An astronomer observes
the Milky Way over Chile’s
Atacama Desert, renowned for
the clarity of its night skies
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Observatory, a stargazing hub
that opened in 2008
in Northumberlandevents and even stargazing
accommodation packages.
And it ’s not the only one; the
US-based International Dark-Sky
Association has designated 16 UK
Dark Sky Places (plus the Channel
Island of Sark) as prime stargazing
locations, among them Bodmin
Moor, Snowdonia, the North York
Moors, Coll (an island in the Inner
Hebrides of Scotland) and, most
recently, North Ronaldsay, in the
remote Orkney Islands. Most
are either Dark Sky Parks (with
exceptional starry nights and a
protected nocturnal environment)
or Dark Sky Reserves (as above but
concentrated on a more compact
core zone). On top of this, there are
more than 200 smaller Dark Sky
Discovery Sites across the country
— so if you’re keen to stare agog
at our celestial neighbours, you’ve
got options. On a clear night,
and in the darkest parts of the
UK, it ’s even possible to pick out
Andromeda with the naked eye.
That ’s the galaxy next door, a mere
2.5 million light years away.
Dark sky tourism — which can
involve anything from sitting
outside with a thermos to making
a formal observatory visit — relies
on places with a lack of man-made
light pollution. This is more of anissue than might be assumed. Back
in 2016, a report in open-access
journal Science Advances found
that 80% of the world’s population
lives under light-polluted skies,
while a hefty 99% of people in
Europe and the US live under skies
nearly 10% brighter than their
natural starry state.
The UK Dark Skies Partnership,
which includes all 16 UK Dark Sky
Places, not only champions a fuller
understanding of the cosmos but
acts as a de facto conservation
body by promoting things such as
low-glare, energy-efficient bulbs,
and exterior lighting that directs
downwards. “Light pollution has a
major impact not just on wildlife
and plants but also on our health
and wellbeing,” says Duncan Wise,
of the Northumberland National
Park Authority. We’ve met at The
Sill, a visitor centre in the shadow
of Hadrian’s Wall, where it ’s fun to
imagine chilly centurions looking
up at the planets 2,000 years ago.
“Among other things, so much
light can knock out our circadian
rhythms,” he continues. “The
good news is that light pollution
is reversible in a way that air or
water pollution isn’t.”
Duncan was part of the team
that was instrumental in helpingNorthumberland National Park
and Kielder Water and Forest
Park together achieve Dark
Sky Park status in 2013, and he
explains that there’s a refreshing
amount of collaboration between
destinations. “Galloway Forest
Park became the UK’s first Dark
Sky Park in 2009, and they really
helped us,” he says. “So, in turn
we’ve helped places like the South
Downs and Snowdonia to get their
own Dark Sky designations. It ’s
in everyone’s interest; the sense
of wonder that can be had from a
starry night is mind-blowing.”INTERSTELLAR INTEL
A star-studded sky may be mind-
blowing, but to fully appreciate
what you’re looking at, it pays
to be in the company of those in
the know. A star cluster becomes
more than a star cluster when
you’re with someone who lives
and breathes astrophysics
— and they tend to have powerful
telescopes, too. Across the UK
and the Channel Islands, there
are around 100 observatories
although Ayrshire’s excellent
Scottish Dark Sky Observatory
was sadly gutted by fire in mid-- Many of these grant public
access through ticketed events.
I attend three on my visit to
Northumberland: one at the small
but compelling Battlesteads Dark
Sky Observatory and two at the
world-class Kielder Observatory,
where the evening and late-night
sessions often sell out months
in advance. All three events
combine telescope tutorials and
classroom-style presentations
(“Any flat Earthers in tonight?
Pity. We do get them”) with time
outside under the stars. No less
significantly, all three events also
send my brain spinning away into
the great beyond.
At Battlesteads — which sits
in the grounds of Battlesteads
Hotel & Restaurant — the evening
begins with a through-the-lens
view of Saturn, rings and all, and
continues by dismantling any
misconceptions guests may have
about the night sky. “It ’s tempting
to think of it all as a uniform, starry
canopy,” says our guide, Chris
Duffy. “But look at Betelgeuse.
The light from that star takes
over 600 years to reach us. If it
exploded in a supernova — which
may have already happened
— we wouldn’t know about it
for centuries. Vega, on the other
hand, is 25 light years away, and
Alpha Centauri is only four lightIM
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