Sherwood Observatory

Open Day 11th May now on sale!

* demonstration of our large Newtonian Telescope
* look through our specialist filtered telescopes to view the Sun safely
* experience an immersive Planetarium show

sherwood-observatory.org.uk/latest-events/open-days

#planetarium #observatory #STEMeducation

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🐣Easter Opening Times🐣

We will be closed on Easter Sunday to give our Volunteers and Staff a well-earned break. Throughout the school Easter holidays, extra planetarium shows are on sale, offering something for all ages.

#easter #nottinghamshire #whatson

📷March photo of the month

Mike Drazniowsky presents The Pacman Nebula. Between 9,200 and 9,500 light years from Earth, with a radius of 48 light years, NGC 281 is named The Pacman Nebula due to its resemblance to the 1980’s video game character.

#STEM #Nottinghamshire #AstroPhotography

Recently, the very talented composer and pianist Chris Miggells performed live in our 360° Planetarium. Chris transported us through space with his musical interpretations accompanying a full dome show, creating a completely different immersive and sensory delight.

#Nottinghamshire #STEM #Music

🔎Fact
SETI’s search for extraterrestrial signals has spanned c.1000 star systems, without success. But technology increases at such a rate that the speed of search is doubling every 18 mths. In 24 yrs, they'll have searched a few million star systems for ET’s signals! Who knows what we could find?

👀Looking for something to do this week? We have Planetarium show tickets available!

👉Book shows here - sherwood-observatory...

#whatson #nottinghamshire #STEM

🌷April at Sherwood Observatory - Our wonderful team and volunteers continue to work hard to offer a great variety of planetarium shows and open days throughout April.

Details of all our events - sherwood-observatory...

#STEM #Nottinghamshire #Planetarium #whatson

🌍Do you want to learn more about Astronomy?

Intermediate Astronomy course for those with an good understanding who want to delve a bit deeper into ways in which we practice and record Astronomical events.

Starting Friday 21st Feb - www.sherwood-observa...

Only 12 people have walked on the Moon so far, and 24 have orbited the Moon. In April 2026, Artemis II will aim to take a crew to orbit the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Today is your last chance to experience 'Chasing the Moon,' a live show to mark National Astronomy Week.

#NAW2025

The Moon is the 5th largest moon out of nearly 300 discovered throughout the entire Solar System, despite being narrower than Australia.


#NAW2025

The Moon has no way to get rid of craters, so the lunar surface is an archive of the millions of impacts it has experienced across the Moon's existence. Similarly, without weather or other processes, the footprints left by the Apollo astronauts will last for over a million years.

#NAW2025

Very slowly, the Moon is getting slightly further away from the Earth. About 4cm a year, which is about the same amount that your fingernails grow per year.

This week our Planetarium Shows are followed by 'Chasing the Moon,' a live talk and immersive show to mark National Astronomy Week.

#NAW2025

To mark National Astronomy Week, our Planetarium Shows will include a special bonus feature, 'Chasing The Moon,' in place of the normal presenter talk and Q&A.

Book now 👉🏼https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/events
#NAW2025

The Moon is only able to cause total solar eclipses because it is 400 times smaller than the Sun but also 400 times closer than the Sun, meaning that from Earth they appear the same size

#NAW2025

A few tickets remain for:
Tue - Astronaut George, The Great Solar System Adventure, From Earth to the Universe
Wed - We Are Stars, CapCom Go! The Apollo Story (subtitled)
Fri - DARK, Distant Worlds - Alien Life?

Book now - sherwood-observatory...

It's National Astronomy Week so we're sharing our top facts about the Moon.

Moon fact of the day: Astronomers think that the Moon formed after another planet-sized object smacked into the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago, this event is sometimes called "The Big Splat"

#NAW2025

A month was originally based on the time it took the Moon to go through all its phases, acting as a natural calendar. We only ever see one side of the Moon - the other side looks quite different. The Moon isn’t the only object in our sky that shows phases - Venus does too!

#NAW2025

A quick reminder, that for events from February onwards (this Saturday onwards) we will be reverting to showing the actual start time of the Planetarium show on the ticket. Visitors are welcome to arrive up to 45 minutes before that time to enjoy the cafe and exhibition.

Did you know? 🤔Our venue is primarily run by volunteers from the Sherwood Observatory Astronomical Society, with just two paid staff members. As a charity, we are not as well-resourced as other visitor attractions but are determined to inspire many more to take an interest in Astronomy and STEM.

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕Our resident Astronomer, Matt will lead this special feature presentation after your Planetarium show for all events until 8th February. It’s included in your ticket price, and replaces our normal talk and Q&A.
👉🏼Book now https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/events

#NAW2025

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review on either Google or Tripadvisor. We read all reviews and are grateful for your support as we develop our events at Sherwood Observatory.

To leave a review:
Tripadvisor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐https://bit.ly/3WtYglz
Google ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐https://bit.ly/3E1uChs

Just a reminder that tickets for shows in January state the start of your visit slot, with your Planetarium show starting 45 mins after that time. This allows you time to enjoy the cafe and exhibition before your show starts.

✨Until Sat 8th Feb our Planetarium Shows will be followed by a special feature to mark National Astronomy Week (1-8 Feb).

We’ll chase the Moon across the sky, past three planets and a treasure trove of stars. All you need to do is look up!

👉🏼https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/events

#NAW2025

February Planetarium shows are now available to book via our website! We are planning to add more open evening dates soon, so they are not available to book as yet.

Book now - https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/events

We trialled a new approach to booking times in January, providing you with a timeslot. We’ve listened to feedback that it is not working for you. From February we will revert to publishing the actual show times on the ticket, with an option to arrive 45 min earlier to enjoy the exhibition and cafe.

We have a few Tickets available for the following Planetarium Shows this week.

Visit our website for:
Show details 👉🏼https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/latest-events/planetarium-shows
Ticket booking 👉🏼https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/events

Are you interested in finding out more about Astronomy?

We have a few spaces available on our Introduction to Astronomy non-accredited course starting this Friday at 7pm.

Bag your space now! https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/latest-events/courses

We have some last minute tickets available for -

Wed 8 Jan
Thurs 9 Jan
Fri 10 Jan
Sat 11 Jan

👉🏼Book now https://sherwood-observatory.org.uk/latest-events/planetarium-shows

🎆Happy New Year! 🎆 We’re looking forward to welcoming you to the new Sherwood Observatory, Planetarium and Science Centre during 2025.