Astronomy

Dark Sky Observing at Abriachan

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A lovely crescent Moon hung in the West for most of the evening

We enjoyed another superb evening of stargazing and storytelling up at Abriachan Forest last Saturday – the last dark sky session until stargazing returns in October 2019.

There were beautiful crisp skies all evening long, allowing me to guide both groups outside for views of the Milky Way and numerous open star clusters like the Hyades, Pleiades, Beehive and the stunning double cluster in Perseus.

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Orion…of course

We also studied the Orion star forming nebula, the great spiral galaxy in Andromeda and some fainter galaxies in Ursa Major (M81 and M82), and even had a go at sighting the triplet of galaxies in Leo, which some of the keen eyed youngsters successfully glimpsed in the 8×40 binoculars.

Clelland was also back in action with the story of Arden and the birth of Merlin in the roundhouse.

Thanks to everyone who came along.  Please check my Facebook site for details of future summer events.

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Perseus and the double cluster

Merkinch Astronomy Outreach – Beginners Guide to Observing

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Gazing Moonward from the grounds of the Sea Cadets Hall, Inverness

We had a very successful Merkinch astronomy evening last Thursday, the second I’ve hosted from our new base at the Sea Cadets Hall on Kessock Road.  All available tickets were allocated in advance and we had a healthy gathering of over 50 people in the end, along with some of the sea cadets.  Caroline had also secured a large consignment of 8×40 binoculars for this and future events, which we put to good use later in the evening.

I kicked proceedings off with a projector based talk on buying a first telescope, offering some recommendations for good beginner scopes that won’t break the bank.  Afterwards, we headed out into the carpark beside the hall for some projections of the Moon.  Despite high cirrus clouds the Moon was still very clear and we had workable views via video telescope, allowing us to discuss the infinitely enthralling topic of lunar geology.

A few stars popped out later on but not enough to warrant a walk over to the nature reserve – which was the original plan if skies were clearer.

The next event takes place on February 28th when I’ll discuss deep sky observing – including star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and supernova remnants – how to observe them and some of the incredible astrophysics behind them.  Links to this event here.

ISS Returns

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The International Space Station returns to Scotland’s skies on January 25th.  I’ve put together a short informative video on the station linked below.  Please also find the first few flyby times.  I’ll be posting live prompts on my Highland Astronomy FB page when I can.

List of the first few bright ISS passes:

  • Friday 25th Jan at 19.07pm
  • Saturday 26th Jan 18.19pm
  • Sunday 27th Jan 19.00pm
  • Monday 28th Jan 18.09pm

 

 

Star Stories with Dark Sky Man

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Despite cloudy skies up at Abriachan Forest we had a fantastic evening of astronomy and storytelling on Saturday 12th January with special guest Steve Owens, aka Dark Sky Man.

Steve is the author of the popular Stargazing for Dummies book. He was presented with the Federation of Astronomical Societies 2010 award for Outstanding Achievement in Astronomy, and the Campaign for Dark Skies 2010 award for Efforts in Dark Sky Preservation.

Due to the weather the evening was split into two streams – an indoor talk on dark skies with Steve, and storytelling with Clelland in the forest.  Since I was off the hook I managed to capture some film and compiled a short vide of the evening below.

Merkinch Urban Astronomy Initiative

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A view of Orion from the Merkinch Nature Reserve at a previous event.  Credit Simon Garrod

I’m delighted to be continuing the urban astronomy initiative with the Merkinch Nature Reserve this year, in partnership with project manager Caroline Snow.

Going forward we now have a base of operations to host our astronomy gatherings, after a successful trial last year at the Inverness Sea Cadet hall on Kessock Road.  The venue allows us to host indoor talks and activities and is only a ten minute walk from the nature reserve itself, giving us the option to stargaze during open skies.

The first event planned for 2019 is an Introduction to Observing and Moon Night, where I’ll present a beginners guide to astronomy – what to consider buying to get started and what to potentially avoid.  We’ll take a break from proceedings to observe the gibbous Moon and stars if conditions are clear.  All booking enquiries should be directed to Caroline, who’s email is in the event link above.

We have plans to roll out further events as part of a larger 2019 programme.  Stay tuned here or on the Merkinch Facebook site for details as they develop.