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Devon Branch in
the dark – to infinity
and beyond.
Graham Bulford
, Branch Secretary
It’s not easy to meet Branch members in the dark! Our visit to the
Norman Lockyer Observatory tempted Mike & Linda Slade,
Roy & Margaret Faulkner, Jeff & Jo Hayes to join Sue & myself on
the evening of St George’s Day, to gaze at the stars in South Devon.
One of our members, Dave Hutchinson, works as a volunteer at the
observatory and is taking a degree in astronomy, trying no doubt to acquire
the deep ‘geek-like’ knowledge that our fascinating lecturers were able
to impart.
We were treated to a wonderful show in the theatre about the Lyrids Meteor Shower,
gazed in awe at the ceiling of the planetarium (original equipment from the London
Planetarium), identified various constellations and planets and watched the sky revolve
from dusk to dawn - in quick time of course!
It was then time to visit the technical building where their radio astronomy appears
on numerous screens around the room and feeds into the national picture. We saw
fascinating solar flares reaching for the earth and causing beautiful northern lights
(aurora borealis) as it burns the atmosphere. They track various satellites and even see
planes taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport.
The last part of the visit was to three of the five telescopes, the Kensington, Victoria
and the Mond which houses the historically famous 6¼-inch Lockyer refractor
telescope which the astronomer Norman Lockyer used to discover helium. We were
looking at Jupiter and could clearly see three moons and the colourful stripes across it.
The observatory is a mile inland from the sea, looks to the South over Sidmouth and is
blessed with a clean dark sky. Well worth a visit if you dress warmly and are happy not
to be able to see who is standing next to you - not the easiest way to meet fellow IPA
members but certainly worth a try!
Margaret and Roy Faulkner
with Dave Hutchinson
The Norman Lockyer Observatory
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IPA News
POLICE WORLD
Vol 61 No. 3, 2016