows us to reach an enormous number of people.
To that end we welcome on board Professor Ian Morison who will become an employee proper of Beauty In The Universe. Ian has worked with us for some time now, leading our stargazing events and doing an amazing job at Space Camp so we are thrilled to have him as an official Beauty. Ian's experience is extensive and his reputation stands up to scrutiny impeccably as one of the UK's finest astronomers and academics.
We also hope to make an announcement very soon regarding the development of this project and also Space Camp, as we look to push each of these forward to reach more people and uncover the next generation of space explorers, scientists and teachers.
I should acknowledge at this point the role played by Erica in this success. It was she who spotted this opportunity and drove it forward, completing almost all of the work and seeing the potential to do more amazing work. Her diligence and hard work has ensured that many people will be thrilled by this science we love so dearly. Well done and thank you Erica.
We will continue to keep you all updated as we roll out Stars and Stuff. Look for more news here or on the usual social networking sites. Links are on our website. Read More!
Space Camp 2011
I have just arrived home from Cumbria, more than a little tired and absolutely thrilled after a fantastic Space Camp. The children and leaders have had a superb weekend of sports, outdoor activities, fun and food along with a great astronomy presentation from Professor Ian Morison.
We were holed up, oblivious to the goings on of the outside world in Longsleddale Outdoor Pursuits Centre with no mobile phone signal, TV or Internet access and only the countryside, our creativity and each other to occupy our time. It was a great time with so many great memories and since I am completely exhausted right now, rather than write a huge post I will let the photos do the talking. Below is a Picasa slideshow, click for the full resolution images.
A big thank you to all the staff at the centre, volunteers and Professor Ian Morison and Andy from Badmintology. A more dedicated team we could not wish for. Read More!
We were holed up, oblivious to the goings on of the outside world in Longsleddale Outdoor Pursuits Centre with no mobile phone signal, TV or Internet access and only the countryside, our creativity and each other to occupy our time. It was a great time with so many great memories and since I am completely exhausted right now, rather than write a huge post I will let the photos do the talking. Below is a Picasa slideshow, click for the full resolution images.
A big thank you to all the staff at the centre, volunteers and Professor Ian Morison and Andy from Badmintology. A more dedicated team we could not wish for. Read More!
Space Camp
With our first Space Camp coming up we now have an official website up at http://www.space-camp.co.uk. Bookmark it and we'll be uploading photos, highlights and other goodies soon.
Read More!
End of Term, a Successful Academic Year and Space Camp
We are now coming to the end of our school activities for this academic year, and what a year it has been. We have more than doubled the number of schools we went to last year, touched the lives of thousands of parents and children and we haven't finished yet. We said goodbye recently to Casterton Primary School and St Johns Primary in Burnley, St James in Lower Darwen and Longshaw Primary School in Blackburn. This week we reach the end of our work in schools when we complete our work in Darwen with Ashleigh Primary School's Gifted and Talented programme, St Josephs Primary and St Barnabas (incidentally, the site of our first ever observing evening. Nice bit of symmetry there).
It has been a rewarding year, extremely busy and very exciting for us, students, staff and parents. We've had the absolute privilege of calling upon the services of Professor Ian Morison of Gresham College and Jodrell Bank to lead our Stargazing Live observing events. If nothing else, the man is a superstar. Thanks very much to the Society for Popular Astronomy for putting us in contact with him.
Our school work has stopped for the year but our summer activities, however, continue in earnest. We have teamed up with the brilliant Summer Fun 4 All to deliver activities as part of their programme of summer activities. We will be doing a rocket building session where children compete to build the best penumatic-launch rocket and we are also going away on space camp. Twenty children, ten staff and a bunch of telescopes will all be piled on a bus and carted off to a fantastic outdoor pursuits centre in Cumbria where we will be doing sports by day and science by night under the motto:
SAS: Who Cares Wins
Every time I use that phrase the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! I really cannot wait to go. I do not expect to sleep much over that weekend. We are also hopefully going to do some stargazing locally in Darwen too for those who cannot make it all the way up to Cumbria.
It's been a great year and it's going to be a great summer holiday period. The best part of it all is that we are currently running at around a fifth of the capacity and funding we have placed bids for so there is only one way that we can go from here.
