Birmingham Launches into Space Research at Open Day

Astronomers at the University of Birmingham will be answering the general public’s questions about the universe at ‘Space Day’ on Saturday 4th October from 10am – 5.15pm. 

Questions such as ‘how does a telescope work, what can be seen in the sky at night and how did NASA get their rovers on Mars safely’ will all be up for discussion. 

This event, aimed at all ages of the general public, will feature talks by researchers from the School of Physics and Astronomy including Dr William Chaplin on the ‘Music of the Sun’ and Dr Somak Raychaudhury on ‘Einstein's Outrageous Legacy - Black Holes, Cosmic Illusions and Dark Energy’, as well as interactive workshops which tackle telescope making, air rocket creation and launching, and even making a Mars rovers out of cardboard and sticky tape. 

Other activities such as viewing the night sky in a mobile planetarium, a tour of the department's astronomical and space laboratory facilities, a chance to see how many cosmic rays pass through you every second and a raffle are all planned on the day.

Space Day will run from 10:00am to 5:15pm on Saturday 4th of October 2008. Entrance and all activities are free, and due to limits on numbers entry to certain workshops will be on a first-come-first served basis.

The event will take place in the Poynting Physics Building and the talks will take place in the Large Lecture Theatre.  For further information visit http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/outreach/talktelescope//spaceday/

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For further information

Kate Chapple, Press Officer, University of Birmingham, tel 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164.