Observatory Tour & Solar Viewing

Solar Viewing: ( weather permitting)

Learn the physics of what is actually happening in the Sun, what causes spots and flares, why it is increasing in brightness and what it's eventual fate is. Our resident Astrophysicist, Stuart, will be your guide and he will explain it all in an easy and less complex way. When viewing the Sun you will also hopefully see sun spots and flares and filaments.

The Sun is the closest and the brightest star in our sky and it is a rewarding observing target. Depending on the method and the instrument used - it can reveal beautiful features such as sunspots, granulation, corona (during full solar eclipses), prominence's and filaments (observable with a higher end instruments).

However being extremely bright, 400000 times brighter than the full Moon, the Sun poses a significant risk to our sight if observed improperly. Normally we can't look at the Sun for more than a few seconds since our eyes are forced to close to protect themselves. However using improvised and improper filters can reduce the visible glare while letting enough harmful IR radiation through. 

The GDC Observatory have a purpose built Telescope to view the Sun safely so you can experience the amazing images through the filters.

Daytime admission to the Gravity Discovery Centre is included in this ticket.

Access to other scheduled daytime activities is also included in this ticket on the day of your booking (eg. Pendulum tours)