A very enjoyable evening of observing on Blackheath, even if we were effectively competing with a circus and a fairground for the local sky. Being Easter Sunday, there was a certain sugar-fuelled momentum to the proceedings; it was suspected that a fair amount of chocolate had been accounted for before our visitors made their way onto the heath! We had around 70 visitors, mostly over a fairly busy hour or so, and well over a dozen scopes set up. Conditions turned out pretty m

I arrived on Blackheath at around 6.30pm to find Alec and Tony already setting up. The sky looked encouraging and, thankfully, the forecast held up. Seeing turned out to be excellent, with decent transparency for most of the evening. Visitors began to arrive not long after sunset and by the end of the session we’d probably seen 50–60 people, with roughly a dozen telescopes spread across our usual patch of heath. It was particularly nice to see lots of families and children ag

I arrived at around 5.45pm in the hope of spotting Mercury low in the west, but low cloud over central London put an end to that idea. No matter - it gave me time to catch up with Alec, who had also arrived early, and to compare notes on the prospects for the evening. We reminded ourselves that this was the first Blackheath observing session since 13 December. Such has been the weather over the past couple of months that sustained clear skies have been in very short supply. C

I arrived on Blackheath to find a layer of persistent high haze, but it was thin enough that Saturn was already shining clearly in the south. That was encouraging. The atmosphere felt damp from the outset, though, and when Alec arrived by bike with his Vespera in a backpack, our first conversation was about how well - or otherwise - we’d manage the inevitable dew. More volunteers soon followed. Richard arrived with his Seestars, Yvonne with her Seestar, Les with a Dwarf III,

After last week’s abandoned attempt, it was a relief to arrive on Blackheath and see the sky behaving exactly as promised. Clear from horizon to zenith, and staying that way until around 10pm, it set the scene for one of the most relaxed sessions we’ve had in quite some time. Compare and contrast - the sky over Blackheath on Sunday 16th November, compared to Sunday 23rd November! Pictures by Phil Benson and Eddie Cantello It wasn’t a busy night in terms of public turnout – ar

Arriving on the heath, it was immediately clear that we were sharing the space with a few unexpected guests. The funfair had returned, lighting up the horizon with its usual neon glow and soundtrack of excited screams, and, for reasons known only to themselves, a large group of classic Volkswagen Beetle enthusiasts had gathered nearby. All this made for a lively backdrop as telescopes began to appear across the grass. The fairground as a backdrop, as we set up scopes. Picture

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