Over 400 people attended the Mars Exhibition and star gazing at Oxford Area School

The gates opened at 6pm with people arriving early to catch the Mars documentary on the large outdoor cinema.  The sky was cloudy, however as the night crept in and the sky darken the clouds parted revealing the amazing night sky glistening with stars. 

On offer was Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and it's rings, and of course Mars shimmering with a tinge of red.

Several telescopes provided and operated by members of the Canterbury Astronomical Society, along with our own observatory's 10 inch Meade telescope, were available for the star gazing. While in the GP Hall Chloe Firkin , Emma Warwick and Janey Leslie provided attendees with useful knowledge about Mars as people observed the high quality posters and looping video on the four large screens.

I would like to thank all of the volunteers who offered up their time to ensure this event was the success it was.

Finally I would like to make special mention of the Oxford Area School observatory. Along with members of school, this committee is passionately driven by volunteers Erik Vermaat, James Moffat, Chris Hawes and Easwaran Krishnaswamy (Iceman). These members put in an incredible amount of time and energy into our observatory and providing our community with the opportunity to explore the sky and invoke curiosity. This event required a significant amount of expertise, planning and "construction" to make it happen. This simply could not be achieved without our volunteers and was enjoyed by all.

Mike Hart