Category: Public Outreach

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NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.

Below is a fantastic collection of images and timelapse vidoes of the partial solar eclipse taken by CMHASD members on the 12th August 2026.

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Kevin Langford

Images taken using a Canon EOS 750D with standard lens set to 55mm white light filter fixed on the mount. Fixed to standard tripod.

One picture taken every 5mins until the sun went behind that house.

The final picture was made up of the sun images merged with a picture of the house taken later. Affinity Photo was used to create the picture.

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Honor Wheeler

Three images taken using a Canon M6II with x2 Barlow,
Coronado PST and EQ3 PRO Mount.

Exposure: ISO200,1/6s
Processed in Snapseed

Plus a timelapse video taken using a Dwarf3 smart scope. All taken at the pavilion.

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George Buckberry

A time lapse video and a collage of images taken using a Dwarf3 Smart scope at the pavilion.

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Tina Bishop

Timelapse video of the eclipse.

Taken using a Dwarf3 smart scope at the pavilion.

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Guy Roberts     

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Jim Burchell     The 12 images below were taken at the pavilion using a Pentax KP DSLR Body attached to a 102mm F11 refactor with Baader solar film attached.  No colour correction has been applied.

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Dan Stevens        The three images below were taken using a Seestar s30 at the pavilion.

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Leigh Slomer     

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NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.

Article written by CMHASD Chairperson Mr Gary Hunt.

CMHASD Partial Solar Eclipse Public Outreach Event — A Resounding Success

On 12 August 2026, the Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Dartford (CMHASD) opened its doors — and its telescopes — to the public for a special outreach event to observe the Partial Solar eclipse.  And what a day it turned out to be!

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We estimate that at least 83 visitors joined us during the event, eager to see the Moon take a bite out of the Sun.

The excitement among visitors was genuinely infectious. Children and adults alike were “wowed” and awed by what they saw, while CMHASD members were equally excited to share the experience. There is something rather special about seeing the expression on someone's face when they look through a telescope and suddenly realise that they are seeing the Sun in extraordinary detail — and not merely a bright blob in the sky.

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Solar observing — safely, of course!

CMHASD provided multiple solar-safe observing telescopes, including two specialist hydrogen-alpha solar telescopes, one of which belongs to the Society. These gave visitors spectacular views of our nearest star, including features that ordinary white-light observing simply cannot reveal.

We also distributed free safe solar-observing spectacles to visitors. This was particularly appreciated given the national shortage of suitable solar glasses in the run-up to the eclipse.

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Our members were particularly pleased to help children experience the eclipse safely. The enthusiasm of our younger visitors was wonderful to see, and several CMHASD members excelled themselves in explaining what was happening in ways that made sense to inquisitive young minds — without requiring anyone to sit an astronomy examination beforehand!

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The weather behaved itself!  We were blessed with excellent observing weather, providing first-rate visual conditions throughout the event. The eclipse was clearly visible and the views through the solar telescopes were spectacular.

The only celestial object apparently determined to make its presence felt rather too enthusiastically was the Sun itself, with temperatures becoming distinctly warm!

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CMHASD therefore did what any responsible astronomical society should do: alongside telescopes, solar filters and astronomical expertise, we provided shade and natural comforts for visitors when required. After all, there is little point in observing the heavens if the observer has melted before reaching the eyepiece!

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Bringing astronomy to our local community.  CMHASD was particularly proud that this was the only officially organised public eclipse event serving the Boroughs of Bexley and Dartford.

The event demonstrated exactly why public outreach is such an important part of the Society's work. We were able to bring astronomy directly to our local community, provide safe access to specialist equipment, answer questions, encourage curiosity and, most importantly, allow people to experience a remarkable astronomical event for themselves.

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Meanwhile, several CMHASD members had travelled all the way to Spain to observe the total solar eclipse, experiencing the extraordinary spectacle of totality. Those of us remaining in Kent had to be content with a partial eclipse, although, judging by the expressions of our visitors, we weren't doing too badly!

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A tremendous team effort.  As Chairperson of CMHASD, I am immensely pleased with the success of the event. Seeing so many members of the public, and particularly children, becoming excited about astronomy and experiencing the eclipse for themselves made all the preparation and hard work thoroughly worthwhile.

I would like to give my sincere thanks to Sonia, Diane, Tina and our Society Secretary, Mike, together with the many other CMHASD members who helped organise, prepare and run the event. Their enthusiasm, knowledge, patience and willingness to help the public throughout the day were exceptional.

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I would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Sutton-at-Hone Parish Council for its support of the event.

The success of the day was a wonderful demonstration of what CMHASD can achieve when its members come together with a shared passion for astronomy and a desire to inspire others.

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If you want to know more about astronomy (day or night), then please do contact CMHASD, and we will do our best to answer your queries, maybe even inspire you to join us.

And perhaps the best measure of our success was not the number of telescopes, solar filters or pairs of eclipse spectacles we handed out, but the number of people who walked away saying, in one form or another:

“Wow!”

