Tag: Astronomy

Filmings and Finales

So much to catch up on this blog, where to to begin, probably where I left off, week of 18th Sept.

When I didn’t think there could be more variety, lo and behold, there it was. After starting off the week continuing some policy work on the EU and some more video project work, I helped supervise a teacher training event the RAS was holding as part of ESERO’s “Misson X” programme. Learning about the Education & Outreach side to the society was really interesting.

I also attended a filming for a new episode of Objectivity, a youtube series focussed on antique objects, whilst also doing some behind the scenes research for it.

Also in my last week, I started rounding up some of the longer projects I had been working on.

  • Monday was recording the videocast project I had been working on for the library and also editing the video.
  • Tuesday I handed off the EU policy work that I had been working on the entire time, (which apparently might be handed around the organisation as an information booklet)
  • Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ve had the Prince’s Trust here performing a filming project, which I have been assisting in multiple ways such a
    • Researching various instruments such as Sutton Quadrants and Nocturnals to able to explain how they operated
    • Being interviewed on physics and astronomy, answering questions given by the public on what it would be like to visit various bodies

Round-up :

I’ve massively enjoyed working at the Royal Astronomical Society and would recommend working there or just visiting generally. A huge thanks to everyone there for hosting my placement.

Don’t forget: SPACE IS AWESOME

Richard Out!

Open House and Meetings Galore

Been another hectic week of mixed activities at the RAS. Start off by continuing on with my EU project work , apparently leaving a multinational organistion is  quite confusing. Started reaching some conclusions on that front with the UK’s relation with the EU. On the rest of the policy front, I started and finished drafting the targeted MP letters for the RAS, and then was given the task of compiling a list of MPs with relevant interest.

Doing a little research work for the library, I helped catalogue some books to move to the reserve collection. Who knew that there used to be dictionaries of famous people, which contained their families and addresses?

At the end of the week I started a research task trying to find who had gifted an 18th century Arabic celestial globe to the RAS, which involved sifting through old records the society maintains.

I also attended a couple meetings with the acting executive director over a PhD careers event in Manchester and the working comms group of the UKSA which gave me some good insight about the external work it does with government organisations and companies. It covered events such as new scientist live and press work for the Cassini Grand Finale. (RIP Cassini ! )

On Saturday, I helped the RAS with their Open House event, as part of the Open House London Weekend. This involved showing people the library, which was used to display the archives, and answering the public’s questions on astronomy, which got quite technical, with questions like “Where is the centre of the universe”?

(Pretty picture on the right shows some cool things, the big picture showing Cassini’s map of the moon. On the left there is a “log” from the “tree” where the “apple” “fell on “Newton’s” head.)