Night Sky Live! – weekend festival of stargazing and celebrating the night sky

Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium is holding a weekend festival on 24-25 February for families who want to look up at the night sky, guided by experts, and explore the Science Centre after dark.

Night Sky Live! is in association with the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. Their astronomers and astrophysicists will lead hands-on space and night sky activities at the Science Centre from 10am and present an interactive live show, suitable for all ages throughout the day – The Colours in the Night Sky. Later in the evening, real-time exploration of the night sky gets underway with live stargazing demonstrations taking place from 6pm (indoor or outdoor, depending on visibility and weather).

“This is the perfect opportunity to look-up and discover the amazing world around us, including the Moon, stars, planets and other celestial bodies,” said Ben Ward, CEO of Winchester Science Centre. “There are also lots of great activities taking place around the Science Centre and in the Invention Studio such as, how to find the North Star and use it to navigate around the world, find out which stars will be visible on your birthday, and the Hunt for Planet 9 – are there more than eight planets in our solar system?”

In addition to this, visitors get to explore the Science Centre’s exhibition floors and have the rare opportunity to enjoy the exhibits after dark. There is also a schedule of live, presenter-led and 360 fulldome planetarium films showing throughout the day.

Night Sky Live! takes place on 24-25 February from 10am-8.30pm, the hands-on activities and live stargazing is included in the cost of general admission. Tickets cost £12 for adults, £8.40 for children and are free to Annual Pass Holders. The Colours of the Night Sky live show takes place daily at 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5pm and 6.30pm. Tickets cost £1. Advanced booking is recommended. Planetarium tickets are sold separately. Visitors save 10% if they book tickets online at least one day in advance. Find out more and book tickets: www.winchestersciencecentre.org

Night Sky Live! returns to Winchester Science Centre on 24-25 March.