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Be part of the space race: ET meets the Peterborough Astronomical Society
Werrington astronomer John Mackey with daughter Katie Davenport-Mackey. Photo: David Lowndes/Peterborough ET (METP-19-01-12DL006)
FORMED in the early 1990s, Peterborough Astronomical Society (PAS) meets on the first Thursday of every month at Copeland Community Centre, South Bretton.
With around 40 members and counting, more and more people are looking towards the heavens and taking an interest in observing the night sky.
John Mackey has been a member of PAS since the mid 1990s, and is currently chairman.
His love of the night sky started as a small child. He said: “My dad worked for British Aerospace and he always showed an interest in astronomy. I found an old pair of his binoculars and used them to look into the sky at night. A few years later I managed to build a 2 in refractor from a lens I bought from a junk shop. Although the view was a bit blurred it was better than my dad’s old binoculars.”
Despite the early interest, it was a chance meeting with one of the most influential men in space exploration that further sparked John’s enthusiasm.
He explained: “I was about 17 years old when my dad asked if I wanted to meet Buzz Aldrin. He was in the UK visiting various places and one of those was to be a factory in Hull where he was to give a talk.
“It really was fantastic to meet him. He was really pleasant and very natural”
With a keen interest in taking photographs of space, Mr Mackey said the most exciting thing he has ever captured on camera is Saturn and her rings.
He said: “It is the best thing I have ever seen because I was able to view it using a telescope that I had built myself and it actually worked.”
With more known about space than our oceans here on earth, it is little wonder that more and more people are becoming amateur astronomers.
With his telescope and desire to see more, Mr Mackey decided that joining a local group was the right move for him.
He said: “I joined PAS because being a planetary observer can be very lonely at times. Often you are stood outside in your garden at night and everyone has gone to bed and sometimes you want to discuss things with someone else, or you need help with something.
“You can look things up on the internet, but it is a faceless way to communicate and I would rather talk to someone face to face. I am really pleased I joined PAS, the members are a really nice bunch and I thoroughly enjoy it.”
Mr Mackey added that you don’t need to spend a fortune to enjoy the stars, and that some members don’t even own telescopes.
He said: “You don’t need to spend a lot of money on equipment. All you need initially is a pair of binoculars. Once you have familiarised yourself with the night sky and decided what you are interested in, you can start looking for equipment.
“Some members don’t even own any equipment and simply come along to keep updated on what is going on up there.”
Another member of PAS is Brenda Kilby, who loves to observe nebulae.
She said: “As one of the most senior members of PAS, I can look back over some 30 years to the moment the Society was formed. My interest in astronomy dates back to my pre-teenage years, when my dad introduced me to the constellations.
“During my lifetime, Hubble discovered galaxies, the Big Bang was generally accepted as the beginning of time and space, black holes were at first theoretical and then fact, planets around other stars were predicted and then found and so on.
“So many leaps forward in knowledege in one lifetime, and it’s not over yet – the lifetime I mean!
“My main fascination is nebulae – the birthplace of stars. Hundreds and hundreds of these enthralling clouds of star stuff, each one unique in shape, size and colour. Wonderful!”
Peterborough Astronomical Society members will be on hand at Flag Fen tomorrow (January 22) for a Splendid Stargazing event.
Visitors can explore the mysteries of the sky, have a go at astronomy-inspired crafts, hear the stories of the constellations and visit a planetarium (on-site for one day only).
As the sun goes down PAS will be on hand with their telescopes and expertise for an evening of stargazing. If the weather is bad, the society will give an exciting talk about the night sky instead.
Running from 10am - 7pm (last admission at 6pm) the event costs £5 each for adults, £4.50 for concessions, £3.75 for children and £13.75 for families.
More details: Peterborough Astronomical Society website www.pas-stargazer.co.uk/
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
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Peterborough Monitor
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 12:08 PMit a nice thought but "Space Race" really, Peterborough not even got a decent Bus Service to get to & from the venue
J J Carter
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 10:08 AMI hope he's got a good lock, that sort of gear is a magnet to Pottyborough's many, many 'light fingered'.
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