Come to the gazebo on The Common to meet new friends, share stories & a drink or two.

Back by popular demand is Astrocamp’s Limerick Competition - limber up linguists, it’s never just astronomy at this camp! Pick up a form at the Meet & Greet and dazzle us with your rhyming skills. Theme announced at camp – prizes (announced Monday) for the funniest, cleverest, or even the most thought provoking.

Equipment: None (own telescope/binoculars optional)
Location: The Common, Bob the Dob

You may have heard of the Messier Marathon, a challenge to hunt down all 110 of Charles Messier’s objects in a single observing session. Well, brace yourselves … for the Cwmdu Marathon! This is our traditional Live Sky Tour with a difference, as we have crafted our own tour of the night sky to highlight the best views from camp! Join expert science communicator and highly skilled practical astronomer Paul Hill on the Common, where he’ll give you an overview of our latest observing challenge, and kickstart your race! How many will you tick off? The Cwmdu Marathon object list is included in the Welcome Pack.

Time: 1 hr
Equipment: Chair
Location: The Common, HQ gazebo

NASA’s InSight lander was active on Mars from November 2018 to December 2022 – a total of 1446 sols (Martian days). InSight carried a suite of geophysical instruments designed to help us understand the interior structure of the red planet. The primary instrument was a seismometer – the first seismometer to be deployed to the surface of Mars – and my job was to analyse the seismic data, to find Marsquakes (like earthquakes but on Mars), and to figure out what was causing them. I’ll take you through the highs and lows of working on an active NASA mission, the real meaning of “remote working”, and show you some of the amazing results from the mission.

Time: 1 hour
Equipment: Paper, pen, chair
Location: The Common, HQ gazebo

The legendary Astrocamp Quiz! 

Time: 1 hour
Equipment: Chair
Location: The Common, HQ gazebo

Do you have a burning question about astronomy or space exploration that you’ve always want answered, but never known who to ask? In this one-hour Live Podcast Special, we’ll be answering all your spacey questions, even throwing in a debate or two!

You may have heard of the Messier Marathon, a challenge to hunt down all 110 of Charles Messier’s objects in a single observing session. Well, brace yourselves … for the Cwmdu Marathon! This is our traditional Live Sky Tour with a difference, as we have crafted our own tour of the night sky to highlight the best views from camp! Join expert science communicator and highly skilled practical astronomer Paul Hill on the Common, where he’ll give you an overview of our latest observing challenge, and kickstart your race! How many will you tick off? The Cwmdu Marathon object list is included in the Welcome Pack.

Back by popular demand is Afternoon Tea on the Common (we are a terribly civilized bunch, don’t you know). Bring your left-over snacks, grab a brew, and share your favourite moments from Camp. We’ll also regale you with the best limericks, and give out prizes. Afternoon tea will continue throughout the day’s talks. Home-baking encouraged!