The UK Astronomy Online Festival

Listen to Mark and Ross as they chat about what is up in the UK skies for April as well as a run down to the UK Astronomy festival.

Join Ross for an hour talk where he will be taking you through the Solar System from the Sun to Pluto, with cool facts, pictures from group members and NASA and tips on how to see them in the UK skies.

Join Wil Photography as Wil Cheung gives you a guide to some of the key objects in the night sky over the coming months and how to spot them. Perfect for those just starting out in astronomy.

Join UK Astronomy’s youngest volunteer, 8 year old Aston, as he talks about what he loves about the Universe and all things space. Aston has even written a book of facts about the Solar System, the planets and its objects.

Learn the origins of Monday which means Moonday, all about our nearest neighbour and some cool features you can see on it.

Learn the origins of Tuesday which means Mars day and all about the red planet and what features you may be able to see.

Learn the origins of Wednesday which means Mercury day and all about this scorched body and how you may be able to spot this elusive planet.

Join NASA Solar System Ambassador Janelle for a super fun live activity to help you learn the phases of the moon. You will need to make sure you have the items listed below so that you can follow along as we work through the moon phases together! You will also need to download and print the Moon Phase Journal for this session.

   • 8 Oreo cookies per person
   • A white paper plate or plain sheet of paper per person
   • A spoon per person

You can find more fun Science Facts and experiments on Janelle's website.

Learn the origins of Friday which means Venusday day and all about the goddess of beauty. You will find out why her looks are deceiving and why she is known as Earth's evil twin.

Celebrate the anniversary of the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin as they talk about this awesome achievement in human history. Yuri's Night UK

Learn the origins of Sunday which means funnily enough “Sun day”. Find out all about our nearest life-giving star and the crazy things that go on there.

There are many great dark sky locations around the UK, this talk will highlight some of the best places to visit and when to go. Join Wil from Wil Photography for this most informative talk.

Did you know we can see the aurora in the UK? Certain conditions have to be met though. Experienced aurora chaser, Wil of Wil Photography will share his top tips on how to be able to see them.

Learn the origins of Thursday which means Jupiterday and all about the king of the planet, how to see it and its four main Moons plus it’s great red spot.

Join Ross as he uses pictures and a virtual sky to show you what you can see in your gardens using your eyes, binoculars and telescopes.

Learn the origins of Saturday which means you guessed it Saturnday and all about the ringed gas giant. You will learn some cool facts and how you can see it.

Have you ever wanted to take photos of the night sky? Do you own a DSLR or Smartphone? This one-hour live talk will explore the different techniques in capturing the night skies.

Join Richard as he takes you through the stars and constellation in our UK spring skies, travel across the night sky. To see his guides please visit Richard's Amazon store.

The butt of all jokes this huge gas giant was actually named after a God. Listen to find out which God.

Today is all about our planet although as astronomers we cannot see it ourselves. We will take a journey out into space to look back at our home planet and why it is so special.

Join Ross as he explores some of the crazy things about, in or debated in our universe. He will attempt to answer some of the mind boggling questions space has to offer.

Join Janelle as she asks will long term space flight change our DNA? How do we study DNA in space? Is it possible to see DNA? You will need a few items to be able to participate in our online session, so make sure you grab all the materials so that you are ready to follow along!

What you will need: 2-3 strawberries per person, a fine mesh sieve or paper coffee filters, washing up liquid, salt, water, measuring cup, spoon, measuring teaspoon, plastic zip bag per person, small cup/glass per person, isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or colourless high proof spirit (like vodka!!) – 1 teaspoon per person), tweezers / straw / fork.

Please note you will need to place your alcohol in the freezer an hour before our session to help the experiment work effectively.

You can follow Janelle on her YouTube channel for more fun facts and experiments.

Join Ross as he talks to a proper astronomer. This is a LIVE event with Ugnė from Durham university. Ugnė will be sharing what her work and research entails, including dark matter and galaxies with opportunities to ask questions.

Learn all about this windy, cold, gas giant, the last planet in our Solar system. Find out how far away is it, how long it takes to orbit the Sun and for light to reach it.

Once known as a proper planet Pluto is now designated as a dwarf planet. Find out what changed to turn 9 planets into 8 and all about our farthest planet-ish.