New academic year, new ISSP groups!

As we enter a brand-new academic year, I hope to get this blog going again by enrolling the help of the students taking GCSE astronomy at Bootham.

This year, 32 new GCSE students for the course have been enrolled. This makes Bootham one of, if not the largest centres for this subject in the world! Although we are thrilled to have seen the many successful results of our last intake, our intention has always been to foster a real love of the subject, develop some practical skills and observational habits. Getting an A*, an A or a B as the vast majority of last year's 30 students managed to do is a byproduct, rather than an aim of our teaching.

We begin teaching again on Weds 12th September - I can't wait to meet everyone!

A nice trip to the observatory

It is always great fun introducing young people to practical Astronomy. Bootham boarders George and James learned how to use registax 5 and sharpcap 2 tonight to take these shots of the Moon.



Tomorrow, if the sky is clear they can come back and see how the changing solar angle alters the appearance of these craters.

ISS over Fox House

Here is a quick snap of the International Space Station passing over York on the 11th December at about half past five in the evening.

You can see the Pleiades on the left, and the trail of the ISS passes near the constellation Aries.

Hello, we're back

After a long hiatus following a tricky broken ankle that stopped me from getting up the stairs to the observatory, I am happy to say we're back in gear. There's a new Astronomy GCSE group, and we're really looking forward to the launch of our pocket spacecraft mission to the Moon some time this year (hopefully). With Jupiter at opposition and Venus magnificent in the evening sky, there's never been a better time to start posting to this blog again.


The next big event is on Friday 20th of course, when we will open up the observatory to the school's younger students for a live Radio York eclipse watch. I'm not sure if watching a partial solar eclipse will make great radio, but it will be fun trying to capture the moment...

SpotTheStation

Time: Thu Feb 20 6:31 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 41 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: SE

SpotTheStation

Time: Tue Feb 18 6:32 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 54 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: ESE

SpotTheStation

Time: Mon Feb 17 7:20 PM, Visible: 2 min, Max Height: 47 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: S

SpotTheStation

Time: Mon Feb 17 5:45 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 54 degrees, Appears: SSW, Disappears: E

SpotTheStation

Time: Sun Feb 16 6:33 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 58 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: ESE

SpotTheStation

Time: Sat Feb 15 7:21 PM, Visible: 2 min, Max Height: 57 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: S

SpotTheStation

Time: Sat Feb 15 5:45 PM, Visible: 5 min, Max Height: 41 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: E

SpotTheStation

Time: Fri Feb 14 6:33 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 49 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: ESE

SpotTheStation

Time: Thu Feb 13 7:21 PM, Visible: 2 min, Max Height: 53 degrees, Appears: WSW, Disappears: SSW

Astronomy Club photos

I like this very much - we've been doing the phases of the Moon in astronomy club, and here are some interesting photos of our model.

 

 

I hope to run an observing session next week, if it ever stops raining!

Tonight's session is cancelled...

This is terrible news, but tonight's session is cancelled. As I write, the sky is overcast and raining. Stay tuned for a new opportunity as soo as I can find a date.

Tonight's session

The weather has not yet picked up, but I remain hopeful! I'll make a final announcement at 5.30 today, so please check in again there. DON'T FORGET! This all goes much more easily on twitter!!!

SpotTheStation 1-year renewal

Wow, has it been a year?

Your signup anniversary with Spot The Station is set to expire in 30 days. We hope you've enjoyed the chance to see an international crew of six traverse the sky at 17,500 miles/hr (28,000 km/hr).

To continue this service, please extend your alerts at the URL provided. If instead you would like to part company, no action is required. Your alert info will be consumed by reentry in 30 days.
http://go.usa.gov/D6pd

Hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

NASA's Spot The Station Team

Weds 29th rescheduled

With regret, the weds date will have to be moved due to unforeseen circumstances. I am naturally very sorry about this, but I hope that Tuesday 28th will be an acceptable alternative? 7.00pm - 9.00pm as before, all Bootham and ISSP students very welcome.

Please let me know if you can make it to this event.

Calling all astronomers at Bootham.

On Wednesday 29th January, I will be opening the observatory from 7pm until 9pm. As ever, this will be dependent on the weather, and as ever, please follow me on twitter @boothamshaw to get the latest updates on what we will be doing.

Parking will be available at the school for visitors, but it would be very helpful to know in advance if you are coming. You can tweet me, or email me at mike.shaw@boothamschool.com

SpotTheStation

Time: Wed Jan 22 5:53 AM, Visible: 2 min, Max Height: 47 degrees, Appears: SSW, Disappears: SE