Get Social with Mission Astro

We have only a few tickets left for our Awesome Aurora Painting & Astronomy Experience ⭐️ We are very proud to be partnering with @zenstrokesbyfarrah for this unique event! 🔭🎨🖌️ 🗓️ 16th November 🏠 Holly Blue, Basingstoke ⏰ 10:30am - 12:30pm Take a moment to pause and ponder one of the most beautiful sights on Earth; Aurora! A chance to learn what causes these spectacular light shows and the reasons behind their vivid colours and learn to paint them! Dr Sarah Crick will be there for the whole workshop so you will have a chance to ask your space questions and have them answered while you paint! For more details and to book please send us a message ✉️ #missionastro #auroraborealis #paintingworkshop #acrylicpainting #basingstoke #hampshire #whatsoninhampshire #spaceart #astronomylover

Check this out! 🧱 🔭 In honour of our first stargazing event on Friday 15th November, Harry and Holly built the Lego Friends Stargazing Adventure! A big thumbs up from our Mini Mission Astro crew 👍 It’s still not too late to book your ticket for our stargazing event with @missionastro_ and @novastargazinguk later this week! Join us in Hartley Wintney for an out of this world evening ❤️ Visit missionastro.org ✨ #spacefans #spacelego #legofriends #astronomylovers #legotimelapse #legofun #stargazing #stargazingadventures #stargazingnight #stemeducation #lego #legofan #missionastro

Gaze back in time with us! ✨ When we look up at the stars in the night sky, we are looking back in time. The light entering our eyes from these distant objects set off years, decades or millennia earlier. Take the Pleiades for example, it has to be the most famous star cluster in the whole sky. A tight group of more than a thousand stars, M45, or the Seven Sisters, is a stunning sight in binoculars and telescopes alike and is the closest Messier object to Earth. At 440 lightyears away, the sparkling Pleiadean starlight we see on frosty autumn and winter evenings set off on its journey across space 440 years ago, when Elizabeth I was on the English throne! Stargaze in Hampshire or Warwickshire with cake and hot chocolate while enjoying astronomy talks from our super friendly experts. You are sure to be wowed (even if the weather is cloudy!) by @missionastro_ and @novastargazinguk ⁠ Book your Stargazing Event: ⁠missionastro.org/astronomy-events/ ✨️⁠ #stargazing #astronomy #uknightsky #astronomylovers #hampshire #warwickshire #hartleywintney #fleethampshire #odiham #yateley #basingstoke #whatsoninhampshire #missionastro #novastargazing Quote: Professor Brian Cox.

What to see in the November night sky 🔭⁠ ⁠ 🔭 4th: Venus lies near waxing crescent Moon ⁠ 🔭 15th: Full Moon⁠ 🔭 17th: Jupiter in conjunction with the Moon⁠ 🔭 18th: Peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower (AM)⁠ 🔭 20th: Mars in conjunction with the Moon⁠ ⁠ The clocks have gone back, which means more time for stargazing before bed! We are obviously delighted by this at Mission Astro! November is quite a lunar-orientated month, with plenty to admire in the UK night sky...⁠ ⁠ Leonid meteor shower ☄⁠ In 2024, the Leonid meteor shower will be active from 6-30 November and peak on 18 November. The Leonid meteor shower is associated with the Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The radiant (the point where the meteors seem to stream from) is at the head of the constellation Leo the Lion, hence the name.⁠ ⁠ Jupiter and Mars in conjunction with the Moon 🌙⁠ On 17th and 20th of November, Jupiter and Mars respectively will be making a close approach to the Moon. On 17th November, Jupiter will be about five fingers at arms length away from an almost completely full moon. Jupiter will become visible at about 6.30pm and will reach its highest point at about 1.20am. On 20th November, Mars will appear about two fingers at arms length away from a waning gibbous Moon.⁠ ⁠ HAPPY NOVEMBER STARGAZING! ✨⁠ ⁠ Did you know we are hosting a plethora of events showcasing the delights of the UK night sky for all? With activities to suit everyone, from tiny to tall!⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our 2024-2025 winter stargazing events:⁠ https://new.missionastro.org/astronomy-events/ 🔭⁠ ⁠ #whatsinthenightsky #nightsky #uknightsky #missionastro #justgoodscience #astronomy #astronomylovers #astronomyfacts #novembernightsky #stargazing #fullmoon #ilovespace #givemespace #scienceautumn #jupiter #mars #leonids #leonidmeteorshower⁠

