Lecture Room (front)
© P. DingleyAs well as the 21-foot rotating dome, the Sherwood Observatory also houses a 50-seat lecture room, used for society meetings and to host the Astronomy Explored evening course run by the society in conjunction with Nottingham University.The photograph below taken on 23rd April 2003 shows the lecture room with the new seating in place.
Southern Approach
© P. DingleyCrossing, or turning off the A611 at the Coxmoor road junction heading towards Mansfield, the road crests a hill, and turns gently towards the right. Immediately after the corner, the road opens out into the picture below.The entrance to the Observatory is on the right just before the white post in the image. A clearer view of the entrance can be seen in the lower two images on this page.
Lecture Room (rear)
© P. DingleyAs well as the 21-foot rotating dome, the Sherwood Observatory also houses a 50-seat lecture room, used for society meetings and to host the presentations and courses for members of the public. The photograph below taken on 23rd April 2003 shows the lecture room with the new seating in place.
Local Light Pollution
© P. DingleyDuring a cloudy evening in the middle of National Astronomy Week (August 2003), light pollution from the nearby town of Mansfield turns night into an eerily coloured day in this long-exposure photograph of the Observatory dome.Thankfully in reality while it is a nuisance, even this apparent level of light pollution doesn't cause too much of a problem on a clear night.
Ursa Major
© P. DingleyThe constellation of Ursa Major, also known as The Plough or the Great Bear, is prominent over the top of the dome during the open evening on November 29th 2003. The orange coloured glow pervading the image is due to the local light pollution from the nearby town of Mansfield, and the sodium street lighting on the nearby Coxmoor Road.Thankfully since his picture was taken the local street ilghting has been changed from the open style sodium lights to full cutoff lighting which is far more dark-sky friendly, and means that the public money spent on lighting the streets is doing just that, instead of being wasted pointlessly lighting the sky.
The Observatory at Full Moon
© P. RandallThe following photograph was submitted by society member Mr P. Randall.The photograph was taken owith a Canon 300D fitted with a 18-50mm sigma lens set at 20mm. ISO 400 at 30 seconds, F10. It was taken at 20.48 on 3rd March 2007 with a full moon lighting the observatory.