For an astronomical society, that's a pretty good day's work.

I would also like to say thank you to those members who shared their photos of the event too.  They really show the spirit of the day.

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CMHASD Public Outreach at Hall Place & Gardens - 2nd August 2026.

Post written by CMHASD Chairperson Gary Hunt.

WARNING: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY.  Read the page on Solar Safety before attempting any kind of viewing of the Sun!

''A Brilliant Day of Solar Outreach at Hall Place!  Our Solar Observing Public Outreach Event at Hall Place, Bexley, held alongside the popular Farmers' Market on Sunday 2nd August, proved to be another tremendous success for the Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society.
Despite a day of hot temperatures and variable cloud cover, we welcomed well over 150 visitors between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, all eager to experience our nearest star in a way that few people ever have.

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The passing clouds certainly tested everyone's patience at times! Just as visitors reached the eyepiece, the Sun would occasionally decide to hide behind a convenient cloud, leading to a few moments of anticipation (and the occasional collective sigh!). Fortunately, perseverance paid off, and when the skies cleared the reward was spectacular.

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Image of the Sun taken by Dr Mike Rushton using a Dwarf3 smart scope.  The Sun was active with a plenty of sun spots!

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Those observing through our Hydrogen Alpha telescopes were treated to magnificent views of the Sun, including impressive sunspots and beautiful solar prominences dancing around the solar limb. The reactions from visitors were priceless, with countless expressions of amazement and wonder. Even a number of our own members experienced their first views through a Hydrogen Alpha telescope and were genuinely "wowed" by the incredible detail on display.

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Events such as these are only possible because of the dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers. It was undoubtedly an exhausting day, but one that demonstrated the Society at its very best.
A huge thank you goes to every member of the CMHASD team who gave up their Sunday to inspire the public and share their knowledge and passion for astronomy.

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Special recognition must go to:
Dr Mike Rushton for organising the event.
Steve Floodgate and Dave Grist for taking on the transport, setup and all the inevitable heavy lifting.
And, of course, to every volunteer who welcomed visitors, answered questions, operated telescopes and helped create such a friendly and memorable experience.
Each person played an important role, and together they showcased exactly what makes CMHASD such a wonderful society. As Chair, I could not have been prouder of our Outreach Team and everything they achieved.

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Our solar observing season isn't over yet!
Our next opportunity to observe the Sun will be the Partial Solar Eclipse on Wednesday 12th August at the CMHASD Observatory, followed by our final Hall Place Solar Observing Event of the season on Sunday 23rd August.
As always, everything depends on one small detail...
The British weather!
We hope to see many of you there.''

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Image of our Sun taken by Dan Stevens using a Seestar S30 smartscope.

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The Society would like to thank Diane Clarke, John Archer, Mike Rushton and Dan Stevens for sharing their photos.

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CMHASD Secretary Dr. Mike Rushton wrote ''On Wednesday 28th January 11 members of the Society were involved in our annual outreach visit to Wentworth School. 73 children from Year 5 were split into four groups who rotated through four preplanned tasks.

One involved a short talk on general astronomical topics with some visual aids. The second was a short slide show of images taken in the main by our members. The third in the gym involved everyone running around in circles to demonstrate the movements of all the planets in the solar system. The fourth was observing. We were lucky that in a week of bad weather we had a clear night. With six telescopes (2 reflectors, 2 refractors and 2 smart scopes) everyone saw the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, the Orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy. All of this was well received and fun for us, the teachers and the children.''

Below is an article about our visit to Wentworth School in their newsletter.

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This is the final image of the Orion Nebula the children saw developing on a Dwarf3 smartscope by Dr. Mike Rushton.  It is made up of a total of 196 images, each 15 seconds long in exposure.

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This is the final image of the Andromeda Galaxy the children saw developing on a Seestar S50 smartscope by member Diane Clark.

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Below is a wonderful card made by the pupils in appreciation of our visit last week.

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CMHASD Chairman Gary Hunt wrote; “CMHASD was honoured and delighted to deliver the Hall Place Stargazing Event on Wednesday 26th November 2025, to the people of Bexley and beyond!

The event was sold out months in advance, and its popularity seems to grow each successive event! The aim of our outreach, is to share the beauty of the night sky, explain just what we see, and hopefully spark further interest and desire to explore more about the subject. Sadly the weather on Wednesday night meant we could not use our telescopes to observe the wonderful night skies, however, we exhibited a range of telescopes and equipment. CMHASD members gave up their personal time to answer questions about astronomy. Other members, gave presentations on what telescope to get, the night sky, and even made a comet! The visitors all expressed their appreciation, some had said they had been before and wanted to return! A great evening and very worthwhile!”

Below are a selection of photos taken of the evening.

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Last night, Wed 8th February, a group of us returned to Wentworth Primary School, not far from Crayford, to educate and entertain the pupils. There were telescopes on display, activities in the gym & hall as well as a presentation on the night sky and member Aurora images. The teaching staff were delighted with how things went, and hoped we will return next year, (perhaps with clear skies).

