http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog Astronomy In The UK Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:07:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en SCOTLAND could become the first country in Europe to have internationally recognised "dark sky parks" where visitors could go to enjoy the full spectacle of the night sky. A campaign to make people more aware of the importance of dark skies has been launched to mark the 400th anniversary in 2009 ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/11/premium-article-your-account-has-been-frozen-for-your-available-options-click-the-below-button-options-premium-article-to-read-this-article-in-full-you-must-have-registered-and-have-a-premium/ The Image Group celebrates our love of astronomy with large outdoor photography exhibition documenting stars, planets and galaxies as far away as 13 billion light years. The Image Group, Eccles-based large-format printer has designed and installed the stunning photographic exhibition to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide during ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/11/gazing-at-the-stars-in-liverpool/ Cardiff University School of Physics and Astronomy has unveiled a new large optical telescope for use by students and the public. The Cardiff Half-metre Newise Telescope has enormous capability for carrying out astronomy, even through the bright night skies of Cardiff. Its size makes it equal to the largest of any UK ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/10/cardiff-folk-will-be-seeing-stars-better/ Starry-eyed expert and amateur astronomers in Pembrokeshire have told the Western Telegraph why they will be delighted to see street lighting cuts across the county. The West Wales Astronomy Group, which meets every month to share experiences and use telescopes to seek out constellations and planets, has been campaigning to turn ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/starry-starry-night/ Star gazers from all over the country are expected to gather for an autumn equinox sky camp held at a north Norfolk holiday park which has an ever growing reputation for the clarity of its skies. The event, at Kelling Heath Holiday Park, near Holt, will be the UK's largest “star ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/star-gazers-gather-for-celestial-party/ A planet has been pictured outside our Solar System which appears to be circling a star like our own Sun - a first in astronomy. Most of the potential exoplanets imaged to date have been seen orbiting brown dwarfs, which are dim - making it easier to detect companion objects. The new ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/exoplanet-circles-normal-star/ The former keyboard player with D:Ream is set to become the nation's favourite scientist after talking us through the subatomic goings-on at Cern. Just don't mention the end of the world... In the transient media parlance, Gordon Ramsay is a 'rock star' chef, Dan Snow is a 'rock star' historian and ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/putting-the-fizz-into-physics/ The night sky above Scotland could become as important to tourism as its landscape by day, according to experts on space and tourism. Science business boss Maarten de Vries said Scotland was one of a declining number of countries with large areas free of light pollution. He also predicted a boom if ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/scots-countdown-to-space-tourism/ He's spent more than 20 years watching the skies, but these days you're just as likely to see Mark Thompson zooming through them. That's because the chairman of Norwich Astronomical Society is edging a tiny bit closer to the galaxies he loves, by training to become a pilot, as DAN GRIMMER ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/the-skys-the-limit-for-astronomer/ ASTRONOMERS and stargazers from all over the country will descend on Herstmonceux Observatory this weekend for the Herstmonceux Astronomy Festival. The festival will be a celebration of all things astronomical with a series of lectures by astronomers and scientists. Topics will range from the history of astronomy to the science behind the ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/09/sir-patrick-special-guest-at-astronomy-festival/ STARGAZER Andy Lound has given thousands of Brummies an out of this world experience over a 30 year career. It was in August 1978 that the then teenage astronomer first invited his friends and neighbours in Rodway Close, Newtown, to look skywards and view the Perseid meteor shower. Andy, now 45, said: ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/08/star-award-for-astronomer-andy-lound/ Skywatchers around the globe can see a total eclipse of the Sun on Friday. A dark shadow will sweep across the surface of the planet in a broad arc as the Moon passes directly between the Earth and our star. The eclipse begins in Canada's high Arctic and ends in northern China's ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/08/sun-and-moon-set-to-put-on-show/ An ancient astronomy calculator appears to show the four-year cycle of the early Greek competitions that inspired today's Olympic Games. Newly uncovered inscriptions on the 2,100 year-old device reveal names linked to the Olympiad cycle of games once celebrated among ancient Greek city-states. "It's a surprise to find this on what we ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/07/ancient-olympic-calculator-discovered/ The European team running the CoRoT space mission has found a new planet orbiting a star slightly larger than the Sun. Their latest discovery was presented on 24 July 2008 at an international astronomy conference, the ‘Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun’ meeting at the University of St Andrews. CoRoT-Exo-4b ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/07/exeter-astrophysicist-in-new-planet-discovery/ For the first time astronomers have found a way to get a clean view of the elusive disks of matter surrounding supermassive black holes. By using a polarising filter on the Science and Technology Facility Council s UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, they have been able to see through ... http://www.uk-astronomy.co.uk/blog/2008/07/stfc-media-release-polarised-sunglasses-see-black-hole-disks/