4 TERRIFYING FACTS ABOUT SPACE THIS HALLOWEEN 🎃⁠ ⁠ 1. SOME STARS ARE VAMPIRES 🧛⁠ Did you know that some stars can artificially prolong youth by performing a vampiric kiss on other stars? Known as 'blue stragglers', these stars remain young, burn hotter and appear bluer than their more ancient red neighbours by sucking the hydrogen fuel away from them, much in the way that a vampire dispatches its victim! Muhahaha.⁠ ⁠ 2. STARS CAN COME BACK FROM THE DEAD 🧟⁠ Who thought zombification was limited to Earth-bound lifeforms demanding "braaaaaaains"? Well don't you feel silly? Type Ia supernovae are often referred to as zombie stars, for their ability to come back from death. When a star dies and becomes a white dwarf, it can (in the right circumstances) create a gargantuan supernova, which takes so much material from its binary companion star that it will be brought back to life.⁠ ⁠ 3. ONE SPACE ROCK COULD WIPE OUT MANKIND ☄️⁠ Debris is rife in space. While most is harmless to us back on Earth, terrifyingly it takes only a rock with a width of 0.6 miles to threaten our entire species' existence. Even smaller rocks of around 130ft across can cause our planet cataclysmic damage. Thankfully, scientists are able to watch the skies for potential threats headed our way and take necessary defensive measures.⁠ ⁠ 4. SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES ARE AS SCARY AS YOU THINK ⚫️⁠ Some uncomfortable facts about black holes: 1. You can't see a black hole directly. 2. There is a huge supermassive black hole lurking in our galaxy. 3. Stellar black holes, the most common type, happen when massive stars die and they are all over the Galaxy! 4. Going near a black hole would turn a human being into something resembling spaghetti. 🍝⁠ ⁠ HAPPY HALLOWEEN STARGAZING! 🔭⁠ Can you name any other scary space facts? Tell us in the comments⬇️! ⁠ ⁠ #halloween #happyhalloween #vampirestars #zombiestars #meteors #meteorites #asteroids #supermassiveblackholes #astrophysics #sciencefun #sciencefacts #physics #physicsteacher #astronomylovers #missionastro #astronomycourse #halloweenastronomy⁠

Let us take you on a journey through our local universe ✨ Our lovely, talented Social Media and Marketing manager, Sophie, has made this wonderful stop motion video of our mosaic collection. We have mosaics for make-at-home kits and ones for in-school workshops. The production of the space mosaic kits begins tomorrow; we are just a few short weeks out from releasing the collection (eeeekkk!) 🟧 We hope you feel inspired to pixelate space with us 🟦 So all you have to decide is; which mosaic is the at top of your wish list? ☄️🚀🛰️👩‍🚀🪐 #mosaic #mosaikit #missionastro #spaceart #spacecrafts #spacelovers #mosaicmission #scienceart #learningthroughart #arttherapy #ilovespace #astronomy #astronomylover #stemeducation

We won our first grant! We are utterly delighted to announce that we have been awarded an Education and Outreach Grant from the @royalastrosoc to visit schools in our local community with our project, ‘Planet Changing Pixels’! During the programme, we will support primary school teachers and students with their space learning. We will also be introducing our mega meteor mosaic workshop to around 1000 Yr 5 students!! It’s going to be epic! We can’t wait to get started! Special thanks to: My team mate, our Academic Manager, Dr Heather Campbell, for her hard work on the application ♥️ Teresa and Paul from @teresamillsmosaics.mosaikit for their support, faith and mosaic magic. You two are inspirational and I’ll be forever grateful for you for bringing my slightly bonkers mosaic visions to life! And lovely Leanne @leannelorainsstrategy my very patient and effective business strategist, without whom, most of the tasks I’ve completed in the last 4 months would still be on my to-do list unchecked 🤣🙈 Photo credit: @bertiesphotography ♥️ Clear skies all ✨ Sarah

What better way to celebrate reaching 1000 Mission Astro Instagram followers than with a space cake! 🚀⁠ ⁠ @missionastro_ and @barkerbrookscreative thank each and every one of you for supporting our vision to create an out of this world space education company that ignites, inspires and impacts all - from tiny to tall! ⁠ ⁠ Buckle up and continue to enjoy our space themed content: we’ve got so many exciting things launching soon! ⁠ Many thanks to Nikki at @theorganised.one and Mel at @dale_ightful_bakes for designing this masterpiece! We absolutely love the design and the Moon texture! It was (almost) too good to eat! ⁠ ⁠ Sarah, Sophie, Darren and Heather⁠ 👩‍🚀👩‍🚀👩‍🚀👨‍🚀⁠ ⁠ #spacelovers #missionastro #educationcompany #spaceducation #spacecake #spacethemedcake #astronautcake #buttercreamcakes #cakedesign #spaceart #stem #marketingagencylife #1000followers #socialmediamarketing

