Members and supporters of St Andrew’s Church, Skegby, enjoyed an out-of-this-world fundraising event at the new Sherwood Observatory planetarium in aid of the church’s refurbishment project.

Guests donated more than £1,400 for the evening of fun, fellowship, fundraising, and faraway places, which included British astronaut Tim Peake donating a signed photograph and book to help with the church’s fundraising.

MC for the evening was professional entertainer Scott Dee, and the event was hosted by planetarium seat sponsor Mike Collins and his wife, Mary.

It included a reception in the refurbished underground reservoir, now the centre’s museum space, with John B Tannen providing entertainment.

Inside the auditorium, project trustee Chris Dakin shared the inspirational inside story of how the new planetarium went from vision to reality over only a few years.

He then showed the space race story of the Apollo missions, before taking everyone on a planetary tour to experience the sky at night.

The evening concluded in the planetarium café with guests having refreshments while viewing items in Mike’s art collection that were for sale to raise funds to support the work of St Andrew’s.

Mike said: “I’m proud to be one of the seat sponsors in the new planetarium and Mary and I were thrilled to host this unique event, which was a huge success.

“The feedback from our guests has been very positive and they generously donated more than £1,400 to contribute to our church’s refurbishment programme.

“I’d like to recognise and give special thanks to the centre manager Tony Booth and his team, who helped us make this event so special.”

The refurbishment project at St Andrew’s over several years aims to turn it into a venue to serve various forms of community activity and to provide support for all ages.