AMATEUR astronomers in have Usk unveiled the first observatory in Britain that is attached to a community education centre.

Members of Usk Astronomical Society named it The Alfred Russel Wallace Observatory after the Welsh scientist who was born in nearby Llanbadoc. The society’s life president, David Thomas, 65, said the observatory, located within the grounds of Usk community education centre on Maryport Street, is believed to be the first in Monmouthshire that is accessible to the public and will be open to groups such as the WI, scouts, schools and adult organisations to enable them to study the sky from the ground as part of its outreach programme.

"There are similar observatories in the county but non are open to the public to our knowledge so this is very exciting and will further our own investigations into the night sky," said Mr Thomas, a retired science teacher who joined the society 30 years ago.

The observatory was funded by a £6,500 grant from the county council and delivered from Canada as a construction pack which members assembled on a decking platform in the grounds of the centre.

The observatory itself is a dome that houses an eight inch Smitt-Cassigrain telescope and a webcam, which is removed when not being used by the society’s 35 members.

Mr Thomas, of Maryport Street, said it’s all about educating people.

"Many amateur astronomers are making proper scientific studies of the sky and we’re discovering new things all the time," he said.

"It’s a fantastic research tool that enables us to look at the stars and analyse what they are made of and continue our investigations.

"We can take stunning pictures of the night sky such as Saturn and the Moon," he added.

New members are welcome to the society’s weekly meetings which take place at Usk Community Education Centre, Maryport Street at 7pm on a Thursday during term-time.

Alfred Rusell Wallace was born in Kensington Cottage, Llanbadoc, near Usk in 1823.

He was an author and the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin.

Wallace and Darwin had independently been developing the same theory, and extracts from the work of both men were presented in a paper to the Linnean Society in 1858. Although history has given credit to Darwin for the theory of Natural Selection, contemporaries were well aware of Wallace's important work in this field.

Mr Thomas said: "He made very many other contributions to science for which he is also renowned and it is in recognition of his contribution to astronomy and astrobiology that Usk Astronomical Society has dedicated the observatory to his memory."