A week of free, online astronomy events 25-31 January

Everyone is invited to explore the universe through the first-ever Virtual Pompey Stargazing which offers a range of exciting, interactive events from 25 to 31 January.

Pompey Stargazing Live is usually held at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, but this year events will be held online which will allow more people to get involved with the action. Run by the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG), the events are free and tickets for each of the events are available on Eventbrite.

There is a variety of interactive sessions for the whole family including public talks on gravitational waves and the early universe, one-to-one sessions for visually impaired people with the Tactile Universe project, as well as child-friendly interactive sessions on galaxies, light, planets, and the blackholes.

The Virtual Pompey Stargazing allows children to add to their lockdown home schooling with an exciting, educational, exploration of our universe.

An audio guide to the night sky will also be available to download for free. Members of the ICG will then be live on Facebook to discuss the stars people may have seen and answer any questions, each evening from 8pm.

Event organiser, Dr. Jennifer Gupta, hopes the event will provide people with some much-needed escapism: "With everything that's happened over the last 10 to 11 months, being able to go outside and look up at the stars has been so good for my mental well-being, and I'd love for others to experience that."

For more information, visit the Virtual Pompey Stargazing 2021 page on the University of Portsmouth website.

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