Party with the stars

If you’re enjoying BBC Two’s Stargazing Live then you’ll want to join in the astronomical fun at Stargazing Oxford this Saturday, 21 January.

The free public event, running 2pm-10pm at Oxford University’s Department of Physics, aims to offer space-related activities for all ages.

Kids can learn to make cardboard telescopes, satellites, and a working spectrograph out of a cereal box – to discover how the light from distant stars can tell us what they’re made of.

There’ll also be the chance to observe the night sky through a range of telescopes and learn tips for star-gazing at home from amateur astronomy groups and Oxford scientists.

Other highlights include an inflatable planetarium, getting hands-on with a collection of meteorites, talks exploring topics such as simulating the universe, the shape of galaxies, and the weather on other planets.

There’s even space-inspired art on display, in the form of ‘darkmatter’, a unique and exhilarating work by installation artist Marion Yorston, and you can see the latest images from today’s best telescopes, plus models of tomorrow’s telescopes – SKA and E-ELT – that, when completed, will be the largest in the world.

You’ll find updates on preparations for the event on the Astro Blog , but there’s no need to book in advance just drop-in to the party, held at the Denys Wilkinson Building, on the day.