Bayfordbury Observatory is part of the University of Hertfordshire and it is located close to the historic market town of Hertford in the U.K. The Observatory opened up its doors on Saturday evening with some fun exhibitions, talks and demonstrations. Given that the opening was part of the St. Alban’s film festival there was an element of how science fact and science fiction are portrayed in movies.
Bayfordbury Observatory is one of the largest establishments in the U.K. for the teaching of astronomy, astrophysics and atmospheric physics. The Observatory is located in the village of Bayfordbury.
There were four elements to the open evening: the planetarium, a series of science lab experiments, a lecture on the ‘science’ in science fiction movies, and a track out to visit some of the sophisticated telescopes.
The first session was in the compact planetarium. a ‘real-time’ presentation was given, showing the night sky, planets and stars.
The speaker gave some interesting tips on how all the planets line up and how to spot them (starting with Venus); how to trace the constellations; and how to find the elusive pale glow of the pole star.
Second up was the laboratory. There were a number of practicals being run. One was on heat sensitive cameras and how the best way to hide from the Police (should one feel the urge) is in a greenhouse. This is because heat is not released, rendering most tracking cameras useless.
There was an interest demonstration of how comets are formed, which consisted of mud, soy sauce, salt, ice and liquid nitrogen.
Various micrographs of stellar events could be viewed. These included an impressive photograph of a comet where the ends and edges of the tail could be seen in great detail.
There were also models of planets and a discussion on gravity.
The lecture was titled “Space and Astronomy in Films: the Facts and the Fiction”. The discussion looked at space travel and discussed whether it would ever be possible to build space ships to navigate between the stars. Sadly, faster-than-light speed travel does not look possible. The most effective possible way would be through some kind of massive solar panel which could power a small craft to our nearest star, Proxima Centauri (some 4.24 light years away.) However, even with a solar panel the size of Texas such a journey would take at least 1,000 years.
Other topics discussed were the possibility of life on other planets and the risk of the Earth being hit by an object from space. With the latter, the possibility is remote however the most likely space impact is from a comet rather than an asteroid.
The scientific accuracy of movies was also discussed. Here Star Trek rated relatively high. The movie with the most scientific errors, clocking up with 168 gaffs, is Bruce Willis’ Armageddon.
The evening ended with a trip to look at three of the telescopes, each housed within a small observatory.
These included the oldest telescope, a 16-inch Newtonian/Cassegrain telescope, which is a refractive model.
The other two telescopes were more modern and computer controlled. The largest of these was a 20-inch J.C.D Marsh Cassegrain Telescope.
All telescopes are equipped with research-grade CCD cameras, spectrographs, video cameras and a high-sensitivity Lucky imaging camera.
Various images from the telescopes were on display, including a sophisticated image of the moon.
The visit to the Observatory was great fun and very educational. Bayfordbury is very family orientated and the open evening was full of engaging, enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable staff who guided the visitors step by step through each of the events. Next time there is an open evening (and these are held a few times each year), then paying a visit is highly recommended.
