Fantastic planets and how to find them - York Festival of Ideas (FREE)
Sunday 7th June 2026 from 19:30pm to 20:30pm
Ron Cooke Hub - University of York
Deramore Lane, York, North Yorkshire, YO10 5GE, Yorkshire and The Humber
Imagine basking in the warmth of three suns in the sky, or exploring lush crimson jungles, or waking up on a planet where night never ends. Science fiction is becoming reality as astronomers uncover thousands of incredible worlds in our galaxy.
But how do we detect these planets and how do we know what they are like? And what we are still searching for among the stars? Join astrophysicist Emily Brunsden and science communicator Chris Stewart for an ‘out of this world’ talk featuring musical interludes.
Come along and enjoy an amazing journey beyond our solar system.
Event booking
Event darkness
The below chart shows if and when the skies will be at their darkest during this event. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing.
Sun 7th Jun
Local light pollution
Ron Cooke Hub - University of York is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a suburban location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite. For more advanced light pollution data, view this location on DarkSkySites.
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Suburban
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Semi-rural
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
Forthcoming events
Below is a list of events at Ron Cooke Hub - University of York. View these events on our calendar, add them to your calendar or Google Calendar.
Stay and gaze nearby
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