G’day. My name is Jack , and I run Footpath Astronomy (see 16 Oct post) with my partner Vicki. The photo is of our 9-year-old neighbour Sophie.

Footpath Astronomy is about:
• Sharing our equipment - not many people have access to a telescope
• Sharing knowledge - using my 30 years’ experience in astronomy to answer questions as honestly and accurately as possible
• Getting more people to put their heads above the clouds

Each month I will be writing an update for Slow, to give you an idea of what’s visible through our telescope. Over the summer months we’ll be showing star clusters, nebulae and white dwarf stars. What on earth do these things mean? Well, first of all they’re not on Earth, they’re out in space, and, secondly, you’ll have to watch this space, or just come down to have a chat about it with us.

So what’s going in November? Venus is visible throughout November. As it swings around the sun and moves towards us, its ‘night-side’ turns to face us, so it appears larger and shines a brilliant white.

Jupiter is slowly heading towards the western horizon, and will be lost to the glare of twilight by mid- to late December. So get in quick if you want to see the bands of Jupiter’s atmosphere, and the Dance of the Four Galilean Moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter), visible on the 19th, 21st, 26th and 28th. Another great sight to see is The Great Red Spot, visible on the 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, 27th and 29th.

We run Footpath Astronomy in a fun and friendly environment; I want to make your visit as enjoyable as possible. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon. We promise you a sight to remember.