Credit: Andreas Papadoupolous (ICG, University of Portsmouth)
Portsmouth residents attended an evening of stargazing, space activities, public lectures and cosmology chat at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on Thursday night.
Over 600 people were at HMS Warrior 1860 in Portsmouth for the BBC Stargazing LIVE 2013 partner event.
The evening, which was free of charge, was organised by Dr Jen Gupta and Dr Karen Masters of the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology. Staff from the department gave talks and arranged activities for people attending.
Dr Jen Gupta said: “It went so well. In fact it was actually a little overwhelming to see how popular it’s been. The wonderful thing is that astronomy is one of the most accessible sciences. Anyone can go out and look up at the stars.”
A variety of events were on offer, including the opportunity to learn about how the universe began, explore the scale of our solar system, find out how we navigated the seas before modern technology, and look through powerful telescopes on the deck of HMS Warrior.
There were also a range of talks on offer in the Mary Rose Story Lecture Theatre, including one on how amateur stargazers can help advance scientific knowledge, and Dr David Bacon of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation explaining what the latest maps of the universe mean.
Dr Karen Masters said: “There was a mix of activities for adults and children and I think everyone enjoyed it. I certainly saw a lot of happy faces.”
Lots of children attended the event, and they were able to a universe from Lego bricks, and take part in craft activities including building the Solar System on a piece of string.
Pupils from Portsmouth Grammar School also conducted small physics experiments for visitors to see.
Also taking part in the event were the Mary Rose Trust education teams, the Hampshire Astronomical Group, physics ambassadors from Portsmouth Grammar School, the Portsmouth undergraduate physics society and the Hampshire branch of the British Science Association.
