LIFESTYLE

Anna Britten gets starry-eyed.

One of the unexpected upsides of cold winter weekends, is that pastimes considered anorak-y during summer days of wine and sunshine suddenly become irresistible. Radio plays, Scrabble, making lampshades out of old bits of wallpaper. And astronomy – what better way to turn those long, long nights to your advantage?

Furthermore, it’s been a bumper year for space. We’ve had the final Space Shuttle flight, the most unambiguous sign yet of water of Mars, and we’ve had the discovery of Kepler 22b, aka ‘Earth 2.0’. Seized with a desire to be able to identify more than The Moon, The Plough, and EasyJet flights in and out of Bristol Airport, Venue set off to see what Bristol and Bath’s astronomical attractions could offer.

Bristol Astronomical Society

Never has Saturday night cloud cover been so forlornly received than on the two nights Venue hoped to catch a glimpse of Jupiter and the Pleiades via Bristol’s answer to Hubble. On clear Saturday nights only, you see, generous volunteers at The Bristol Astronomical Society hold open sessions to any member of the public wishing to see the night sky through a telescope. These take place at the society’s own cosy observatory, built at a secret location under the dark skies to the south of Bristol in the early 70s when former member Cyril Swindin donated them his homemade 12¼ inch Newtonian Reflector. The observatory was opened in 1972 by Patrick Moore, and has been used for product-testing by Sky at Night magazine. To register an interest in attending (and to obtain directions) email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Notification on whether or not the sessions are going ahead are announced between 6pm and 7pm on the night itself. We shall persevere.

FFI: WWW.BRISTOLASTROSOC.ORG.UK

At-Bristol Planetarium

In the meantime, a show At-Bristol’s Planetarium runs a pretty close second to the Cyril Swindin Observatory. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s just for children – as well as shows for little ones and school groups, that big chrome ball on the Harbourside also runs daily seasonal shows aimed at all ages and, we can report, providing a terrific amount of fascinating, brain-stretching detail.

Venue sat back in the darkened dome to watch the Autumn Night Sky show which began with a demonstration of how city light pollution masks most of the sky’s sights, before the full, uninterrupted splendour of the night sky was revealed to much coo-ing. And, gracious, there’s a lot of it. Thankfully, our knowledgeable young presenter pointed out the Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Perseus and Pegasus constellations, as well as explaining coloured stars, giant planets and how to navigate your way through space. There’s atmospheric music and informative slides, all adding up to one of those genuinely brain-expanding experiences you can’t believe you’ve never had before. There’s even a real robotic arm from the International Space Station stretching across the ceiling at the entrance! Access to the 90-seater planetarium will cost you a quid – however this is on top of hefty-ish admission to At-Bristol so if you’re not interested in that part, do grab a child who is (it’s a brilliant place).

FFI: WWW.AT-BRISTOL.ORG.UK/PLANETARIUM

The Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Orreries, astrolabes, planispheres, mirror globes… Just some of the antique astronomical instruments on show at Bath’s Herschel Museum of Astronomy, a tidy little shrine to our astronomical forebears set in a modest Georgian house tucked away in one of the city centre’s few tranquil zones. This was the home of 18th-century astronomer William Herschel, who, in his own words, “looked further into space than any human being did before”, and of his sister Caroline, herself a distinguished chronicler of comets. It was from here, using a telescope of his own design – you can see a replica – that William discovered Uranus, one of the many observations he made that helped double the known size of the solar system. There’s a short film explaining all this in a tiny cinema in the vaults, and you can still see where he cracked the paving stones after an experiment went wrong.

The museum is also home to the William Herschel Society, membership of which [about a tenner] gets you access to the observing sessions and quarterly meetings of Bath Astronomers. Non-members, however, are welcome at the public star gatherings usually held monthly, weather and moonlight permitting, in the village of Wellow. Notice of such gatherings is usually given a day or two in advance on the ‘Observing’ section of the website.

FFI: MUSEUM WWW.BATH-PRESERVATION-TRUST.ORG.UK/?ID=8 (NB DOES NOT REOPEN AFTER CHRISTMAS UNTIL MON 30 JAN); SOCIETY WWW.WILLIAMHERSCHEL.ORG.UK

ISS it a bird, ISS it a plane...

If you do only one astronomical thing this winter, try to spot the International Space Station. You can do it with the naked eye. Tilt your head upwards just after sunset or before sunrise (it’s not visible during the day or in the middle of the night) on a dark, clear night, and if you see something that looks like it might be a shooting star, but it keeps going at a steady pace and in a steady arc, until gradually disappearing – that’s probably it. Twitter users can get updates of exactly when the ISS is due to pass over their heads by following @Twisst

Scope it out

If museums, planetariums and snatched visits to BAS’s open observing sessions do not sate your thirst for the heavens, you might consider investing in some astronomical equipment of your own. While you won’t clock anything as magnificent as the photos in books and newspapers – most of which are multi-exposure, carefully-filtered jobs taken with massive telescopes in the middle of Australia or Mexico – you can still enjoy plenty of heart-stopping celestial sights including the craters of the moon, Jupiter and its largest four moons, Saturn and its rings, Venus, Mars, nebulae, star clusters, the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way. You’ll get what you pay for. If your budget is less than £100, go for binoculars. Decent starter scopes can be had for £130 to £400.

Bath Photo Optics

Owner Peter Larkin has been in the photo trade for 30 years, and his independent shop loves introducing newcomers to the delights of astronomy, promising “not to blind customers with science”.

BATH PHOTO OPTICS 16 THE PODIUM SHOPPING CENTRE, NORTHGATE ST, BATH, BA1 5AL, 01225 446599, WWW.BATHPHOTOOPTICS.CO.UK

Bristol Cameras

Established 1995, and promising knowledgeable service and competitive pricing in store and online. Pop in and try products “without any hassle”. Astronomical telescopes, accessories, binoculars, night vision goggles, reference books and more.

BRISTOL CAMERAS 47 HIGH ST,
BRISTOL, BS1 2AZ, 0117 914 0089, WWW.BRISTOLCAMERAS.CO.UK

Ace Digital

Vast array of astronomical telescopes, optics, digital, lenses and accessories. A healthy secondhand section. Staff promise to find the perfect products for everyone from the basic beginner right through to professional universe-watchers. You can buy online too (where there’s a very useful buying guide).

ACE CAMERAS SOUTH WALK, YATE, BRISTOL, BS37 4AU, TEL: 01454 325615; 16 GREEN ST, BATH, BA1 2JZ, TEL: 01225 466975, WWW.ACECAMERAS.CO.UK

Copyright Anna Britten 2012