Young Astronomers & Space Science Club

Overview

The Young Astronomers & Space Science Club is a starting point for students who want to understand the night sky and the science behind it. Sessions combine short lessons with practical work, so that ideas met in a classroom — light, gravity, the life of stars — become things members have observed and measured for themselves.

The club is open to school and university students, and is designed so that beginners and students with some background can learn side by side.

What members do

• Hands-on workshops: practical activities on topics such as the phases of the Moon, the scale of the Solar System, and how telescopes work.
• Telescope observation sessions: guided viewing of the Moon, planets, star clusters and other objects, including how to find them and record what you see.
• Foundational astrophysics lessons: an introduction to how stars, galaxies and the wider universe are studied, explained in plain language.

What members gain

• Confidence using a telescope and reading a star chart
• A grounding in the basic physics of astronomy
• Experience of keeping careful observation records, a habit at the heart of all science
• Contact with other students who share the same interest