Hebridean Dark Skies Festival
Various venues, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, 9–21 March
This ambitious annual festival includes live music, films, visual arts and theatre performances alongside astronomy talks, planetarium shows and stargazing. Creative workshops for children, a concert showcasing David Bowie’s space-inspired songs, a talk from astrophotographer Wil Cheung about chasing the aurorae, and relationship prehistoric sites have with the equinoxes. Tickets from £7. stives.ticketsolve.com
Toothill Observatory public open evening
Southampton, 17 March, 7:30pm
An opportunity to join Solent Amateur Astronomers to observe galaxies, nebulae and clusters through their 14-inch telescope, with other scopes and binoculars also available. Adults £5, children 50p. www.solentastro.org a new show by street theatre company Mischief La Basin in which aliens tell the stories of eight female space pioneers are among the many highlights of the jam-packed festival – and all taking place under some of the UK’s darkest skies. For details, visit lanntair.com/ creative-programme/darkskies.
An Introduction to Astronomy Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve, Lowestoft, Suffolk, 21 March, 6:45pm An illustrated talk by Ian Hobson introducing astronomy and what we can see in our night sky. Adults £6. www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events
At the Limits of Astrophysics Royal Institution, London, 23 March, 7pm Astrophysicist Katy Clough discusses some of the more exotic astrophysical objects, including wormholes and warp drives. From £7. www.rigb.org/whats-on
JWST: the Images Joe de Pasquale
Lead Image Processor, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA
Join us as we discover how some of JWST’s most captivating images to date are created, exploring how black-and-white data is translated into the visible spectrum from instruments that detect infrared light.
Thursday 30 March, 7pm BST
JWST: the Telescope Dr Olivia Jones
STFC Webb Fellow and Astrophysicist, JWST MIRI Instrument Team
We look at how this $10bn space telescope was constructed and successfully made a 1.5-million-kilometre journey through space, as well as the UK’s key involvement in building JWST’s MIRI instrument.
Thursday 4 May, 7pm BST
JWST: the Science Dr Henrik Melin
STFC Webb Fellow and Planetary Scientist, University of Leicester
Delve into the major discoveries made in JWST’s first year of observations, across the early Universe, galaxies, stars and exoplanets, and where its breakthroughs could lead us in our quest to understand the Universe.
Thursday 25 May, 7pm BST