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There was also a chance to view the Cloud Chamber
which was painstakingly constructed by John (@northern1979) and proved to be another star attraction at
Astrocamp! This again was a chance to watch some real
science in action – using alcohol and dry ice it was possible to follow the trails formed by cosmic rays passing
through the forming vapour inside the sealed tank. After
the excitement of the morning events most of the campsite then migrated to the local pub where the afternoon
opportunities for observing and imaging in between the cloud but an unexpected visit from the Sky at Night
events were to be held.
team, interested in wide field imaging, resulted in three of us being whisked away into the bottom field to
After a fabulous Sunday carvery the tables were cleared
film with Pete Lawrence to discuss our techniques! After an hour of watching various parts of the show in
and many were crammed into a room to hear a fabulous
action we were filmed from various angles and then released back to our camp, by which time the sky had
talk by Chris Lintott (BBC Sky at Night). This was then fol-
completely clouded over and it was well into the early hours of Monday!...but hey…we were TV stars!
lowed by the infamous Astrocamp Pub Quiz with some
Top: Comets!
amazing prizes! Everyone was given a chance to win as
Below: Viewing the Cloud Chamber (Image David
Woodford)
random numbers were used as “winning score positions” so very good and not so good answers were all in
with a chance! During the weekend another great fun
The final full day of Astrocamp was ever so quick to arrive and the obligatory full English breakfast at the
local café was a great start to the day! Astro High tea in the afternoon, which was a last minute get together
last camp, was now on the event schedule! Lots of cakes, snacks, treats and beverages made an impressive banquet for this social gathering! (Yes, the clouds meant there was lots of eating and drinking over the
weekend!)
activity was a Solar System themed Limerick competition ran by Jeni and John Millard and the results of these
were read out in the pub too! After retreating back to
the camp site, we eagerly set up ready for the evening
to arrive…hoping desperately for clear skies! Meanwhile
the BBC Sky at Night team was filming around the campsite and intermittent cloud and sunshine kept the solar
Image P.55 Top: A very packed pub! (Image Lillian Kwok)
observers happy! When darkness fell there were some
Astro Nerds June 2014
Image P.55 Bottom Left: Paul HIll
Astro Nerds June 2014