galloway forest dark sky park - galloway and southern ......your visit to galloway forest dark sky...

26
Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016 Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park Stargazers Welcome

Upload: others

Post on 27-Jun-2020

18 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park

Stargazers Welcome

Page 2: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Introduction In this pack you’ll find plenty of information on how to make the most of your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies.

Whether you’ve never really looked at the night sky before, of whether you’re a life-long astronomy enthusiast, the dark skies above Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park will amaze you, but to the beginner they can seem quite daunting.

Countless stars scattered overhead, the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon, shooting stars, planets, comets, the northern lights, all may be visible on a clear night in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, and in this pack you’ll find out how to recognise them, where is best to go to see the dark skies, and what equipment you’ll need to bring with you to ensure you have a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience.

Contents

1. Title page

2. Introduction and Contents 3. What is Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park? 4. Map of Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park 5. Keeping the dark skies dark 6. Observing the dark skies: Where, When, What and How 7. Where to see the dark skies: near you & Dark Sky Rangers 8. Where to see the dark skies: local map 9. Where to see the dark skies: within Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park

10. Where to see the dark skies: within Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park (map)

11. When to go out 12. How to observe: what should you take with you? 13. What you will see: learning your way around the sky 14. What you will see: simple star charts 15. What you will see: pocket star charts 16. Things to look for: stars and constellations 17. Things to look for: the Moon

18. Things to look for: planets 19. Things to look for: the Milky Way 20. Things to look for: other galaxies and nebulae 21. Things to look for: shooting stars 22. Things to look for: satellites 23. Things to look for: northern lights 24. List of useful websites 25. List of good astronomy magazines and books

Page 3: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

What is Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park?

Forestry Commission Scotland has established Galloway Forest Park as the first Dark Sky Park in the UK, in 2009, one of only five in the world. Now there are over 40 across the world. It was announced on Monday the 16th November 2009 in the International Year of Astronomy and was the stimulation to develop more dark Sky Places across the UK in the coming years.

What is a Dark Sky Park?

The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) awards deserving places around the world the status of Dark Sky Park, Reserve or Community. They define a dark sky place as: The award-winning Dark Sky Places Program was started by IDA in 2001 to encourage communities around the world to preserve and protect dark sites through responsible lighting polices and public education. A dark Sky Park is described as “a place possessing exceptional starry night skies and natural nocturnal habitat where light pollution is mitigated and natural darkness is valuable as an important educational, cultural, scenic, and natural resource”.

What does Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park have that is so special?

Very dark skies indeed!

Whereas in a city you might see only a few dozen of the brightest stars,

in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, on a clear night, you will be dazzled by thousands of stars.

Just how dark are the skies in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park? Astronomers measure the darkness of the sky on the Bortle Scale, a nine- point scale that describes the level of light pollution overhead.

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park has a Bortle class of 2, defined as a “truly dark site”. The only class of sky darker than this is class 1, “utterly unpolluted sky”. Nowhere in the UK, or indeed mainland Europe for that matter, has a sky with Bortle class 1, and so the skies above Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park are certainly amongst the darkest skies in the world, and probably the darkest skies you will ever see.

Things you can see from Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park that you’ll never see from a city sky include: detail within the grey band of the Milky Way (see page 19); other galaxies and nebulae visible with the naked eye (see page 20); dozens of shooting stars (see page 21); the northern lights (see page 23); and, of course, true darkness!

Page 4: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park- Stargazers Welcome

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Map of Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park covers most of Galloway Forest Park, with a

core area in the centre of the park where there are no external lights at

all. Since 2009 the park boundary was extended to include the new

Scottish Dark Sky Observatory to the North of Loch Doon.

Page 5: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Keeping the Dark Skies Dark

There are three main types of light pollution: sky glow, that lights up the night sky and spoils our view of the stars; glare, that can dazzle us when present in a dark place; and light trespass, the spilling of light beyond the area being lit.

Each of these kinds of light pollution are forms of obtrusive light, that can annoy stargazers and anyone wishing to experience darkness, waste money, waste electricity, and result in the unnecessary production of greenhouse gases.

The most important thing to remember is: think before you light! Is the light necessary? If so, is it the right brightness? Might it be a nuisance to others? What can you do to minimize these things?

In general, don’t overlight, turn lights off when you don’t need them, consider turning your outside lights off at a certain time of night (say after 10pm), and make sure your lights are shielded and pointing in the right direction!

All images on this page from Institute of Lighting Engineers

Page 6: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Dark Skies: The Where, When, What and How of Observing

There is so much to see in the night sky on a clear night that it might not be obvious where to begin.

You also want to make sure you go somewhere that lets you see the night sky in all its glory; the darkest place you can find, away from the glare of lights.

Knowing what time of night – and indeed what time of year – to observe is important too.

Finally, you will need to make sure you bring with you everything you need for a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable stargazing experience.

The following few pages will tell you all you need to know to get started.

(NB you do not need to use a telescope to observe! See page 12)

Page 7: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Where to see the dark skies: near you Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park covers 300 square miles of woodland, forest, and open moor, but you needn’t venture far into the park itself to experience the amazing dark skies. Even if you are observing within the town of Newton Stewart or another town of village (where the streetlights can cause a fair amount of glare and spoil the view of keen stargazers) there are still steps you can take which will make your sky much darker.

