Flamsteed Astronomy Society

29/08/2026

Another successful Flamsteed solar viewing season came to an end at the Royal Observatory Greenwich on Friday 28 August.

Despite a decidedly unpromising forecast the day before, the FAS weather team got it right and we found the clear-ish window we needed. Around 250 visitors joined us for a relaxed final session, with hydrogen-alpha telescopes, a Sunspotter, smart telescope and spectroheliograph all in use.

It was a fitting end to a record-breaking 2026 season, which saw around 6,100 visitors join our solar observing events.

Many thanks to Richard Summerfield for a very entertaining report on the day - including the mysterious “FAS signal”, Formula 1 pit crews and the joys of trusting the weather forecast!

Read Richard’s full report here:

Since this is the last solar viewing event of the season, I thought I’d give you an idea of how these events are run, so here is my personal interpretation of that aim.The morning before the planned event, the FAS signal goes up, to either confirm the event is on or it is postponed, not how Gotham...

28/08/2026

The 2026 Flamsteed solar viewing season came to an end at the Royal Observatory Greenwich today - and thankfully the weather gave us one final opportunity!

Despite a rather uncertain forecast, we found the clear-ish window we were hoping for and managed another successful morning of solar observing before the weather began to turn.

It brings to a close a remarkable season. We successfully ran 12 of our 14 planned public events, plus all three RMG Members’ sessions. Across the summer, we estimate that around 6,100 people joined us for solar observing - a new record.

We also had a record 44 different Flamsteed volunteers helping during the season, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Today was particularly significant as it was our final public solar viewing session on the Royal Observatory site until 2028.

A huge thank you to everyone who has visited us this summer, to our friends and colleagues at the Royal Observatory, and especially to all our volunteers.

A few photos from today’s final session.

27/08/2026

Another successful public solar viewing session at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, with around 400 visitors joining us on Saturday 22 August.

We had three hydrogen-alpha telescopes, a smart telescope, the Sunspotter and Tim’s Calcium K rig in use, giving visitors several different views of the Sun. A single sunspot on the solar disc proved particularly popular through the Sunspotter.

It was also a pleasure to welcome a visiting group from the Norman Lockyer Observatory and spend some time comparing notes on solar observing.

Huge thanks to all our volunteers for another excellent session.

Read the full report here:

Saturday 22 August turned out to be one of our busier solar observing sessions of the summer, with a steady stream of visitors keeping the whole team on their toes. From 10:00am to 3:40pm, around 400 people came up to the Royal Observatory Greenwich to take a safe look at our nearest star. There wer...

27/08/2026

Solar viewing confirmed ON - Friday 28 August

We are going ahead with our final public solar viewing session of the 2026 season at the Royal Observatory Greenwich tomorrow.

The forecast is still a little uncertain, but we are hopeful of a useful observing window during the morning, with a mixture of clearer spells and broken cloud.

The session starts from around 11am in the Dolphin Sundial area, just inside the main entrance.

This will also be our last solar viewing session on the Royal Observatory site until 2028, so we’re hoping the weather gives us one final opportunity.

Full details here:

https://www.flamsteed.info/event-details/confirmed-on-public-solar-viewing-session-at-the-royal-observatory-greenwich-friday-28-august-2026-08-28-11-00

Please note that normal admission charges apply to enter the Royal Observatory.

THIS EVENT IS CONFIRMED ON FOR FRIDAY 28 AUGUST We are running a public solar viewing event at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. All members and non members are welcome. Please note, these events are held inside the Royal Observatory Greenwich, so normal entrance charges apply.

22/08/2026

Another good day of public solar viewing at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, with around 400 visitors joining us over the course of the session.

We had a wide range of equipment in use, including three hydrogen-alpha telescopes, Tim’s Calcium K rig and the museum Sunspotter, giving visitors several different views of the Sun.

There was a little more cloud around early on than expected, but conditions improved as the day went on and we managed almost a full session before finally packing up at around 3.40pm.

It was also lovely to welcome a visiting group from the Norman Lockyer Observatory and spend some time chatting with them during the day.

Huge thanks to all our volunteers for another excellent session.

Photos include Tim’s Calcium K image and Alec’s hydrogen-alpha image from the day.

21/08/2026

Solar viewing confirmed ON - Saturday 22 August

We are going ahead with public solar viewing at the Royal Observatory Greenwich tomorrow.

