Impact Season at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
12 March–29 August 2011
March sees the launch of Impact Season at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG), exploring some of the biggest explosions in history and the exciting world of comets, asteroids, and meteorites, through a brand-new exhibition alongside a programme of talks, planetarium shows and family activities running until the end of August. A selection of special events and talks has already been confirmed, with more to be added throughout the season. Full details can be found on our website as they become available.
Exhibitions
Impact: collisions and catastrophes
From the dazzling beauty of a meteor shower to the devastating impact of a giant asteroid, the Earth is constantly bombarded by debris from space. This brand-new exhibition uses spectacular images, film and interactive exhibits to take a look at these fiery visitors and their effects on our planet, from tiny craters to death and destruction on a global scale. It also explores the vital clues that asteroids and meteorites provide about the violent formation of the solar system and the origins of life itself. Plus there’s the chance to see and touch real space rocks in the ROG’s astronomy galleries.
Dates: 12 March–29 August
Venue: Astronomy Centre, Exhibition Space
Admission: Free
Planetarium Shows
Origins of Life takes the audience on an extraordinary journey through time and space. Starting with the Big Bang, the show explores the formation of stars, solar systems and the first life on Earth, as well as our search for life beyond our own planet.
Dates: 12 March–8 April, 26 April–20 May
Times: 11.45, 13.30, 15.15, 17.00* (weekends and holiday weekdays)
14.45 (weekdays during term time)
*17.00 show from 26 April onwards
Venue: Peter Harrison Planetarium
Admission: £6.50 adults, £4.50 children/concessions, £17.50 family ticket
Age: Recommended for ages 5+
NB Planetarium closed all day 14 March
Impact: from Halley to Hayabusa
This show explores our understanding of comets and asteroids, from the discoveries of Edmund Halley in 1705, to the daring Japanese Hayabusa probe mission to the asteroid Itokawa in 2005, and beyond.
Find out about the violent processes that led to the formation of the solar system, leaving our cosmic neighbourhood littered with icy comets and rocky asteroids. Plus discover what this cosmic debris can tell us about the origin of our world and the threat it poses to life on Earth.
Dates: From 21 May 2011
Times: 11.45, 13.30, 15.15, 17.00 (weekends and holiday weekdays)
14.45 (weekdays during term time)
Venue: Peter Harrison Planetarium
Admission: £6.50 adults, £4.50 children/concessions, £17.50 family ticket
Age: Recommended for ages 5+
Observing Events
National Science and Engineering Week: Evening with the Stars
Get involved with National Science and Engineering Week at the popular after-dark experience at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich: watch the Sky Tonight planetarium show, look through the gigantic 28-inch telescope and use small telescopes in the Meridian Courtyard. Explore the cratered surface of our Moon and discover what these violent impacts can tell us about our solar system.
Dates: 11, 12, 14, 16 March
Times: 17.25, 17.30, 18.45, 18.50
Duration: 2 hours
Venue: Royal Observatory
Admission: £16, £54 family ticket
Age: 7+
Easter Star Parties: Gagarin 50
Yuri Gagarin’s journey into space was a defining moment in space exploration. Fifty years later scientists have their sights set on sending astronauts much deeper into space, this time to visit an asteroid. Come and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s historic journey at the Royal Observatory, including the Dawn of the Space Age planetarium show, a chance to look at the Moon through our gigantic 28-inch telescope and an opportunity to use small telescopes in the Meridian Courtyard.
Dates: 13, 14 April
Times: 17.55, 18.00, 19.15, 19.20
Admission: £16 per person, £54 family ticket
Venue: Royal Observatory
Age: 5+
Family Events
Saturday Space Explorers
During Impact Season, these monthly free family workshop focus on meteorites, with the chance to handle real space rocks and find out what we can learn from them.
Date: 26 March, 30 April, 28 May, 25 June, 30 July, 27 August
Times: 14.00, 14.30, 15.00, 15.30, 16.00
Venue: Learning Centre
Admission: Free
Age: 5+
Talks and Lectures
Incoming! Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Meteorite
Everyone knows that a giant meteor strike may have wiped out the dinosaurs, but new evidence suggests that some meteorites may actually have been beneficial for life on Earth. Geophysicist and author of acclaimed book, Incoming!, Dr Ted Nield, explains why we may have cause to thank these visitors from the skies.
Date: 7 April
Time: 19.00
Venue: Royal Observatory
Admission: £10, £7.50 concessions
Professor Ray Jawawardhana talks about his new book Strange New Worlds – the Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond our Solar System.
Date: 12 May
Time: 19.00
Venue: Royal Observatory
Admission: £10, £7.50 concessions
Summer Science in the Planetarium
A Cratering Tour of the Solar System
Impact expert and Deputy Editor of Astronomy Now magazine, Dr Emily Baldwin, takes the helm in the Royal Observatory’s planetarium for a spectacular journey around some of the most dramatic craters in the Solar System. This event is part of the popular Summer Science in the Planetarium series of talks.
Dates: 28 July (other talks in the series will take place on 26 May, 23 June and 25 August)
Time: 19:00
Venue: Royal Observatory
Admission: £10, £7.50 concessions
Meteorites conference: Meet the Experts
The 74th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society takes place in August at the University of Greenwich, and in association with this the Royal Observatory will be hosting some special talks with some of the world’s leading experts on meteorites. Hear all about the latest discoveries in this fascinating branch of space science. Further details TBA – check the website for updates
Dates: 8–12 August
Adult Courses
Meteorites and the Early Solar System
This course offers a fascinating insight into the world of meteorites, which formed 4600 million years ago in a vast cloud of dust and gas surrounding the young Sun. In conjunction with astronomical observations, the study of meteorites enables us to predict whether a distant star system is capable of forming planets or not. Join Dr Dominik Hezel to explore the major aspects of meteorite formation and what we learn from them about the evolution of our solar system, planet formation and whether there is life elsewhere in the universe.
Date: 5 lectures: 7 June–5 July, Tuesdays
Time: 19.00–21.00
Venue: Learning Centre
Price: £50
Notes to Editors
- The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian and one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. Since its founding in 1675, Greenwich has been at the centre of the measurement of time and space. Visitors can stand in both the eastern and western hemispheres simultaneously by placing their feet either side of the Prime Meridian line. Today the Observatory galleries and Peter Harrison Planetarium help unravel the extraordinary phenomena of time, space and astronomy.
General Information
National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory Greenwich are open: 10.00–17.00 daily. Last admission is at 16.30.
General admission to National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House is free.
From 8 March 2011 admission to the Royal Observatory’s historic Flamsteed House, Time Galleries, Meridian Line Courtyard and Meridian Building will be £10 for adults (£7.50 concessions). Entry for children aged 15 and under is free. The £10 entry is an annual pass (visitors will be able to return as many times as they like within 12 months for no additional charge). Admission to the Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Centre which houses three state-of-the-art modern astronomy galleries is free of charge.
For updated information prior to visit please visit our web site: http://www.rmg.co.uk or phone (020) 8858 4422.
For advance bookings for charged events please call 020 8312 6608 or email bookings@rmg.co.uk
-ends-
For further information or images please contact:
Jenny Orton
National Maritime Museum Press Office
Tel: 020 8312 6545 | 07960509802
Email: press@rmg.co.uk