An Evening with the Stars – 5th March 2004

The weather was looking extremely un-promising as members converged on Greenwich Park for this event, but even without the clear skies it was an enjoyable evening. We gathered in the shop, and were led over to the planetarium shortly after 7pm. There, Anton Vamplew treated us to an informative and entertaining show including quite a few excursions to unfamiliar latitudes, with odd (definitely!) jokes thrown in from time to time. Afterthat we then filed back to the dome that houses the 28-inch refractor, and Robert Massey told us a bit about the history and uses of the telescope. Unfortunately the clouds were still covering the whole sky, but the staff at Greenwich had taken a leaf out of the Blue Peter book, and prepared some video on earlier occasions. Tony Sizer gave us a commentary as the video played, and we watched as views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon were displayed on the monitors. A pity about the weather, but an enjoyable evening never the less.