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Welcome to this AstroCamp podcast extra episode to tell you
what you can expect from the weekend's festivities and listen to on
the way to Cwmdu:
The
Discussion: An introduction to star parties and
enjoying practical astronomy under pristine dark skies away from
the city.
As the podcast crew run the AstroCamp star party, which many
listeners attend, in the Brecon Beacon’s international dark sky
reserve twice a year, we take you through the events, tutorials and
workshops we run to help you hone your stargazing skills and win
astronomy prizes from the Tring Astronomy Centre. As the focus of
this AstroCamp is the Transit of Mercury, we will also have two
talks on the celestial event, from the University of Kent's Dr
Rebekah Higgitt and solar astronomer Eric Emms.
The Sky
guides: In readiness for 3 nights of stargazing in
the Welsh valleys, Ralph, Paul and John choose objects to look out
for this time of year. If you’re not coming to AstroCamp, these are
still great night sky treats to try and locate wherever you are in
the northern hemisphere.
- Ralph’s top choices are for beginner
astrophotographers, armed only with a DSLR camera and a telescope,
and focuses on the Leo Triplet
- Paul takes five deep sky galaxy treats
for visual astronomers in May and throughout spring. The prime pick
is a tricky tricky double galaxy to test your skills and help
develop your averted vision.
- John takes a look at the solar system
objects available a little closer to home this month as he runs
through the best of the planetary offerings and whets our appetites
for the coming transit of Mercury on 9th May.
So welcome to AstroCamp and we'll see you very soon! |