Around Town
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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT
§ Bastille Taverne Market A chance to buy cool as a cucumber art, clothing, craft and food in time for that big special day that's happening at the end of the month. lt's a guaranteed Slade-free zone. Go to www.theseareideals.co.uk for details of how to get involved. Bastille Taveme, 62 Argyl/ Arcade, Glasgow, Sat 3 Dec.
* Sale of the Centuries: A Celebration of Shopping in Scotland An exhibition focusing on the experience of shopping in Scotland from the Middle Ages to the modern day. It's probably most fun right now though. National Library of Scotland, George IV Bn'dge, Edinburgh, Thu 8 Dec—Sun 12 Feb.
* Glimpses of Life in Letters to the Dead
Dr Angela McDonald looks at evidence preserved in letters written to recently deceased relatives, revealing what the Ancient Egyptians worried about. The rising price of papyrus probably. and the afterlife. Burre/l Collection, 2060 Po/Iokshaws Road, Glasgow, Sat 10 Dec.
* The Great Scottish Santa Run It’s a wonder Santa can run anywhere after all those mince pies, but nevertheless, run he does. Thousands of him. All to raise funds for the ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ charity. West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Sun 11 Dec.
What sOn
Stars in your eyes
Star-gazing and astrophysics aren’t just for left-sided brains, finds the decidedly unscientific Morag Bruce.
cotland is largely a wilderness. much to the
delight of the animals and humans who frolic
free in its midst. Also chuffed are those who study the stars (not to say that they don‘t enjoy a frolic). The lack of light pollution makes it one of the best places in the UK to observe the heavens. But fear not. wannabe (ialileos: you don't have to squint into the dark infinity while scratching your head and saying: ‘Look. there‘s Mars! No. hang on. it‘s a plane.‘ Help is at hand.
The Royal Observatory lidinburgh is an architectural beauty (apart from the suspect 60s extension) which came into being in the late l8()()s after Edinburgh‘s original star-studying spot on (Talton Hill was deemed no longer suitable due to the increase in light and atmospheric pollution. Get up on that hill to see why the site was chosen. Boy. can you observe: given the right conditions. you can see for miles in all directions. not just up.
The grand building houses three arms of activity. The UK Astronomy Technology (‘entre exists to design and manufacture the sort of equipment that makes astronomers around the world salivate at the thought of nebula-spotting power. On our visit. it was humbling to gaze down on this factory floor with white boards covered in maniacal red marker scrawlings and coffee drinking boffins doing incredibly intelligent things with large lumps of metal. Our guide. visitor centre manager Dan Hillier. managed to explain to us what they were building. Couldn‘t possibly tell though. it‘s far too complicated. Let‘s just say it was big. blue and very cold.
Walking along the corridor. there was an artist‘s impression of a telescope which could see further than anything currently in use. Without wishing to get bogged down in scientific terminology. it was called
‘()ver Whelmingly Large Telescope’. Not to be confused with the ‘Really Big Telescope’ or what Hillier referred to as ‘the Ri-‘B Telescope‘ already being used around the world.
The site also houses the Institute for Astronomy. which trains the astronomers of the future from lidinburgh University. Astrophysics. pah. easy-peasy (yes. super-patient Hillier managed to coax a few ‘aaaw. riiight‘s out of us and now we‘re experts).
Lastly. the Visitor (‘entre opens up the R()li‘s expertise to the public in the form of talks and observing evenings. You don‘t need fancy equipment to get involved. according to Hillier. ‘We tend to do quite a lot of naked—eye observing because that‘s what people will generally do by themselves. You find once you get a little bit of help. it gets easy to spot the main constellations and planets.~ he says. ‘l’eople have a fascination with the stars and you tend to lind that astronomers are really into telling people about it. more so than many other fields. Labs and white coats tend to be a bit intimidating.‘ Which is certainly to be believed from the centre‘s programme of talks. where you can learn about everything from early astronomy to what the heck the Aurora Borealis is.
The R()li also houses a gem. Safely ensconced behind a seriously (‘hubbed door is the l5.()()() item- strong (‘rawford Collection. II is. ahem. of astronomical importance. In its midst is (‘opernicus' 16th century Dc Re\‘n/lltiuni/ms‘. the book which challenged the claim that the sun orbited the liarth. (‘razy Next they‘ll be telling us the lfiarth is round.
For more information about the Royal Observatory go to www.roe.ac.uk. Join the observing groups every Friday evening. There are winter talks on 5 and 12 December. See listings for details.
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