Stargazing in Exmoor National Park

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Yarnmarket

Follow

Early February is the perfect time for stargazing in Exmoor Dark Sky Reserve, when the skies darken at 7pm, staying pitch black until the Moon rises after midnight. On display are Orion the Hunter high in the south, with Jupiter sitting above his head, and the Andromeda Galaxy in the west, the most distant object visible to the naked eye, a giant galaxy containing a trillion stars. And from horizon to horizon is the Milky Way, our own galaxy stretching in an arc only visible in places like Exmoor which are virtually free of light pollution. The weekend which includes Dinner, Bed, Breakfast and outings will be hosted by Steve Owens, a freelance science communicator, writer & astronomer, who helped establish the UK's first International Dark Sky Park in Galloway, Scotland, and sat on the Dark Sky Discovery steering group. He has since then led the successful bid for the Channel Island of Sark to become the world's first Dark Sky Island, & for Exmoor to become the first Dark Sky Reserve.
Contact the Yarn Market Hotel on 01643 821425 or by email: hotel@yarnmarkethotel.co.uk for more details.