Can you see the connection between a boat, a drill, dust and a dinosaur? 🦕 In a speedy 37 seconds, Dr Sarah Crick explains the story of how scientists found and identified the Chicxulub crater in Mexico as the one associated with the extinction of the non-avian dinos. #chicxulub #sciencefacts #physics #geology #missionastro #astronomylover #astronomycourse #stem #meteors #sciencelover #physicsfun #physicsteacher #spacefacts #spacescience #womeninspace #dinosaurextinction

SpaceX is not the only company launching stuff this month! Here’s a sneak peek of our make-at-home STEAM kit products coming to market soon. Which is your favourite? Mosaics in collaboration with @teresamillsmosaics.mosaikit Painting in collaboration with @zenstrokesbyfarrah Glass fusing in collaboration with @theglassduck Product photography @bertiesphotography #astronomy #steamkit #stemkit

WHY MARS? 🚀 ⁠ In one of our latest blogs, Academic Manager, Dr Heather Campbell, explores why we want to go to Mars and what science goals lie ahead! ⁠ Mars is the next frontier for human space exploration, it holds exciting possibilities to discover if life has existed elsewhere in our solar system and about the history of this interesting planet.  ⁠ Discover more in Heather’s blog:⁠ ⁠ missionastro.org/blog 🔗⁠ ⁠ #missionastro #astronomycourse #onlineastronomycourse #astronomylovers #spaceblog #welovespace #mars #nasa ⁠#spaceexploration #spaceeducation

Anyone else feel privileged to be living in an era where science fiction is turning into science fact?! @spacex, what a day! To launch a booster and control it back down to precisely catch it … it’s the stuff of dreams ✨ can’t wait to see what the next few years bring! Clear Skies all, Sarah 🤗 image credit: nasaspaceflight.com

Did you go aurora hunting in the UK last night? It was spectacular! Sarah and Alice were in Hartley Wintney in Hampshire and Sophie was in Deal in Kent. They managed to get some brilliant photos! 🌈 The forecast looks promising again tonight (Friday) and we have beautiful clear skies! Please tag us in your photos if you take any and we will share them! 📷 We have our Awesome Aurora painting workshop with @zenstrokesbyfarrah coming soon! You will be able to paint your very own awesome Aurora and learn all about these magnificent light displays. Message us for more information on our next workshop… 🌈 ⭐️ 🎨 #aurora #auroraborealis #northernlights #solarstorm #missionastro #astronomylovers #uknightsky #nightsky #gostargazing #dealkent #hartleywintney #hampshire #kent #aurorauk

📷 NASA astronaut and photographer Matthew Dominick recently shared stunning photos of Hurricane Milton through the window of the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. 🌀This fantastic, yet scary image got us thinking about the use of satellites to predict weather events. NASA estimates the satellites have taken over 3 million images of Earth so far, providing stunning images of hurricanes and severe storms. They also help us to better see and understand our own planet, from forecasting the weather to monitoring Earth’s changing climate. With as much as 85% of your local weather forecast data coming from polar-orbiting satellites, their global observations are critical to both short-term and long-term forecasting. They also play a vital role in helping us to predict and prepare for severe weather events like hurricanes and blizzards. They are responsible for gathering global measurements of atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic conditions, including sea and land surface temperatures, vegetation, clouds, rainfall, snow and ice cover, fire locations and smoke plumes, atmospheric temperature, water vapor and ozone. ⭐️ So, satellites don’t just look out into the cosmos, they help us understand so much about our planet. 🌎 #hurricanemilton #weathersatellite #astronautphotography #missionastro #hurricanes #weatherscience #astronomylovers