Below are some photos of the brilliant staff and students we have worked with this year. Click to go to our Picasa gallery and view the high resolution photgraphs.
Adam, the author of this blog is cycling coast to coast this year for charity. Please sponsor me here.
Check out this song from one of my favourite bands, Kings X. Read More!
It has been a rewarding year, extremely busy and very exciting for us, students, staff and parents. We've had the absolute privilege of calling upon the services of Professor Ian Morison of Gresham College and Jodrell Bank to lead our Stargazing Live observing events. If nothing else, the man is a superstar. Thanks very much to the Society for Popular Astronomy for putting us in contact with him.
Our school work has stopped for the year but our summer activities, however, continue in earnest. We have teamed up with the brilliant Summer Fun 4 All to deliver activities as part of their programme of summer activities. We will be doing a rocket building session where children compete to build the best penumatic-launch rocket and we are also going away on space camp. Twenty children, ten staff and a bunch of telescopes will all be piled on a bus and carted off to a fantastic outdoor pursuits centre in Cumbria where we will be doing sports by day and science by night under the motto:
SAS: Who Cares Wins
Every time I use that phrase the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! I really cannot wait to go. I do not expect to sleep much over that weekend. We are also hopefully going to do some stargazing locally in Darwen too for those who cannot make it all the way up to Cumbria.
It's been a great year and it's going to be a great summer holiday period. The best part of it all is that we are currently running at around a fifth of the capacity and funding we have placed bids for so there is only one way that we can go from here.
Below are some photos of the brilliant staff and students we have worked with this year. Click to go to our Picasa gallery and view the high resolution photgraphs.
Adam, the author of this blog is cycling coast to coast this year for charity. Please sponsor me here.
Check out this song from one of my favourite bands, Kings X. Read More!
Coming This Summer
You would think that we would be winding down for the summer. On the contrary, friends. We are gearing up for a busy summer at Beauty In The Universe. We recently commenced work in a further three schools, St Barnabas in Darwen, coincidentally where we staged our first Stargazing Live event, St Joseph's Primary School and we are also working at Ashleigh Primary School with their gifted and talented group. It is a privilege to be in all of these schools and we have been blown away by their passion and enthusiasm for astronomy.
We are also pleased to announce one of the things we are doing this summer, working in partnership with the excellent Summer Fun 4 All:
Sports and science. SAS: Who Cares Wins. See you in Cumbria everybody. Read More!
We are also pleased to announce one of the things we are doing this summer, working in partnership with the excellent Summer Fun 4 All:
Sports and science. SAS: Who Cares Wins. See you in Cumbria everybody. Read More!
More Schools See The Beauty
Right now is a great time to be a part of Beauty In The Universe. We are ploughing our way through a good many schools. This week we commenced work at St Johns in Burnley, with two classes there and we have also started work in Darwen and Blackburn, at Longshaw Junior School and St James Primary School. We have a good few more coming up this term to but I will post about those when we commence work.
A week on Monday we will be taking our last trip to Alston for this academic year, with children attending from a couple of schools in Blackburn. Alston is always good value for the students and we have seen some excellent results from that. It will be the last time we see Katie there, she is the academic researcher who has done such a great job with the presentations and with showing people around the observatory. She'll be much missed by us but she will move on to bigger and better things without a doubt, and UCLAN will no doubt put somebody equally as knowledgeable and skilled in there to replace her.
Summer is coming and we can't fit it all in right now. Everything we dreamt of is happening so we are having to come up with some new ambitions and ideas. This is, to us, a very good sign.
We have also been nominated in the Young Uns Business Awards for 2011 - four nominations no less! We have a chance to win in two different categories and the awards shortlist is online now, so check it out. Whether or not we win, it is nice to be nominated and recognised by our peers, and we will have a great night out. Since I cycle to most things we do it will be one of the few times I wear something other than shorts. I will post about the evening afterwards, however, if you wish to cross your fingers (assuming you're the superstitious sort) then it's June 16th when we go.
A very productive academic year is ending with a bang, and we will not be resting on our laurels over the summer as we get stuck in to summer science activities with Summer Fun 4 All. If you're in the Darwen area then come along and you will get to see what remarkable things you can do with a few household objects, a couple of magnets and a bicycle pump.
Read More!