The session starts at 11am in the Dolphin Sundial area, just inside the main entrance.

There may be some cloud around during the afternoon, but conditions look good enough for us to go ahead.

Full details here:
https://www.flamsteed.info/event-details/confirmed-on-public-solar-viewing-session-at-the-royal-observatory-greenwich-saturday-22-august-2026-08-22-11-00

Please note that normal admission charges apply to enter the Royal Observatory.

THIS EVENT IS CONFIRMED ON FOR SATURDAY 22 AUGUST. We are running a public solar viewing event at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. All members and non members are welcome. Please note, these events are held inside the Royal Observatory Greenwich, so normal entrance charges apply.

14/08/2026

Hairbrushes, Colanders and a 91% Eclipse

What a day.

Our partial solar eclipse event at the Royal Observatory Greenwich brought together 23 Flamsteed volunteers, five specialist solar telescopes, multiple smart telescopes, three Sunspotters, hundreds of pairs of solar glasses... and rather a lot of kitchen colanders.

At least 1,500 people joined us during the evening, with the Observatory packed as the eclipse approached maximum at 7.13pm. As 91% of the Sun was obscured, the light took on a strange quality, birdsong seemed to increase around us, and crescent Suns appeared through colanders, pinhole projectors and gaps between the trees.

There was also plenty of media attention throughout a very long day, including BBC Breakfast, BBC News, ITV, Times Radio and NBC - along with one now-infamous hairbrush demonstration!

Huge thanks to all our volunteers and to everyone at the Royal Observatory who helped make the event such a success.

Full report and lots of photographs here:

This was the big one.We had known for a long time that the partial solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 August was going to be the major event of our solar observing season. What we perhaps hadn't anticipated was quite how big it would become.There had been plenty to worry about beforehand. Would the weath...

13/08/2026

What a day!

Yesterday’s partial solar eclipse event at the Royal Observatory Greenwich was a fantastic success, with at least 1,500 people joining us over the course of the evening.

It was a long one for Mike and Bobby, who were on site early for BBC Breakfast, appearing across several bulletins over nearly four hours. There was further coverage during the day on ITV, Times Radio and NBC in the US, before Bobby was interviewed by Sophie Raworth for the BBC Six O’Clock News.

All the media activity aside, the main event was the eclipse itself. We had 23 Flamsteed volunteers, five specialist solar telescopes, several smart telescopes, three Sunspotters, kitchen colanders galore and hundreds of pairs of solar viewing glasses.

And the eclipse did not disappoint.

Around ten minutes before maximum, when 91% of the Sun was obscured, the light levels noticeably dropped. Birdsong suddenly seemed to be all around us, the daylight took on a strange quality, and crescent Suns appeared through the holes in colanders and in the shadows beneath the trees.

It was quite a sight.

The eclipse finally ended just after 8pm, bringing a brilliant day to a close.

We’ll have a full report tomorrow, but for now, here are a few photographs from the day.

11/08/2026

A relentless but hugely rewarding day of public solar viewing at the Royal Observatory Greenwich saw around 700 visitors join us on Saturday.

Queues formed almost as soon as the gates opened and barely eased for the next six hours. With very few sunspots visible, the hydrogen-alpha telescopes provided the main highlights, including plenty of surface detail and a huge prominence, while the Calcium K rig and Sunspotter offered very different views of the Sun.

Huge thanks to all our volunteers, and to Manish Patel for the report.

Read the full report here:

Saturday turned into one of the busiest days we've had. Hugely rewarding, but absolutely relentless from the moment the gates opened.We were on site early, which turned out to be a very good idea. There was a queue almost the instant the Observatory opened at 10am, and from that point it barely let....

08/08/2026

A very busy day of public solar viewing at the Royal Observatory Greenwich today, with around 700 visitors joining us over the course of the session.

Queues formed almost as soon as the Observatory opened and barely stopped for the next six hours. With the partial solar eclipse now only a few days away, there was certainly plenty of interest in the Sun!

There were no sunspots to see today, so the Sunspotter had rather less to do than usual. Hydrogen-alpha was much more rewarding, with a huge prominence and plenty of surface detail, while Tim’s Calcium K rig gave another very different view of the Sun.

Conditions stayed sunny, although some high haze affected the views at times, particularly in Calcium K. Temperatures reached around 27-28°C, so it was a demanding day for our volunteers.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped today - a fantastic effort by all.