Mapping the Darkness South of Inverness

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Strathnairn community now have the empirical data required to move their DarkSky International application forward. This baseline is already being used to influence local authority planning and safeguard rural night skies from light pollution.

Recent sky quality tracking shows a stark contrast across our region. Moving southwest from Culloden Moor toward Errogie (near Inverfarigaig), repeat sampling with Unihedron SQM-L meters recorded a shift from 20.38 to 21.47 mag/arcsec².

A 1 mag/arcsec² difference might not seem much but this astronomical scale is logarithmic. This means the skies over Errogie are approximately 2.5 times darker than those just east of Inverness.

Read the full update, tracking methodology and project timelines here.

Landmark Dark Skies Planning Policy

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The Herald Scotland has highlighted Highland Council’s consideration of a landmark Dark Skies planning policy. To support the accreditation efforts, I led the data collection and night sky field work. Partnering with Dr Andy MacGregor last winter, sky-brightness measurements were tracked across the region, identifying extensive Bortle 3 zones.

Crucially, this policy demonstrates that protecting our natural heritage doesn’t require compromising on important regional modernisation. By integrating sensible, practical lighting standards into the planning phase, the policy ensures that essential new developments in the Highlands can move forward responsibly, safeguarding our exceptional night skies for future generations without creating barriers to economic growth. Full details in the article here.

Van Based Stargazing Tours

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Please find updated details of my bespoke evening stargazing tours, based out of Inverness (and surroundings). For a fixed fee I can take parties of 1-4 people into some excellent dark skies for guided stargazing and astronomy outreach.

These tours are operated from my business vehicle where I can present indoor content via planetarium software – offering backup if weather becomes unfavourable.

For full details please click here.

Wester Ross Dark Skies Festival

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Join me in Lochbroom on November 21st for an evening of Stargazing and Astronomy in support of the Wester Ross Dark Skies Festival.

We’ll be beneath some of the darkest skies in Scotland, exploring constellations, planets, and deep-sky objects. Even if the clouds roll in, I’ll present an illustrated talk indoors with Planetarium software.

Friday 21st Nov, 8pm at Clachan Church, Lochbroom. Tickets £6 on the door (under 16s free). Wrap up warm!

For advance booking please email Louise at louise@wrb.scot

December Stargazing at Abriachan – Featuring Professor Martin Hendry

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Join me on December 13th up at Abriachan Forest (a Dark Sky Discovery site) for an evening of stargazing and astronomy with Professor Martin Hendry. (ticket links in comments)

If skies are clear Martin and I will host an outdoor stargazing session and discussion under the stars (with potential telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn). Following this Martin will present his indoor guest talk titled “Empire of the Sun”: the past, present and future of Solar System Exploration.

The Abriachan team will also be on hand to keep younger (and older) audience members entertained with some suitably themed STEM activities.

Martin Hendry is Vice Principal at the University of Glasgow and Vice President of the Royal Society Edinburgh. As former Head of the School of Astronomy and Physics he continues to be a passionate advocate for STEM education and science engagement with schools and public audiences. He is the author of more than 200 scientific articles and is a senior member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the global team of more than 1400 scientists which made the first-ever detection of gravitational waves – a discovery awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Due to site and classroom capacity, booking via Eventbrite is essential. Admission is free for under 16s with accompanying adults but please inform Abriachan of any large booking requests.For directions to the forest classroom please follow directions to Abriachan Forest Classroom.

Ticket Links can be found here.

New Astronomy Season at Abriachan begins November 22nd

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I’m delighted to announce the first date of our 2025/2026 Astronomy and Stargazing programme at Abriachan Forest, which kicks off on Saturday, November 22nd, with an evening of outdoor stargazing and indoor planetarium guiding.

We also have guest talks planned later in the season covering deep space, the solar system and the Moon, with Professor Martin Hendry first in line on December 13th to discuss the “Empire of the Sun”: the past, present, and future of Solar System exploration. Astronomer Steve Owens will be visiting after Christmas for more tales of dark skies, with further announcements to follow in the new year.

As ever, tickets go live on Eventbrite and are promoted on my Facebook page.

Finding the Andromeda Galaxy Naked Eye

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This October I’ve been carrying out night sky survey work as part of a community project to certify Strathnairn as an International Dark Sky Park. This has involved lots of travelling about late at night taking sky quality meter (SQM) readings when conditions are just right – clear skies and the Moon and Sun well below the horizon. You can read about this dark sky conservation work here.

While I’ve been out under the stars I’ve filmed a few stargazing video for my community pages. Here’s a popular one on finding the Andromeda Galaxy – our biggest close galactic neighbour. It always amazes me that you can observe this object with the naked eye, and see the accumulated light from over 100 billion stars at a distance greater than 2 million light years!