Bablake's National Eclipse Weather Experiment Results Assist Final Findings

An open invitation from the University of Reading's Meteorology department to weather observers across the UK, encouraging participation in its National Eclipse Weather Experiment (NEWEx) last week, drew the attention of the Bablake Weather Station and a group of Shell and 2nd year pupils.

In a statement earlier this week, the department wrote: 'Our NEWEx measurements were truly national in their coverage which is an inspiring testimony to the commitment of citizen scientists up and down the land. By looking at the summary results we hope that you can see how important a part you have all played in monitoring the weather effects of the 20th March 2015 solar eclipse and that it will have added to your enjoyment of this special astronomical event.

Scientists discover things by looking at the effects in methodical series of measurements just like these, and can make sense of things they can’t see directly through measuring their other related effects. So if you weren’t lucky enough to be able to see the eclipse directly, discovering the reality of the eclipse’s effects on the weather through your own careful measurements is surely the next best thing, as an example of science in action!'

As a school, we were delighted to be involved with the fact-finding and look forward to further activities of this nature. For more info about the Meteorology department's findings et al, please click here.