Year 13 Physics trip to Bayfordbury Observatory

On Thursday 17th October, the year 13 physicists made their way to the University of Hertfordshire in order to tour their observatory. When we arrived we were given a lecture on different kinds of telescopes, such as the James Webb telescope, and how images taken from an infrared telescope vary from an optical telescope such as the Hubble telescope. Later we were able to take a look at the different kinds of telescopes they had in their observatory. We had the chance to use their sunspotters and their solar telescopes in order to observe sunspots and look at their optical and radio telescopes, the oldest of which was installed in 1970. Afterwards, we went into their planetarium and learned about different constellations and planets through visual projections. Overall, this trip was an excellent way for us to relate what we have been learning about in our A-levels to real life and gain more knowledge about space. Prisha, Year 13