Pupils and parents from Heywood Prep in Corsham recently enjoyed an evening of stargazing with the team from Bath Astronomers.
Eager stargazers were treated to stellar views of the moon’s craters, studying the patterns left behind by meteors long ago. Through a collection of professional telescopes, young and old alike were also keen to spot the evening star, Venus, just after sunset, and later Saturn.
Viewing such a distant target was tricky, but Saturn’s beautiful rings made it worth while. To round off an excellent evening, the ISS graced us with her presence on an overhead fly-by, shining brilliantly before fading into the Earth’s shadow.
Camilla Evans, Head of Science and STEM at Heywood Prep, often invites a wide range of STEM Ambassadors to work with the school’s families. Her passion for astronomy and astrophysics have enabled Heywood to be recognised for its use of space as a vehicle for learning, for all ages from 2 to 11, with the Space Education Quality Mark Gold from ESERO-UK. The school’s dedicated STEM curriculum is also recognised as the 2018 ISA Winner for Innovation in STEM.