Weather providing, on October 26th, Buile Hill Mansion Association (BHMA) is inviting you to join them in the park as they dare to look up into the vastness of space and enjoy the beauty of the night sky above Salford. On Thursday 26th October, between the hours of 6pm and 8pm, you are invited to come and join the association and their friends at Salford Astronomical Society (SAS) for a guided tour of the universe, during which (weather permitting) you can enjoy close up views of the moon and the beautiful gas giant Saturn though society range of telescopes, plus many more stunning deep sky objects above Salford. (NB: Remember not to mention the gag about Flynny's wallet being a black hole). The Salford Astronomical Society or SAS as I prefer to call the crack team of astro boffins, has operated from it's purpose built observatory on Chaseley field in Weaste since it's opening by none other than the legendary Patrick Moore himself in October 1971, but the society can track its ancestry back almost a decade further, having been founded by local enthusiast, Arthur Taylor who oddly discovered he was not the only one in Salford that liked staring up at the skies. A lot has changed since then, light pollution for one, but the society is still going strong today. The observatory holds the coveted 18inch telescope which was donated to them by Jodrell Bank radio observatory in Cheshire, which has recently undergone refurbishment after decades of use by society members. The society and observatory is going from strength to strength, and is currently fundraising to raise cash towards finally having running water and sanitation installed under the hallowed dome. We have no idea what they did before when caught short but there are lots of trees surrounding the observatory building? This looks to be an amazing night of science and fun, hosted by none other than the wonderful BHMA who are looking forward to the reopening of another of Salford's iconic buildings as work is soon to get underway on transforming the old mining museum back into the glorious mansion it once was, a venue for weddings and community events. Please note, by the nature of it being held outdoors at night, this event is subject to the weather and may need to be cancelled at short notice. We have put a good word in for fair weather but it is not guaranteed.
