Introduction

The Observatory

If the weather permits there are observing sessions open to the public on a Friday evening.

Opening times and location details can be found here.

The observatory also opens on the first Sunday morning of the month from 10am until 1pm in support of Abbey Leys Farmers’ Market – again, weather permitting.

Image of the month

Hebridean Aurora

Hebridean Aurora

Image taken on North Uist, Hebrides on 3rd March 2024 by Becky Holmes
Camera: iPhone
The aurora was visible to the unaided eye and it was in colour

Meetings

HLCO holds meetings on the second Thursday of each month in St John’s church room (location details here). Talks in astronomy and space research are given by invited experts or members of the HLCO team themselves. A small charge is made for these events.

Next Meeting : Thursday April 11th 2024 7:15 for a 7:30 start

Upcoming HLCO Meetings

  • April 11th 2024

    Our speaker will be Nicholas Booth and his topic is “Adventures In the Space Trade”.

    Nicholas Booth is the youngest Briton to have ever worked for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After studying science at college, he became a writer, first on Astronomy Now, then newspapers. He has written several books on science and eventually became a technology editor on The Times.

    His most recent book is ‘The Search For Life On Mars’, co-written with Dr Elizabeth Howell – one of the few people who has lived on a simulated Mars base.

    Nicholas will talk about some of the people he met including Nobel laureates and famous names. He will also discuss many of the unsung heroes of the space age. He will tell us what it was like to report on space missions and what can be done to keep the promise of space alive.