Festivals

September 3^rd, 4^th & 5^th
Main event days - 4^th & 5^th September

The annual Astronomy Festival is an extremely successful weekend and we are again proud to present another exciting weekend for 2010. Come and soak up the incredible atmosphere that surrounds Herstmonceux and its wonderful historic telescopes.  

There will also be the chance to win an 8-inch LT Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope which has been very generously donated to The Centre by Chris Morrison the Vice President of Support Services for Meade

Camp under the backdrop of the observatory domes:

• Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• £10 per night.
• Allows up to 4 people per site.
• There are a limited number of sites so BOOK EARLY!

Throughout the weekend there will be a comprehensive programme of events:

• Lectures
• Talks about the telescopes
• Planetarium shows
• Visits to the Space Geodesy Facility
• Visits to the Radio Shack
• Trade stalls

                  Telescope House
                  Astronomia
                  Star Telescopes
                  Astro Sure 

• Astronomy Societies hosting activities

                  Wealden AS
                  East Sussex AS
                  Eastbourne AS
                  HantsAstro
                  Lewes Astronomers
                  Havering AS
                  Astro South

• All the hands-on Science exhibits
• Family activity fun day on the Sunday
• Viewing through the historic telescopes (weather permitting) and the smaller telescopes of amateur astronomy societies including a dedicated observing site in the camping field which will be available after The Centre closes at 11pm

There will also be the usual

• Raffles on both main event days with fabulous prizes* donated by the sponsors and trade stalls
• Separate Raffle for the 8" LT Schmidt-Cassegrain 
• Beer tent
• Food and refreshments

*In 2009 Chris Morrison the Vice President of Support Services for Meade very generously donated an ETX LS ‘Lightswitch' technology telescope. This year Chris has once AGAIN donated a fabulous prize - an 8-inch LT Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris for his tremendous support of the festival. Other prizes will include various items donated by our sponsors and trade stands.

The centre is in the grounds of Herstmonceux Castle which is well worth a visit during your stay (separate admission price).   

The proposed programme of events includes the following#  

Friday 3^rd September (6.30pm - 11pm) 

• Viewing
• Tours of the telescopes
• Visits to the Space Geodesy Facility (SGF). Please note that the SGF does not charge an admission fee for any visit

Saturday 4^th September 10am - 6pm

• 5 lectures throughout the day (extra cost of £2 per lecture)
• Talks about the telescopes
• Tours around the Space Geodesy Facility (SGF)
• Lecture by Mr Christopher Potter from the SGF at 11am (FREE of charge) 
• Raffle drawn at 5pm (be in it to win it!)
• Amateur Radio demonstrations throughout the day
• Planetarium shows
• Activities run by local Astronomical Societies

Saturday 4^th September 6.30pm - 11pm

• Viewing
• Talks about the telescopes
• Visits to the Space Geodesy Facility

Sunday 5^th September (10am - 6pm)

• Family oriented talk by Anton Vamplew at 1pm 
• Family activity workshops including water rockets 
• Talks about the Telescopes
• Planetarium shows
• Raffle drawn at 4pm (be in it to win it!) 
• Separate Grand Prize Raffle draw at ~4.15pm 
• Activities run by local Astronomical Societies

In 2009 we were joined by the Storm Troopers on the Sunday and we are very happy to welcome them back again this year.

We are again offering a fantastic deal if you are able to join us for the whole weekend, in fact there is no increase on the weekend registration price.

Normal admission price applies to EACH of the four sessions:
Friday 6.30pm-11pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Saturday 6.30pm-11pm
Sunday 10am-6pm

£7.40 adult, £5.80 senior, £5.55 child  

ALTERNATIVELY you can book for the whole weekend:
Whole weekend registration:  £30.00 per adult, £23.00 per senior and £20.00 per child.

You will receive a souvenir, a ticket to visit the gardens and grounds of Herstmonceux Castle and a lanyard which permits entry into the centre from Friday afternoon until 6pm on Sunday.
THIS CAN BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE

Entry to the gardens and grounds of the castle: £6 adult, £4.95 senior, £3 child

If you are not camping but require local accomodation here are a few suggestions:

Cleavers Lyng B&B

Halfway House B&B

Big Sky Tipi luxury camping

# Subject to change, please check the website for the latest information.

This fantastic image of the Veil Nebula was taken in the camp site at the 2009 Astronomy Festival by Iain Melville (pictured here during the imaging process). Both the Friday and Saturday evenings were beautifully clear and this image was captured on Saturday 12th September in the early hours of the morning using a Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 mono CCD with Ha and OIII filters through a Williams Optics FLT-110, guided with a Williams Optics Megrez 90 with a Meade DSI Pro II. It is a 2 frame mosaic with approx 2 hours of data in each frame.