The Aurora : The fire in the sky.

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 29th July 2021 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Virtual Meeting

The Aurora: The Fire in the sky

With an increased interest in Auroral displays over recent years this lecture will outlines the causes of this amazing and enigmatic phenomenon, and where and when it can be seen.

Speaker: Howard Parkin

Howard L.G. Parkin BSc. BEd. FRAS.

Inspired by the space race in the 1960s, Howard has been an enthusiastic astronomer since a child and has become an accomplished and entertaining speaker on the subject throughout the world. Born 18/8/53, he holds a Teachers Certificate, an Open University BSc in astronomy and Earth sciences and the Executive Certificate of Management. Howard has been teaching Astronomy to adult education classes since 1985. He is a founder member, former Chairman (from 2004 to 2014) and is currently the Vice-Chairman and Press Officer of the IOM Astronomical Society. He is a member of the British Astronomical Association, the Society for Popular astronomy, the Society of Satellite Professionals International and the Astro Space Stamp Society. In July 2013, in recognition of his work in education and outreach, Howard was elected as a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and in 2019 was awarded an honorary BEd degree by Chester University.

Until December 2012 Howard was employed as a Civil Servant in the IOM Government, at Manx National Heritage, with responsibility for maintaining the public interface at the heritage sites throughout the Island. His interest in Astronomy eventually became part of his duties, and since retiring in 2012, he delivers regular talks to IOM Schools and gives public lectures on various aspects of the subject at the Manx Museum and other locations throughout the Island. In recent years Howard has assisted with the design of some special astronomically themed commemorative stamps for IOM Post, which have been marketed throughout the world. In 2009 Howard hosted a unique and special event when Manx National Heritage held a live link with the International Space Station speaking with US astronaut Nicole Stott.

In 2013, Howard established an astronomy consultancy and promotions company AstroManx, and through his work, he obtained Dark skies discovery status for the Isle of Man, initially for seven sites in 2011, and subsequently nineteen further sites in 2014. Formally leading to the Island is recognised as one of the best places to stargaze in the British Isles.

For many years Howard has been giving talks and lectures on the subject in the Isle of Man, throughout the UK and abroad, and on many cruise ships throughout the world including in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, The Caribbean, Mediterranean, The Middle and the Far East, and Norway. In December 2013, Howard appeared on the BBC Songs of Praise programme talking about the Star of Bethlehem, and he appeared again on BBC North West in February 2017 talking about the Isle of Man’s unique dark skies. He features regularly local TV news programmes and also undertakes a monthly astronomy programme on Manx Radio, the Isle of Man’s national broadcaster. Howard writes for local magazines and newspaper and also hosts regular stargazing trips on the Island including trips to the summit of Snaefell on the Isle of Man, for the IOMAS and IOM railways “Pie in the Sky” events. His multi-media presentations are constantly updated and include all aspects of astronomy and astronautical history and include video and audio clips to illustrate important dates or concepts.

At home Howard regularly undertakes outreach events and is a regular visitor to the Islands schools talking about the subject. In 2019 his work indirectly led an IOM School winning an International Astronomical Union competition to name an Ex-Solar planet and its parent star

In 2018 following discussions with Mr Ralph De Klijn, a Director of Viking Ocean Cruises, Howard was invited by Viking Ocean cruises to become the first Viking resident astronomer on their cruise ships Viking Orion and Viking Jupiter. These ships each have onboard digital 3D Digistar 6 planetarium, and at Vikings request, in May 2018 Howard attended the offices of Evans and Sutherland in Salt Lake City, USA to undertake intensive training on the operation of the facilities. Howard's role with Viking also included writing and delivering two iconic lectures on astronomy and the work of NASA. The VRA role also includes producing and delivering astronomy programmes on board and conducting stargazing sessions on board. Howard has also on behalf of Viking Cruises been commissioned to write a series of onboard lectures for presentation in the Explorers Dome on the two ships which are used to show guests onboard the features of the night sky from the ship’s location on a seasonal basis. In September 2020 Howard was a guest presenter on Viking TV lecturing about the Hubble Space Telescope

In recent months, the use of Zoom and other social media platforms have enabled Howard to be able to offer lectures on-line, and he has successfully undertaken several on-line lectures for various educational institutions clubs and organisations and 

For further information please contact;

Howard L.G. Parkin BSc. Bed. FRAS

AstroManx

21 Wentworth Close

Onchan

Isle of Man IM3 2JT

British Isles

E-mail: howardparkin@manx.net

Telephone 0044 624 625755 (h) 0044 7624 432086 (m)