PAS at Farnham Maltings
The Practical Astronomy Show is held every spring at Farnham Maltings, a converted 18th-century brewery complex in the heart of Surrey. It is one of the UK's best-attended amateur astronomy events — relaxed, accessible, and genuinely useful for anyone interested in observatory automation or weather monitoring.
For 2023, PAS took place on 10 and 11 March. Lunatico had a stand on both days, giving visitors the chance to see and handle the hardware, ask questions, and talk through their specific observatory setups.
PocketCW2 — the star of the show
PAS 2023 was one of the first opportunities for UK observers to see the PocketCW2 in person. The PocketCW2 brings together the essential sensing capabilities of the full CloudWatcher — cloud detection, rain sensing, and sky quality measurement — in a compact, battery-powered unit designed for mobile or visual observing sessions.
Visitors were able to handle the device, see it running live on a laptop, and ask questions about how it integrates with software like Sequence Generator Pro, Voyager, and N.I.N.A. The combination of full CloudWatcher intelligence in a pocket-sized package generated a lot of interest across both days.
Two days on the floor
PAS is well suited to the kind of in-depth conversations that observatory automation invites. It is a quieter, more accessible event than the biggest trade fairs — visitors take their time at the stands, and the questions tend to be specific and technical. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we talked through setups ranging from simple backyard roll-off observatories to remote installations in Spain and Portugal.
The CloudWatcher and SOLO were also on display, along with DragonFly. Several visitors were existing users looking to expand or connect their setups, and the chance to talk through the integrations in person was genuinely useful for both sides.
Show video
Coverage from PAS 2023 — a look at the atmosphere at Farnham Maltings and the Lunatico stand across the weekend.
From the show floor
Photos from both days — the stand, the venue, and conversations with the UK astronomy community.
