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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 03/06/2025

Ever wondered what the rain sounds like inside one of our steel 🔭 domes?

University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 24/03/2025

One of our students took these spectacular photos earlier this evening, showing what is thought to be fuel from a Falcon 9 rocket! 🔭

A dumbbell-shaped bright blue cloud in the sky

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 07/03/2025

And that’s a wrap for this season’s Open Evenings! Thank you to everyone that came along tonight - we had a great time, and hope you did too! Open Evenings will return next winter - but there will still be other opportunities to visit us over the summer, so stay tuned!

Two radio telescopes, with lights around the edges of the dishes

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 26/02/2025

There are only a few tickets left for our last Open Evening of the season, for the 17:30 slot on Friday 7th March. The theme for this Open Evening is radio astronomy. The optical telescopes 🔭 will still be open, but we'll also be showing off our unique radio interferometer 📡

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 07/02/2025

We've had a great time at @stalbanscathedral.bsky.social this week! We've been there with our mobile planetarium giving shows to local schools, and last night Dr. Emma Curtis-Lake gave a public lecture. And now we're all back at the observatory for tonight's sold-out Open Evening!

An inflatable planetarium underneath the stained glass windows of St Albans cathedral

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 04/02/2025

Here's a quick view of Jupiter, taken during a student practical session last night 🔭 From left to right, you can see three of Jupiter's moons: Europa, Ganymede and Io. You can also see Io's shadow on the face of Jupiter - it is the small dark spot near the upper right edge.

An image of Jupiter, with three of its moons (two to the left, one to the right) visible as pinpricks of light. Jupiter can be seen in detail, with reddish-brown horizontal bands of cloud wrapping around it.

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 29/01/2025

There is a lovely 22° halo around the Sun this morning. These halos appear when sunlight passes through hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere, and can often be seen in the winter months. 🔭

With severeal telescope domes in the foreground, there is a large circular halo around the Sun. The halo is approximately twice the size of an outstretched hand at arm's length.

Another view of the sun halo, this time with a radio telescope in the foreground.

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 24/01/2025

Yesterday we ran the first event with our new inflatable planetarium! From 5th-7th February, we'll be at @stalbanscathedral.bsky.social showcasing the new planetarium as part of their Science Festival Week. To book us for your school or another event, see here: www.herts.ac.uk/bayfordbury/...

A large inflatable planetarium inside a school hall

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 10/01/2025

It's a planetary parade! Throughout Jan and Feb, you will be able to see four planets lined up in the sky. With a telescope 🔭, you can also see Neptune and Uranus to make it six planets in a row! This picture was taken with our Allsky camera just before 6pm (GMT) on Tuesday.

A 360 degree view of the night sky showing Mars, Jupiter, the Moon, Saturn and Venus forming a loose line across the sky.

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 08/01/2025

With our James Webb Space Telescope themed Open Evening coming up on Jan 17th, here's a throwback to when one of our telescopes caught JWST heading to its new home 🔭

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 01/01/2025

Aurora sightings are being reported across the UK this evening - but unfortunately all we can see is clouds! 🔭

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 18/12/2024

It’s hard to believe our newest 🔭 is now over three years old! The 0.6m CDK24 is a favourite of our students, and one of the most popular attractions during our public open evenings. It’s easy to see why!

A large telescope pointing to the sky, with the interior of the dome illuminated with dim red light.

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University of Hertfordshire Observatory @observatory.herts.ac.uk · 17/12/2024

Hello world 👋 For those of you that don’t already know us, we’re the UK’s largest teaching observatory, and probably one of the busiest too! It’s cloudy tonight, but here’s a glimpse at some of the cool things we get up to:

A woman demonstrating how to make a comet using dry ice

A four panel image showing the Sun in three filters, and a closeup of a sunspot

A group of children pointing to the night sky, standing outside a telescope dome

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