burns

Dark Sky Burns 2022

/ Stephen Mackintosh / 1 Comment
Starry skies over Abriachan Forest

On Saturday the 29th January, join me up at Abriachan Forest (a Dark Sky Discovery site) for an evening of stargazing and astronomy with a Burns night twist

If conditions are clear I’ll be guiding you under the Milky Way class dark skies of Abriachan Forest (with a backup astronomy presentation if clouds roll in).

Meanwhile the Abriachan team will host an outdoor Tam’s Trail to find signs of Meg and a cutty sark! Plus Haggis hand warmers and refreshments for a simple Burn’s supper fare.

Booking in advance via Eventbrite is essential due to site capacity. Ticket links here.

Dark Sky Burns

/ Stephen Mackintosh / 1 Comment

“Thou lingering star, with less’ning ray,
That lov’st to greet the early morn…”

After last night I’m convinced Rabbie Burns did all his stargazing with a delicious wrap of haggis in hand.

Haggis hand warmers and Clelland’s address from last night’s sellout Dark Sky Burns event. Big thanks to the Abriachan team for the Burn’s supper fare. 

Due to inclement skies the astronomy moved indoors I got to talk in some detail about the planet Venus and its harsh environment.  A fascinating place that surely deserves more attention in the future, not least for its potential to harbour microbial life in its more clement upper atmosphere.

Why not try looking at Venus through a telescope or a pair of stabalised binoculars? You should be able to make out its phase, just as Galileo did when he first gazed up at it back in 1610.