A telescope which has helped to educate two generations of astronomers at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE) will soon be heading south to a new home with the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society.

The ’20 inch’ telescope has been used by the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Astronomy for teaching since 1967, and is being replaced with a new #40,000 state-of-the-art telescope during refurbishment of the Observatory on Blackford Hill. The old telescope (still in full working order) was offered as a gift to any group who could make use of it for teaching or public outreach. After reviewing more than a dozen submissions from groups around the U.K. and abroad, the bid from the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society was selected.

The Society plans to install the telescope in the James Irwin Observatory in the grounds of Canterbury Academy and Adult Education Centre on the outskirts of the city. The observatory was opened by the Apollo 15 astronaut, James Irwin, in 1990.

The society has an ambitious program to refurbish the telescope, equip it with new instruments and use it for public observing, and in support of science teachers delivering astronomy in local schools. The Society’s plans include providing disabled access by making live viewing possible in the ground floor warm-room and providing access to observing sessions via the internet.

Mike Phillips, Chairman of Mid-Kent Astronomical Society, said: “This telescope, together with our members’ many years of experience, will provide much needed additional educational resources for astronomy in Kent. We look forward to introducing many more people to the wonders of the night sky”.

Ken Moffat, Head of Simon Langton School in Canterbury said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to further develop some of the ground breaking research we are undertaking, and will give us a much needed opportunity to involve the science students of our partner school, Canterbury Academy, to go beyond the narrow confines of the current curriculum. This will allow both schools to excite and enthrall the future generation of scientists the U.K. needs.”

Phil Karnavas, Principal of Canterbury Academy added: “The Canterbury Academy is delighted to be involved with the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society in such an interesting and exciting venture — especially as star gazing has so successfully captured the public imagination at this time. Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is one of the country’s leading science schools and working with them will further enhance this project. Moreover, it is the hope that all local schools — primary, special and secondary — will get involved and take advantage of this excellent opportunity and resource at the heart of their community.”

The telescope, built by the British firm Grubb Parsons who were also responsible for many other much larger telescopes including the U.K. Infra Red Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, has a main mirror 0.5 m (20 inches) in diameter. It currently resides in a small dome atop one of the Royal Observatory buildings. To extract it, the dome will be lifted off the building, the telescope craned out in one piece and the dome replaced.

The Mid-Kent Astronomical Society is already researching the history of the telescope. It will be helped in the project by Dr. Giles Hammond of Glasgow University and Martin Black, a graduate engineer at UKATC. They recently refurbished a sister telescope originally installed in Glasgow in 1968.

The Society hopes to have the telescope ready for observations by September in time for the start of the new school year.

Contacts:

Wendy Ellison
Press Officer
STFC Daresbury Laboratory
wendy.ellison@stfc.ac.uk
+44 (0)1925 603 232

Mid-Kent Astronomical Society ROEtelescope@midkentastro.org.uk

Images of the 20-inch Grubb Parsons Telescope and James Irwin Observatory in Kent are available.

Mid-Kent Astronomical Society

Mid-Kent Astronomical Society was formed in 1976 as an amateur astronomy society to share their experiences and learn from others. Formed initially to observe the stars and planets, the society soon took an interest in other space and astronomy matters by way of discussions and talks from eminent speakers. Since the year 2000, the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society, in association with the Canterbury High School, has run the James Irwin observatory, which was originally built by staff and students of the school. The observatory currently houses a Celestron C14 (14-inch) Schmidt Cassegrain telescope and a 16-inch reflector telescope.

Mid-Kent Astronomical Society is active in outreach activities in Kent, recently hosting the first Stargazing Live event of 2012 and having large numbers attending subsequent events. The Society runs regular observing sessions and talks on astronomy at which the public are warmly welcome and can be found via their website http://www.midkentastro.org.uk.

STFC

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is keeping the U.K. at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar.

STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including:

* in the U.K.; ISIS pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and LOFAR. STFC is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd.

*overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii

It enables U.K. researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils. It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).