The Observatory
If the weather permits there are observing sessions open to the public on a Friday evening.
Details of opening times and the site’s location can be found on the Observatory page.
The observatory also opens on the first Sunday morning of the month from 10am until 1pm in support of Abbey Leys Farmers’ Market – again, weather permitting.
Recent Images – Farmers’ Market October 4th 2026
There was a good turnout at the Observatory this morning when we opened in support of the Farmers’ Market. Eric McElroy took this image of the Sun using the Acuter Phoenix 40 Elite Solar telescope with an ASI 676 MM camera to make a 45s video and then he stacked the best 20% of the frames. Given the hazy cloud, it’s turned out rather well!
Meetings
HLCO holds meetings on the second Thursday of each month in St John’s church room (location details here). Talks in astronomy and space research are given by invited experts or members of the HLCO team themselves. A small charge is made for these events. See below for details of future meetings.
We are always on the lookout for speakers. If you have an astronomy-related topic you’d like to share with a group of like-minded individuals, please get in touch by emailing hlco.steering@gmail.com
Upcoming HLCO Meetings
- October 8th 2026
Sunsets on other planets
Dr Jamie Dumayne has been involved in events all over the north west, from planetarium shows to talks at astronomy societies to organising his own science festival. He will talk to us about sunsets, but not like you’ve seen them before.
Jamie says “A blue sky seems natural to us, but anyone living on another planet would find it quite unusual. From the yellow haze of Venus to the pitch-black of Mercury, the skies across the solar system are stranger than anything on Earth. Discover the science behind these, before exploring beyond the solar system where things get even weirder.“
Sunset on Earth (Kevin Griffiths), sunset on Mars (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Texas A&M University)