Welcome to the Hanwell Community Observatory!
Recent website updates
See the Stars & Snowdrops page for information on the open weekend on the 13th and 14th of February. If you would like to help publicise the event (thanks very much) you can find the poster here.
February 6th 2010 - Thanks to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) for helping us publicise the Stars & Snowdrops event this year. They are one of the 47 Wildlife Trusts in Britain, working towards the conservation of habitats and species in the countryside and in urban environments. With the woodland surrounding the Hanwell Community Observatory being a County Wildlife Site, we are pleased to have their support. Please visit their website for more details on the BBOWT and how you can be involved in valuable regional conservation work.
BBOWT are part of the national Wildlife Trusts partnership.
January 8th 2010 - The new Education section provides information on HCO's Education projects. The Planet Parade competition invites local schools to build models of their favourite planets. The best (and most weatherproof) models will go towards a scale model of the solar system, in the HCO grounds, which may be explored by visitors at our open weekends.
What we do
HCO comprises a group of amateur observers promoting astronomy in the community. Whether you have private or educational interests in the subject, our aim is to make astronomy accessible to you. We welcome public and school groups to star parties and other events that will open up the Heavens and share with you the wonders of the cosmos. If you are a student or teacher at a local school or university, please see the Education section for details of our current activities and how you can get involved.
About the Observatory
The permanent site at Hanwell, Oxfordshire, was chosen for this project for various reasons. We have access to a dark site in a rural setting, in grounds covering about 20 acres. The regular use here of the McIver Paton telescope since 1992 has proven the suitability of the site. Group and educational star parties for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education began in 1996. An observing club (Ad HOC) was started in 1998 and the following year, HCO was launched. The site is now home to a set of permanently mounted telescopes, all designed to be weatherproof. The instruments are designed to be used entirely in the open air with no observatory building.
About this website
This website is continually being developed. Look out for more information about Observatory activities, history of the Hanwell castle site and updates to our Astronomy section. Feedback is much appreciated, so please let us know if you experience any problems with the site or if there is something you would like to see here.