Completion at St Leonards and the Coming Summer
Yesterday was the final day of astronomy club at St Leonards in Padiham. It was also the last day of school before half term so I had some pretty hyper students trying to learn about The Big Bang! Despite the rowdiness we covered no small amount of ground and had the inevitable giggles when a student questioned how exactly astronauts use the toilet in a space suit.
A great school and hopefully one we can return in the autumn with our telescopes to do some stargazing.
We're also thrilled to announce that a group with whom we work very closely, Summer Fun 4 All has won funding from Children In Need to go ahead with a three year programme which will include Stargazing Live with us over summer. We're really pleased about that as we get to show off the cosmos to a whole group of new people that would never be reached with it otherwise. We also have provision for something pretty special over the summer, and I'll be telling you more about that at a later date.
This summer we have made time and provision to make a big impact in the summer holidays. So many people will be looking for something to do and we have a winning lottery ticket, the entire universe to see. Tonight Erica and I will have a curry and further our plans for world domination... Read More!
A great school and hopefully one we can return in the autumn with our telescopes to do some stargazing.
We're also thrilled to announce that a group with whom we work very closely, Summer Fun 4 All has won funding from Children In Need to go ahead with a three year programme which will include Stargazing Live with us over summer. We're really pleased about that as we get to show off the cosmos to a whole group of new people that would never be reached with it otherwise. We also have provision for something pretty special over the summer, and I'll be telling you more about that at a later date.
This summer we have made time and provision to make a big impact in the summer holidays. So many people will be looking for something to do and we have a winning lottery ticket, the entire universe to see. Tonight Erica and I will have a curry and further our plans for world domination... Read More!
More Schools Experience The Beauty
We never stand still here at Beauty. This week we are halfway through an after school club run at St Leonards in Padiham. I spent my summer holidays in that area with my grandparents so it is quite moving to be up there teaching and sharing the beauty of astronomy where I used to play on those typically English, long, hot, hazy summer days. This is another great school and the students there are phenomenal. I hope to get a couple of photographs just for posterity.
We also commenced work in a few more new schools. Firstly we went to Casterton in Burnley for the first of six weeks with their year four, five and six. This is a great school and their students are smart kids. It was a joy to do our thing there.
We also went to Blackburn to another two schools, St James and Longshaw Juniors. We did a couple of assemblies there in preparation for lessons and after school clubs there, and as always this went down a storm. We look forward to working with these schools.
We also have some big plans that we are working hard on behind the scenes. Nothing would please me more than to write about them here. When everything is ready to go you'll hear all about them. Read More!
We also commenced work in a few more new schools. Firstly we went to Casterton in Burnley for the first of six weeks with their year four, five and six. This is a great school and their students are smart kids. It was a joy to do our thing there.
We also went to Blackburn to another two schools, St James and Longshaw Juniors. We did a couple of assemblies there in preparation for lessons and after school clubs there, and as always this went down a storm. We look forward to working with these schools.
We also have some big plans that we are working hard on behind the scenes. Nothing would please me more than to write about them here. When everything is ready to go you'll hear all about them. Read More!
Recognition & Appreciation
There are many ways to measure success and much debate to be had over them, but one thing that I do love is when we receive the ultimate accolade - the praise from the mouth of babes. It is impossible to fool children. If they say you're good, you're good. So it gives me immense pleasure to share this photo with you; cards given to us by children we have taught,
Again, for the high resolution image just click on the photo. Read More!
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| From Cards |
To view the full, high resolution image just click on the photo.
Below also, belatedly, are a couple of photos from Stargazing Live with Great Wood school in Morecambe.
Below also, belatedly, are a couple of photos from Stargazing Live with Great Wood school in Morecambe.
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| From Great Wood, Morecambe Alien Parade |
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| From Great Wood, Morecambe Alien Parade |
Again, for the high resolution image just click on the photo. Read More!
Great Wood School, Morecambe
This week we went over to Morecambe by the seaside to do a couple of days' work in Great Wood school. This was a great experience for us, and a little different too. The school is running with the topic of space exploration and they asked us to come in and provide some inspiration for them for the whole module, meaning that they are going to do some science fiction writing, art and so forth, all inspired by astronomy. It was a different thing for us and we focused heavily on extra-terrestrials as well as the more numinous elements of astronomy, deep space astrophotography and suchlike. We had a great time and delivered another stargazing evening too, again with a twist as the students were encouraged to come dressed as aliens. Below is a slideshow and also a video with footage of the 'Parade of Aliens'. It was a brilliant evening with around 160 people in attendance, all families.
