Abriachan

Tales of Dark Matter

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment

All the light we see from distant stars and galaxies is made from visible matter, yet evidence from the rotational speeds of other galaxies suggests dark matter outweighs visible matter on a ratio six to one. Image: ‘Our galaxy Over Achnasheen’, Stephen Mackintosh

Join me up at Abriachan Forest (a Dark Sky Discovery site) for an evening of stargazing and astronomy on February 25th with our first guest speaker of the 2022 season – Professor Martin Hendry.

If skies are clear Martin and myself will host an outdoor stargazing session, discussion and Q&A under the stars. Following this Martin will present his indoor guest talk on the very latest discoveries in cosmology, concentrating on the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Refreshments provided plus binoculars for stargazing. Under 16s with accompanying adults go free. Tickets can be booked via Eventbrite here or you can reserve directly from my Facebook page here.

Martin speaking at the Science on Stage Festival

Martin Hendry is Professor of Gravitational Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Glasgow and is 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. Martin is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and is currently a Trustee of the IOP and the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation. In 2015 he was awarded an MBE for services to the public understanding of science.

November Star Stories

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment
Stargazing next to the round house in Abriachan Forest

Thanks to everyone who braved the subzero temperatures up at Abriachan Forest last Saturday for Star Stories. Our guest storyteller John Burns delivered a captivating one man play and storytelling session up in the forest round house, and even succeeded in ushering out a few stars at the very end.

Afterwards the skies opened up beautifully and we had clear views of the Milky Way and many circumpolar constallations during our outdoor stargazing session. Special thanks to Gretchen for the Jupiter biscuits!

That’s a wrap for this year. Our next event will be the Dark Sky Burns at the end of January 2022 before our guest speaker events in February and March. You can read more details on the full programme here.

The Milky Way glowing through some light cloud and haze at Abriachan.

Star Stories Astronomy Guest Speakers

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment
Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Catherine Haymens, will visit Abriachan Forest in March 2022.

I’m delighted to confirm our guest speakers for the 2022 Star Stories programme. Following a ‘Stargazing Burns’ event on January 27th we’ll have a dark sky event in February with guest speaker Martin Hendry, Professor of Gravitational Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Glasgow. Martin is a regular visitor to the forest and will be updating us on the latest discoveries on dark matter and dark energy followed by naked eye and binocular stargazing under Abriachan’s Milky Way class dark skies.

Then in March we’re very excited to welcome Scotland’s new Astronomer Royal, Catherine Haymens. Catherine will be joining us on March 14th for a special Moon night with a talk all about the Moons of our solar system. This will be followed by a live Moon observing session and Q&A. Catherine is Professor of Astrophysics and a European Research Council Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. She’s also director of the German Centre for Cosmological Lensing at the Ruhr-University Bochum.

Where possible, and understandably, all events will be setup for outdoor learning so please bring plenty of warm clothes and wrap up. Storytelling and other family friendly activities will also be delivered by the Abriachan team and guests. Ticket links will go live about 4 weeks prior to each event. Please follow my Facebook page for the latest.

Meanwhile the November 27th event has now sold out. This will be a dark sky evening with stargazing or astronomy talk presented by yours truly. Best selling author John Burns is our guest storyteller in November.

Starry Skies for New Season of Star Stories

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who came to Abriachan Forest on Saturday night. We had a fantastic opening event to kick off the 2021/22 Star Stories astronomy programme.

We enjoyed clear skies all evening and I was able to offer uninterrupted guiding of the whole night sky from north to south and east to west. Some of the highlights included:

– Views of Saturn and Jupiter low on the southern horizon, with telescopic views of Saturn’s majestic rings.

– A full power Milky Way glowing overhead from north to south with clear visibility of the dark lanes of obscuring galactic dust near the Cygnus Rift.

– Several bright meteors flashing past.

– The Pleiades open star cluster rising in the east followed by Taurus with the red giant Aldebaran.

– The Andromeda galaxy clearly visible naked eye and offering fantastic views in binoculars.

– Numerous bright stars and clusters.

Also a big thanks to the Abriachan team for the Bat walk + talk and Bat box workshop.

Tickets are now available for the next event on November 27th. Please follow my Highland Astronomy facebook page for the latest on tickets and events.

I managed a few pics at the end of the session inserted above (a little out of focus I’m afraid).

February Star Stories Live

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment
Abriachan Forest

I’ll once again be collaborating with Abriachan Forest (a dark sky discover site) to bring you another online Star Stories in February. This month we have two guest speakers fulfilling the astronomy and storytelling segments.

Eric Walker from the Highlands Astronomical Society joins us to speak about his passion for night sky and deep sky photography. He’ll be sharing some great tips to help you capture the wonders of the night sky yourself and many of the breathtaking pictures he’s captured over the years. (http://www.spacegazer.com)

Afterwards we’ll be joined by Daniel Allison – an acclaimed oral storyteller who performs everywhere from schools and prisons to global festivals. Daniel hosts the House of Legends Podcast and is the author of The Bone Flute, Silverborn, Scottish Myths & Legends and Finn & The Fianna. (https://www.houseoflegends.me)

Plus a What’s Up guide to the night sky from your truly. Due to current circumstances this event is free and open to everyone however we would kindly ask you to donate to the speakers directly via links which will go up during the sessions.Many thanks for your support in advance.

Join the event here: https://fb.me/e/4MxdmU9gt

  • Eric
  • Daniel

Future Astronomy Outreach

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment

64803835_2273594972756823_2288411197248110592_n

A human henge – mid summer at Abriachan

Some good news regarding future face to face astronomy programs, delivered up in the Scottish Highlands. All of this is caveated on the assumption that live gatherings are legal and safe at the end of this year.

Next season (from November) I’ll be continuing to work with Caroline Snow to deliver our Urban Astronomy programme based out of the Friends Of Merkinch Local Nature Reserve in Inverness (with the Sea Scouts hall as our indoor base of operations). These events have been growing in popularity and we’re really glad they’re going to continue.

50032030_2235072910062982_812443491249422336_o

Merkinch Moon gazing

Star Stories will also continue from Abriachan Forest (Dark Sky Discovery Site) with Suzann, Clelland, Ronnie and the rest of Abriachan Communityteam. The STFC spark award funding is due to end this season, but the programme will continue on a sustainable footing with events (hopefully) starting in November. This whole programme has been a massive success and I look forward to completing my research report for STFC with dissemination for various astronomy publications.

48391432_2218564645047142_1033928692641824768_n

Clelland in action

I’ll also continue my hotel based outreach work for the likes of The Torridon and appearances at various festivals, whenever it’s safe and practical to do so.

Screen Shot 2018-12-16 at 13.02.29

Some future plans are also underway, including an outreach programme with much bigger scope that will involve various partners and potentially some innovative new technology.

 

Star Stories Astrophotography Special

/ Stephen Mackintosh / Leave a comment

88174012_2540393609530909_7483019853649936384_o-2

Eric presenting his guest talk up at Abriachan

There were only a few stars up at Abriachan Forest tonight for our Star Stories Astrophotography special, but some nice early views of the waxing crescent Moon and Venus before the weather really turned and a mini snowstorm descended.

Many thanks to our guest speaker Eric Walker from the Highlands Astronomical Society for delivering a fantastic talk on astrophotography.  Eric showcased a ton of amazing images he’s taken over the years demonstrating his passion for astronomy and observing.

Clelland also entertained in the round house with storytelling and we had a nice impromptu discussion about the night sky over the campfire between changeovers.

The next Star Stories is our Vernal Equinox special in March, which will be the last opportunity for dark sky observing this season before the return of longer days.

Eventbrite link here