GAZE BACK IN TIME WITH US! ✨️⁠ ⁠ We are showcasing the delights of the night sky with stargazing activities to suit all - from tiny to tall!⁠ ⁠ Stargaze in Hampshire or Warwickshire with cake and hot chocolate while enjoying astronomy talks from our super friendly experts. You are sure to be wowed (even if the weather is cloudy!) by @missionastro_ and @novastargazinguk ⁠ We are thrilled to announce that you can now book our Stargazing Events on our sparkly new website: ⁠ ⁠ missionastro.org/astronomy-events/ ✨️⁠ ⁠ We'd like to say a huge thank you to Darren @webxdesign.studio for all your hard work in bringing our Mission Astro vision to life with an out of this world website and booking system.⁠ ⁠ #spacelovers #stargazing #hampshireevents #hampshiredaysout #warwickshire #warwick #hartleywintney #uknightsky #nightskyevents #discoverthenight #astrophotography #protectthenight #milkywaychasers #missionastro #astronomycourse

Eddie the space dog here! 👩‍🚀🐾 As the Barketing Officer here at Mission Astro I like to test out the very latest cosmic dog toys! I give this astronaut from @petscorneruk and @greatandsmallpet 10/10! Excuse me while I blast off and do some rocket powered zoomies with my new astro buddy… 🚀 #missionastro #petscorner #greatandsmall #dogtoys #astronaut #cavalierkingcharlesspaniel #cavlife #spacedog #dogsinspace

What to see in the October night sky 🔭⁠ ⁠ 🔭 5th: Venus lies near waxing crescent Moon (pm)⁠ 🔭 14th: Saturn Near Waxing Gibbous Moon (pm) 🔭 17th: Perigee full Moon (Supermoon) 🔭 19th: Lunar occultation of the southern part of the Pleiades (pm) 🔭 21st: Peak of the Orionid Meteor Shower With the autumn equinox behind us, in October there’s more night than day for the first time since March, and it’ll stay that way until March next year. At Mission Astro we have been longing for the longer, darker nights, with October offering some spectacular highlights: Perigee full Moon (Supermoon) 🌝 The Moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical or oval-shaped orbit, which means that during its orbit it travels from its closest approach to us (perigee) to its furthest distance from us (apogee). A full Moon at perigee will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a full Moon at apogee. Orionid meteor shower ☄ The peak of this meteor shower is expected to be on October 21, towards midnight and into the early morning. The meteors come from Halley's Comet and can be seen for up to 10–20 per hour under a dark, moonless sky. The shower will remain active until mid-November. Lunar occultation of the Pleiades ⭐ Lunar occultation happens when the moon passes in front of another object in the sky, such as a star, planet, or asteroid. The Moon will appear to be clipping the edge of the Pleiades star cluster on the 19th, possibly one of the most beautiful and well observed open clusters in the night sky. HAPPY OCTOBER STARGAZING! ✨ missionastro.org⁠ #whatsinthenightsky #nightsky #uknightsky #missionastro #justgoodscience #astronomy #astronomylovers #astronomyfacts #octobernightsky #stargazing #fullmoon #ilovespace #givemespace #scienceautumn #lunareclipse #pleiades #hartleywintney

Laura from @springphysics asks Dr Sarah Crick a fascinating question about dark matter. ✨ Why is dark matter so hard to catch? Dark matter is the grand master of hide and seek… 👀 Watch the video to find out more exactly why! Do you have any space questions for us? Ask away in the comments below. We may even make a video answer for you in our feed! ✨ missionastro.org 🚀 #space #darkmatter #darkenergy #ouruniverse #spacelovers #physicsfun #astronomycourse #astronomyworkshop #astrophysics #missionastro

#ｓｕｎｄａｙｍｏｏｄ We think we will stay in bed 🙊✨ Don’t forget to take time for you today. To do your best you need to rest ❤️ Gorgeous notebook from @flyingtiger 📝 #missionastro #ukastronomy #astronomy #astronomylover #astronomyworkshop #astronomyart #sciencetutor #astrophysics #todoyourbestyouneedtorest #tutoringtips

Orbit 36 complete ✨ Hi, it’s Sarah! Birthdays are always a time to refocus 🌅 What a year it’s been for me (@drsarahcrick), @justgoodscience and @missionastro_! Thank you all for being part of it ☺️ especially my colleagues and students ✨ and of course to @dale_ightful_bakes for making my birthday space cupcakes 😋 Some hopes for my next orbit; 🍎 Good health 🦋 Chance to watch people flourish in their own unique ways and achieve their goals 🐹 Kindness 👷‍♀️ Opportunity to build @missionastro_ and complete fun projects with great people 🌌 Time to look up 🫧 Harmless scientific mischief 👗 Many space dresses 😜 What do you wish for on your next orbit? Do we share any wishes? #space #cake #astronomy #hartleywintney