Click the slideshow to go to our Picasa gallery with high resolution images.
You can view this video in HD on our YouTube channel. Read More!
Click the slideshow to go to our Picasa gallery with high resolution images.
You can view this video in HD on our YouTube channel. Read More!
Astronomy Time Lapse Videos
It;s the Easter holiday so I've taken a break from posting about us so I can show you some incredible astronomy time lapse videos.
First up is Orion:
Next, Aurora Borealis:
Finally, the Mily Way:
Extraordinary. That's the phenomenal thing about this science, the incredible beauty of what we observe. Read More!
First up is Orion:
"Orion" - motion controlled night timelapse from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.
Next, Aurora Borealis:
The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
Finally, the Mily Way:
The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
Extraordinary. That's the phenomenal thing about this science, the incredible beauty of what we observe. Read More!
Scorton & Calder Vale Rocket Building Competition
Not too far in the distant past we delivered our award winning service to schools in Scorton & Calder Vale. The project was a roaring success. The students, staff, parents and we all loved it. These are two rural schools situated somewhere within the Lancastrian triangle of Blackburn, Garstang and Lancaster. After we left they continued their study of astronomy and space travel by staging a rocket building competition, and we were invited back to judge it. It was an extraordinary event that saw whole families working with one another, coming together to do something truly fantastic, to build a working rocket with a propulsion system and launching site or device.
It is difficult to express in words how talented these students are, or how brilliant their work turned out to be, so I will simply let the YouTube video below do the talking.
Thanks for the memories kids. Read More!
It is difficult to express in words how talented these students are, or how brilliant their work turned out to be, so I will simply let the YouTube video below do the talking.
Thanks for the memories kids. Read More!
Padiham Green Sends a Message to ET
This week saw the last session in yet another triumph, this time at Padiham Green school in Padiham, Lancashire. This was a really boisterous and bright set of students with some genuine talent and flair for the sciences. They passionately embraced Beauty In The Universe with enthusiasm and gusto, practically devouring everything I could throw at them. They assimilated some incredibly difficult concept too, including the expanding universe, red shift and the Doppler Effect.
This was an experience to remember for me as much as them, and I hope that we get another chance to work with them and their fine staff. Today they prepared and lunched a message to alien life, and, as ever, video footage is below:
Read More!
This was an experience to remember for me as much as them, and I hope that we get another chance to work with them and their fine staff. Today they prepared and lunched a message to alien life, and, as ever, video footage is below:
Read More!
Stargazing at Nursery
Yesterday evening we hosted another excellent Stargazing Live event at a local nursery school. We had a whole bunch of families attend, around sixty to seventy people. We also had a couple of secondary school students who came and operated the telescopes and carried some of our workload, which was a rewarding experience for them and us. It was a roaring success and yet another great evening with Beauty In The Universe.
Read More!
Photo slideshow below, click to see the full high resolution images.
Stargazing at Turton and Edgworth
We recently staged a stargazing event at Turton and Edgworth primary school. In attendance was the fantastic Professor Ian Morison of Jodrell Bank. We had around 100 children and parents in attendance and it went superbly well. Ian delivered a short talk when the clouds rolled in. Below is a slideshow.
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Stargazing at Turton and Edgworth
We recently staged a stargazing event at Turton and Edgworth primary school. In attendance was the fantastic Professor Ian Morison of Jodrell Bank. We had around 100 children and parents in attendance and it went superbly well. Ian delivered a short talk when the clouds rolled in. Below is a slideshow. To view the high resolution images click the slideshow. Video to follow shortly on our YouTube channel.
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Scorton and Calder Vale, and Darwen Children's Centres
Over the last few weeks we have been delivering astronomy sessions to two schools near Lancaster, Scorton and Calder Vale. This was a great experience for us and a really memorable time. One of the best times I have had since we started the company actually. The students were simply ravenous in their pursuit of knowledge and I am certain that the seeds of great dreams have been planted. The culmination of our time there was last night's observing event with our special guest, Professor Ian Morison of Jodrell Bank. It was a tour de force and Ian did a superb job. The advantage of these two schools is that they are in the middle of nowhere, meaning we had extremely dark skies, and fortunately the weather held out. Regrettably my phone battery was dying, so it killed the camera flash meaning no photos - D'oh! I do, however, have plenty of photos from our time there anyway, which I have posted below. I was also fortunate enough to be able to get a couple of posters from AstroFest which were autographed by Brian Cox which I gave to the school, and, as they seemed to have an obsession with Pluto there I also donated a book about the (seemingly) controversial little planetoid to them.
