Water in the Solar System
Lincoln Astronomical Society, Lincoln Observatory, Lincoln, 4 August, 7.30pm
Solarsphere promises to be one of the great UK astronomy events of the summer – featuring talks, workshops, solar and night sky observing, astro imaging and debate.
The event is a weekend-long festival, with live music running throughout and free camping available for tents, caravans and campervans. Music and catering will be hosted indoors, ensuring light pollution does not disrupt the observing sessions that will be taking place from dusk til dawn over the weekend.
Speakers at Solarsphere 2015 include BBC Sky at Night Magazine reviews editor Paul Money, astronomer and writer Will Gater, solar scientist Dr Lucie Green and Dr Megan Argo of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Cosmos Planetarium will also be on site with a mobile planetarium show, bringing the wonders of the Universe to the Welsh countryside.
The main events begin at noon each day, with solar observing sessions, space art workshops, balloon-powered rocket racing and more taking place around the site each morning. Tickets are £45 for adults, £20 for 14-16-year-olds and free for under-14s. www.solarsphere.events Liquid water, so important for life as we know it, is a scarce commodity in the Solar System – and yet ice is very common. In this lecture, Michael Czajkowski of the Open University will look at the distribution of water and ice and explain why we find it where we do, the origin of Earth’s water, as well as touching upon the workings of the Rosetta spacecraft. Admission is £4 for visitors and free for members. www.lincolnastronomy.org