The UK Astronomy festival is a month long festival of free talks and events aimed at beginners and to inspire others to go out and look up!

As its the Easter holidays and kinda the last month for dark nights in the astronomy season we thought its a great time to celebrate this awesome hobby, so we have lots of talks for you to enjoy plus FBLives looking through a telescope with one of the experts from our awesome charity. (weather permitting).

So grab a hot drink, kick back and well help you learn all about the amazing sights in our UK skies.

Because there are a billion worlds in your back garden!

1st What’s up in the April skies (pre-recorded)

Listen to Mark from TGP Nominal and Ross founder of UK Astronomy as they chat about what is up in the UK skies for April as well as a run down to the UK Astronomy festival.

2nd Solar system talk LIVE 6pm

Join UK Astronomy founder Ross for an hour talk where he will be taking you through the Solar System from the Sun to Pluto, with cool facts, pictures from group members and NASA and tips on how to see them in the UK skies.

3rd Stargazing for Beginners LIVE 6pm

Join Wil Photography as Wil Cheung of UK Astronomy gives you a guide to some of the key objects in the night sky over the coming months and how to spot them. Perfect for those just starting out in astronomy.

4th Fun Facts for Kids (pre-recorded)

Join UK Astronomy’s youngest volunteer, 8year old Aston, as he talks about what he loves about the Universe and all things space.

Aston has even written a book of facts about the solar system, the planets and its objects.

5th Moonday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Monday which means Moonday, all about our nearest neighbour and some cool features you can see on it.

6th Marsday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Tuesday which means Mars day and all about the red planet and what features you may be able to see.

7th Mercuryday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Wednesday which means Mercury day and all about this scorched body and how you may be able to spot this elusive planet.

8th Oreo moon phases LIVE midday

Join NASA Solar System Ambassador Janelle for a super fun LIVE activity to help you learn the phases of the moon.

You will need to make sure you have the items outlined at the bottom of the page so that you can follow along as we work through the moon phases together! Download the Moon Phase template for this session here.

You can find more fun Science Facts and experiments on her website.

9th Venusday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Friday which means Venusday day and all about the goddess of beauty. You will find out why her looks are deceiving and why she is known as Earths evil twin.

10th Yuris Night UK LIVE 6pm

Celebrate the anniversary of the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin with will Mark (aka Rocket Man) and special guests as they talk about this awesome achievement in human history.

11th Sunday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Sunday which means funnily enough “Sun day”. Find out all about our nearest life-giving star and the crazy things that go on there.

12th Dark Sky Week LIVE 6pm

There are many great dark sky locations around the UK, this talk will highlight some of the best places to visit and when to go.

14th Aurora in the UK LIVE 6pm

Did you know we can see the aurora in the UK? Certain conditions have to be met and experienced aurora chaser Wil will share his top tips to be able to see them.

15th Jupiterday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Thursday which means Jupiterday and all about the king of the planet, how to see it and its four main Moons plus it’s great red spot.

16th Guide to the Night Sky LIVE 6pm

Join UK Astronomer founder Ross as he uses pictures and a virtual sky to show you what you can see in your gardens using your eyes, binoculars, and telescopes.

17th Saturnday (pre-recorded)

Learn the origins of Saturday which means you guessed it Saturnday and all about the ringed gas giant. You will learn some cool facts and how you can see it.

17th Astrophotography for Beginners LIVE 6pm

Have you ever wanted to take photos of the night sky? Do you own a DSLR or Smartphone? This one-hour live talk will explore the different techniques in capturing the night skies.

18th Spring Constellations (pre-recorded)

Join Sky Guide Author Richard J Bartlett as he takes you through the stars and constellation in our UK spring skies, travel across the night sky.

To see his guides please visit his Amazon store.

20th Uranus talk (pre-recorded)

The butt of all jokes this huge gas giant was actually named after a God. Listen to find out which God

22nd International Earth Day, in partnership with the Parks Trust (pre-recorded)

Today is all about our planet although as astronomers we cannot see it ourselves. We will take a journey out into space to look back at our home planet and why it is so special.

23rd Exploring the universe LIVE 6pm

Join both Ross of UK Astronomy and Wil of Wil Photography as we talk about all sorts of things, from the big bang to the very edges of our universe. Who knows where this chat will take us!

24th Strawberry DNA Experiment LIVE midday

Join NASA Solar System Ambassador Janelle as she asks will long term space flight change our DNA? How do we study DNA in space? Is it possible to see DNA?

You will need to make sure you have the items outlined at the bottom of the page so that you can follow along as we work through a cool experiment together!

You can follow Janelle on her YouTube for more fun facts and experiments.

25th Meet an Astronomer LIVE (time to be confirmed)

Join Ross as he talks to a proper astronomer. This is a LIVE event with Ugnė from Durham university. Ugnė will be sharing what her work and research entails, including dark matter and galaxies with opportunities to ask questions.

27th Neptune (pre-recorded)

Learn all about this windy, cold, gas giant, the last planet in our Solar system. Find out how far away is it, how long it takes to orbit the Sun and for light to reach it.

28th Pluto (pre-recorded)

Once known as a proper planet Pluto is now designated as a dwarf planet. Find out what changed to turn 9 planets into 8 and all about our farthest planet-ish.

30th FINALE

We will also be streaming Moon talks LIVE through our telescopes into our Facebook group (weather depending) across the month so keep an eye out on our UK ASTRONOMY EVENTS PAGE so you don’t miss it or visit http://www.ukastronomy.org.

EXPERIMENT SHOPPING LIST

OREO Moon Phases

What you will need:

8 Oreo cookies per person
A white paper plate or plain sheet of paper per person
A spoon per person

You will also need to print out the moon phase journal found here so that you are ready to also record your daily observations. Remember, you can record your observations even if it is cloudy Janelle will explain all in her talk.

DNA in Space and Strawberry DNA Extraction

You will need a few items to be able to participate in our online session, so make sure you grab all the materials so that you are ready to follow along!

What you will need:

2-3 strawberries per person
A fine mesh sieve or paper coffee filters
Washing up liquid
Salt
Water
Measuring cup
Spoon
Measuring teaspoon
Plastic zip bag per person
Small cup/glass per person
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or colourless high proof spirit (like vodka!!) – 1 teaspoon per person)
Tweezers/straw/fork

Please note you will need to place your alcohol in the freezer an hour before our session to help the experiment work effectively.

Astronomy In April

Follow this organiser to stay informed on future events

Events you might like

Basic Astronomy TrainingBasic Astronomy Training

Basic Astronomy Training