Photos below now. To see the high resolution shots simply click the slideshow.
Demonstrating black holes with a bin bag
Space art by students, inspired by Beauty In The Universe
Saying goodbye to a fantastic bunch of students
I'm sorry to be leaving, but the wrench on both sides tells us how great a time we all had. Thanks for the memories kids, and thanks To Holly, Liz, Allison and all the ladies at Scorton and Calder Vale.
The brilliant students at students at Scorton and Calder Vale
In other news, we also delivered, on the same night (don't ask - it was frantic) to a children's centre in Darwen. Another great event and around thirty families attended, many looking through telescopes for the first time. That is what Beauty In The Universe is all about, taking this science to people who have never experienced it before.
Darwen families observing
this was an eighteen hour day that commenced at 0430 for me. To say I am exhausted is an understatement, but what a labour of love. It was well worth it. Read More!
Photos below now. To see the high resolution shots simply click the slideshow.
Demonstrating black holes with a bin bag
Space art by students, inspired by Beauty In The Universe
Saying goodbye to a fantastic bunch of students
I'm sorry to be leaving, but the wrench on both sides tells us how great a time we all had. Thanks for the memories kids, and thanks To Holly, Liz, Allison and all the ladies at Scorton and Calder Vale.
The brilliant students at students at Scorton and Calder Vale
In other news, we also delivered, on the same night (don't ask - it was frantic) to a children's centre in Darwen. Another great event and around thirty families attended, many looking through telescopes for the first time. That is what Beauty In The Universe is all about, taking this science to people who have never experienced it before.
Darwen families observing
this was an eighteen hour day that commenced at 0430 for me. To say I am exhausted is an understatement, but what a labour of love. It was well worth it. Read More!
AstroFest
Erica and I recently went down to Kensington to AstroFest. We had a great time. I personally attended a couple of fascinating lectures. One was about the detection and tracking of Near Earth Objects and the other about the restoration of Moon landing footage. I also bumped in to a lecturer, Don Kurtz, who recently appeared on BBC Stargazing Live. The highlights were undoubtedly meeting Mandy at the SPA and the big names I met: Sir Patrick Moore and Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May - he is an expert on interplanetary dust).
Check out below photos from the weekend, including meeting Brian and Patrick. I had to leave before I was able to get a shot with Brian Cox, but I did get a book signed for my son.
Amazingly, for an astronomer who has been at it for around 25 years this was my first AstroFest. It was a pretty frantic weekend but well worth it. It was great to see how much time these men had for the fans, particularly Patrick, whose health is making meets and greets like this prohibitive. I am the only person in my school generation I know of who stayed up late to watch The Sky At Night so this man is a hero of mine, and after reading his autobiography I found him to be a remarkable man in many ways, not just astronomy. Brian May was so gracious and had so much time for us geeks who are not lucky enough to have been in one of the greatest bands of all time.
Now we're back to work, and we're every excited about the future. check out our latest video about eclipses, made after several requests from Facebookers and parents. Read More!
Check out below photos from the weekend, including meeting Brian and Patrick. I had to leave before I was able to get a shot with Brian Cox, but I did get a book signed for my son.
Amazingly, for an astronomer who has been at it for around 25 years this was my first AstroFest. It was a pretty frantic weekend but well worth it. It was great to see how much time these men had for the fans, particularly Patrick, whose health is making meets and greets like this prohibitive. I am the only person in my school generation I know of who stayed up late to watch The Sky At Night so this man is a hero of mine, and after reading his autobiography I found him to be a remarkable man in many ways, not just astronomy. Brian May was so gracious and had so much time for us geeks who are not lucky enough to have been in one of the greatest bands of all time.
Now we're back to work, and we're every excited about the future. check out our latest video about eclipses, made after several requests from Facebookers and parents. Read More!