CMHASD member George Buckberry who attended the event wrote ''It was a very good event, my first at a school. The children were of a similar age to a couple of my great grandchildren with similar energy and enthusiasm and interest. I took some books and pictures and a stellarscope that they liked a lot. My set up was a camera on a tripod with an intervalometer attached. It was viewing the Jupiter model and many of my visitors took a photo of it, a little bit of hands on, and delighted in the image they took on the screen. Horrible night to be out but it was well worth doing. Great fun.''

CMHASD chairman John Archer wrote ''I want to thank those who braved the sleet, and gave up their evening to share their interest and knowledge of astronomy with the younger generation – It’s entirely possible that the next generation of space explorers or alien life discoverers were with us last night – stranger things have happened!''

There are no photos of the event due to safeguarding.

On Wednesday, January 8th, members of the Society visited Wentworth Junior School in Crayford for an evening of stargazing. Unfortunately, poor weather prevented outdoor stargazing, so the event moved indoors. Despite this, the pupils remained enthusiastic, engaging with the activities and asking questions about telescopes, meteors, the phases of the Moon, and the solar system. The pupils were also fascinated by images of recent auroral activity. Overall, it was a rewarding and enjoyable evening for everyone involved.

Wentworth School wrote in their newsletter ''Our year 5 children welcomed the Crayford Astronomy group to school. They came armed with different telescopes and a mountain of knowledge! This happened to fall on the day that snow was predicted. With snow comes clouds and limited visuals and therefore a tweak to the proceedings. The children experimented by looking at a model of Jupiter, and saw a variety of pictures of the sun, moons and planets that had been taken throughout the South East of England. They also learnt about the orientation, facts and amount of moons and other features you find in space. We even discovered that there was an asteroid named Wentworth! This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening arranged by the astronomy group and we are extremely grateful that they could share their expertise!''

CMHASD Chairman John Archer wrote ''Last night (Wed’s 8^th) a group of us returned to Wentworth Primary School, not far from Crayford, to educate and entertain the pupils. There were telescopes on display, activities in the gym & hall as well as a presentation on the night sky and member Aurora images. The teaching staff were delighted with how things went, and hoped we will return next year, (perhaps with clear skies).

I wanted to thank those who braved the sleet, and gave up their evening to share their interest and knowledge of astronomy with the younger generation – It’s entirely possible that the next generation of space explorers or alien life discoverers were with us last night – stranger things have happened!''

Below is a wonderful card made by the pupils in appreciation of our visit last week despite the horrible weather.

On Wednesday 13th November 2024, CMHASD were back at Hall Place & Gardens to hold a star gazing event from 7pm to 9pm.  We had brilliant support from our members who bought along a variety of telescopes, cameras, meteorites and other displays for our guests.

CMHASD Chairman John Archer wrote ''Firstly I wanted to extend my gratitude to everyone who supported our Stargazing event last week. We were extremely lucky that it was dry and mostly clear, albeit with a bit of high level haze, but nothing to prevent observations. We had a wide range of scopes for the public to try for size. Everything from smart scopes, to refractors and a couple of the Society Dob’s. The evening was a sell-out and everyone went away happy. Pretty much everyone had a chance to observe Jupiter (and her moons), Saturn and the Moon, which was eye-wateringly bright of course. The evening went very smoothly, a couple of talks, a smashing comet-making demo (thank you Debra) and lots and lots of Stargazing which seems to be the one thing the visitors were so looking forward to. For everyone who helped – thank you so much. We go again in 2025!''

Our next Star Gazing at Hall Place event is on the 5th February 2025.

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On Friday 27th September 2024 several CMHASD members helped out at Shears Green Junior School Cosmic Camp. 

Chairman John Archer wrote ''First of all I really want to thank all of the team who supported our evening of outreach last Friday 27th.  Once again we attended Cosmic Camp at Shears Green Junior School and were greeted by an enthusiastic audience, most of whom managed to observe Saturn, as well as a number of deep sky objects. There were indoor activities run by Rita and Debra, and the pupils were treated to our slideshow of members’ aurora images. Outside there were a range of scopes – Dob’s, a refractor and also Smartscopes, ably demonstrated by our hardy team including Steve, Dave, Andy, Diane, Mike, Jim & co – thank you all so much for giving up your time and getting involved – it was a wonderful and eventually clear night''.

Below are 2 of the images taken by members whilst at the school that the children saw.

M31 by Dr Mike Rushton using a Dwarf II smartscope with no processing.  Stacked image of 200 x 10s exposures at gain 80.

M31 is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It is also known as The Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31 and NGC 224. The galaxy is approximately 765 kpc (2.5 million light-years) from Earth. The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy.

M27 by Diane Clarke (with the help of Jim Burchell) taken using a Seestar S50. Stacked image of 224 x 10s exposures. Processed using Affinity Photo.