News

Thursday 20 November 2008

The view from Saturn: Open Dome event at Nottingham Trent University - 27 November

A space mission to Saturn will form the topic of the next Open Dome event to be held at Nottingham Trent University’s observatory on Thursday 27 November. Professor Carl Murray from Queen Mary College, London, will treat guests to a presentation of images taken by the Cassini Spacecraft – an international space exploration mission for which he was a member of the important Imaging Team.

The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit around Saturn for more than four years, during which time it has beamed back tens of thousands of images of the ringed planet and its moons. Professor Murray’s talk, entitled: 'The View from Saturn: Images from the Cassini Spacecraft', will review some of the scientific highlights from the imaging experiment, with a particular emphasis on Saturn’s ring system. This will then be followed by a brief introduction of what is currently visible in the night sky, before guests are given a tour of the University observatory and the opportunity to use its 20 inch telescope, small telescopes and binoculars. A planetarium show will be held in the event of bad weather or poor visibility.

The event will begin at 8pm at the CELS building on Clifton campus. Spaces are limited and anybody wishing to attend the event will have to pre-book their place. Please contact Dr Daniel Brown by emailing daniel02.brown@ntu.ac.uk, to do so.

ENDS

Notes for editors:
The Open Dome series at Nottingham Trent University
Running since February 2008, this series of events has proved popular with students, staff and members of the public from across Nottinghamshire, allowing guests to gain a first hand experience of the field of astronomy. The Open Dome series makes use of the University’s very own Optical Observatory whilst the equipment, technology and expertise of staff from the School of Science and Technology is used in numerous outreach activities with strong connections to schools and the local community.

Press enquiries please contact Matt Wallace, Press Officer, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8785 or via email matthew.wallace@ntu.ac.uk or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8774 or via email therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.