Breaking New Ground
At Beauty In The Universe it has always been our desire to break new ground, do things in a new way and to take challenges head on. January is no exception as this month we are heading in to the year with several successful funding bids in place, new [laces to go to and especially, new cultures to reach. This year we attend our first Islamic school, a girl's school in Preston. This is a really exciting opportunity for us. Right from the start, when we first decided what we wanted to accomplish, reaching minorities was right up there. We even touched on this in one of our teaching videos, Clutching Stardust. FRom the first pitch we put to a school we insisted that what we are doing appeals to all cultures, races, genders, religions and so forth. To educate is all we care about and we never turn down an opportunity to do it.
We approach with sensitivity this great opportunity. It is as much a chance for us to learn as for the students at the school. The response we have experienced from the Islamic community as we have encountered it has been incredibly enthusiastic, as well it should be since that culture has a great heritage in astronomy. We look forward to delivering our service to this school and creating an even more inclusive company, full of passion for the thrill of astronomy, full of respect for it's adherents.
The primary motivation Erica and I decided on was that we love astronomy and we will do anything to teach any child to love this science, and to learn to apply it and explore the universe for themselves. The twentieth century space explorers were almost exclusively white, male westerners, or Russian. We hope that the world can embrace space exploration, and we dream of seeing all peoples work together to further the knowledge of mankind. Read More!
We approach with sensitivity this great opportunity. It is as much a chance for us to learn as for the students at the school. The response we have experienced from the Islamic community as we have encountered it has been incredibly enthusiastic, as well it should be since that culture has a great heritage in astronomy. We look forward to delivering our service to this school and creating an even more inclusive company, full of passion for the thrill of astronomy, full of respect for it's adherents.
The primary motivation Erica and I decided on was that we love astronomy and we will do anything to teach any child to love this science, and to learn to apply it and explore the universe for themselves. The twentieth century space explorers were almost exclusively white, male westerners, or Russian. We hope that the world can embrace space exploration, and we dream of seeing all peoples work together to further the knowledge of mankind. Read More!
Hunting ET
We are now heading in to the new year and there is a real buzz about the Internet, and it is all about finding extra-terrestrial life. NASA has a space probe called Kepler looking for extra-solar planets and the expectation of finding Earth-like worlds is getting pretty feverish. Below is an interesting video, detailing the findings of Kepler's first five discovered worlds:
If I had to bet on it then I think that if there is to be a discovery in the next few years of extra-terrestrial life then it will be Kepler that finds it. The most likely way, in my opinion, is through spectroscopy. It is possible to collect star light that shines through the atmosphere of a planet. This light will hold the signs we are looking for. When the light is split in to its spectrum (the colours of the rainbow) we observe absorption lines. These are black lines in the spectrum and they occur when the light has passed through a particular substance, so for example, the lines will appear at a certain point when the light has passed through oxygen, and different points for hydrogen. The practical upshot of this is that bu analysing these lines it is possible to detect what is present in the atmosphere of a planet. Things like methane, ozone, carbon dioxide are all produced by living things. This will not be definitive but might be a clue. What we really want to detect, however, is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll can only be produced by organic processes, meaning that its detection will be definitive. If we find chlorophyll then it's in the bag.
Keep up to date with Kepler. It is a very exciting mission. There has never been a better time to be an astronomer.
The hunt for chlorophyll is on. Read More!
If I had to bet on it then I think that if there is to be a discovery in the next few years of extra-terrestrial life then it will be Kepler that finds it. The most likely way, in my opinion, is through spectroscopy. It is possible to collect star light that shines through the atmosphere of a planet. This light will hold the signs we are looking for. When the light is split in to its spectrum (the colours of the rainbow) we observe absorption lines. These are black lines in the spectrum and they occur when the light has passed through a particular substance, so for example, the lines will appear at a certain point when the light has passed through oxygen, and different points for hydrogen. The practical upshot of this is that bu analysing these lines it is possible to detect what is present in the atmosphere of a planet. Things like methane, ozone, carbon dioxide are all produced by living things. This will not be definitive but might be a clue. What we really want to detect, however, is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll can only be produced by organic processes, meaning that its detection will be definitive. If we find chlorophyll then it's in the bag.
Keep up to date with Kepler. It is a very exciting mission. There has never been a better time to be an astronomer.
The hunt for chlorophyll is on. Read More!