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Whether you are a complete beginner or have an existing interest in astronomy, a visit to the Observatory can be a fascinating and rewarding experience. 

 

Weather permitting, during the winter months, we usually visit the observatory following our Friday night meetings.   If it is particularly clear we may cancel the advertised talk and go to the observatory or do night sky viewing outside the Wellwynd Church. 

 

 

Observing                               

 

 

Observing Sun Spots 

Our observatory curators Bob Webster and Gavin Bain are always on hand to offer expert advice.

“Space is EPIC!”

 

Jude W. 

 

Pages from curator's diary

Curator’s Comments:

January 2013 to March 2014 has been a successful period for both Airdrie Observatory and Airdrie Astronomical Association, the little observatory is much loved by both AAA members and CultureNL staff who all wish to make the best use of this unique facility. As well as having a new observatory curator in Bob Webster the other AAA individuals who make up the observatory team, and without whom none of the results highlighted previously in this report would be possible, are Isabel and Willie Morrison with their regular presentations on “The Solar System”, Aileen Malone with her wealth of knowledge on human spaceflight (having previously brought 3 Apollo astronauts to visit the observatory) and young Jack Frederick who looks after Stellarium on the computer for us and is a great link to many of our younger visitors. During 2013 AAA also held a total of 39 Friday Meetings with a total of 1,049 attendances, averaging about 27 people per meeting with a range of guest speakers on a wide variety of space related subjects and making use of the observatory usually about once a month if the sky is clear.

Gavin Bain, Curator of Airdrie Observatory.

 

“This was terrific, a great big bravo from all of us. We will be back with another group soon. Thanks again.”

 

2nd Coatbridge Cub Scouts 26/3/13

Here is a sample of a page of the Curators Diary. September 2013 for the Chinese Moon Festival

2012/2013

During the observing year April 2012 to March 2013, more than 660 people visited our observatory. We used the 6” Cooke telescope on 18 occasions.

 

12 Observatory open evenings were held on Tuesday evenings during November/December 2012 and January/February 2013. Observing was possible on 8 of these Tuesday observatory open evenings and approximately 200 people were able to view either Jupiter or the Moon, or both.

Other astronomical targets included

  • “Sun-spots” on 27/10/12 Focus-On-Families Day,

  • “Betelgeuse” (red supergiant star) on 01/02/13  

  • “The Pleiades” (open star cluster M45) on 05/02/13.

“Enjoyed the stories & seeing the telescope”

 

Steven Cole 19/03/13

The Chinese mid-Autumn Festival event

Here is a sample of the Curators Diary when we did solar observing in September 2013.

“Sun spots through the telescope onto paper……fantastic!”

 

Jacquie & Hope Corry 7/9/13

 

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