1. Try to get away from any sources of bright light, such as street lights, security lighting, or illuminated signs. While it will be virtually impossible to avoid all sources of light nearby, you can try and stand so that much of the light is blocked by a building or other obstacle. 2. Avoid observing on or near a main road, where the glare of cars’ headlights can ruin your dark adaption (see page 12)

3. Safety is very important, so make sure wherever you go has good solid, even ground for you to stand on 4. By definition these local sites will be within walking distance, and so you can take the opportunity of the night walk to get your eyes used to the dark Another great way of watching the night sky is with or own personal guide. The Dark Sky Park has teamed up with the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere and trained our very own Biosphere Dark Sky Rangers. You can find their details Here and book them for a fee to make your night of stargazing even more memorable. Contact Morag Paterson on Tel: 01644 430 004 Mob: 07917 102693 www.leemingpaterson.com https://www.facebook.com/Leeming-Paterson-222973075345/timeline/ Contact Elizabeth Tindal on Tel: 01671820814 or Mob: 07842241141 Email: [email protected] http://www.freelanceranger.com/ https://twitter.com/FreelanceRanger https://www.facebook.com/FreelanceRanger Contact Matthew McFadzean on Mob: 07548668737 or Tel: 01387840340 Email: [email protected] Contact Jesse Beaman and Helen Cockburn on 07340 518 498 Email [email protected] www.ViridianSkies.com www.facebook.com/viridianskytours www.twitter.com/ViridianSkyArt On the following page is a map of the local area, with good stargazing areas highlighted, but feel free to explore to find other good sites.

Page 8: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Where to see the dark skies: a local map

You should remove this page and insert a map of your local area, highlighting places where your guests can safely observe.

Here is an example, based on the Galloway Arms Hotel, taken from

Google maps:

Page 9: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Where to see the dark skies: within Galloway Forest Park

On a clear night you can see a spectacular dark sky from anywhere within Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park. The main roads through the park (the A712 which runs east to west through the park, between Newton Stewart and New Galloway, and the A714 which runs north to south along the western edge of the park) offer access to many lay-bys and car parks, and you can drive into the heart of the park along the Glentrool road.

Overleaf is a map of Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park with ten suggested observing locations marked on it.

There are three visitor centres within the park, at Clatteringshaws Loch (2), Glentrool (3), and Kirroughtree (6) which, although they may be closed, have large car parks open all year round.

Remember, before heading into the park at night you might want to contact Galloway Forest District on 01671 402420 or [email protected], to make sure that the place you’re heading to is accessible and safe.

As well as the main roads (open all year round), there are two forest drives: Raiders Road and Carrick. Along these drives there are plenty of opportunities to stop and get out and look up. These forest drives are open 24/7 from early April until late October, however, Raiders Road may soon be opened year round from Friday nights to Sunday afternoon to allow for stargazing. Please contact Galloway Forest District on 01671

402420 for more details.

Even if the forest drives themselves are not accessible, the West Raiders Road car park (10) is open 24/7, and is probably one of the darkest places in the whole park. There are many other forest roads within the park where you can explore on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback, but cars are not permitted on any of these smaller tracks.

In addition the Wigtownshire Astronomical Society observatory at Glenamour welcomes visitors. Please call in advance 01671 404 387 and ask for Dr Robin Bellerby. The observatory is located on the A712 approx. 3 miles north of Newton Stewart (it is necessary to drive to the observatory, as walking along the A712 at night is not advised).

While exploring Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park you should refer to Ordinance Survey Explorer Maps 318 (north) and 319 (south). These orange covered maps show the park at 1:25000 scale. A larger-scale pink covered Landranger Map 77 shows the park in less detail, at 1:50000 scale.

Page 10: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Possible observing sites within Galloway Forest Park

1. Galloway Red Deer Range car park

2. Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre car park 3. Glentrool Visitor Centre 4. Bruce’s Stone car parks 5. Caldons woodlands

6. Kirroughtree Visitor Centre 7. Loch Braden car park 8. Loch Doon west end car park 9. Talnotry 10. Raiders Road west end car park

Page 11: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

When to go out

Short Answer

Whenever it’s clear! While the dark skies are amazing on a clear night, clouds can often spoil the view. To fully appreciate the wonder of the dark skies in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park you need to go out when there are as few clouds as possible in the sky, preferably when there are none.

You might therefore need to be flexible with when you observe, taking any opportunity as it arises. If it’s dark over dinner time, skip dinner. If the forecast is for clear skies before dawn, get up early.

Long Answer

Assuming the skies are clear, there are several other factors on when you should observe.

Twilight

Whereas the Sun might set in winter around 4pm, you’ll still need to wait until 6pm to get properly dark skies, as the sun sinks low enough below the horizon not to spill light up into the sky at dusk. As a rule, avoid a couple of hours after sunset and before sunrise, if you want a truly dark sky. Having said that, the park is spectacular at dawn and dusk too!

Seasons

Winter is the best season for stargazing, with long dark nights, but you can catch dark skies for most of the year. It’s only really in the summer months when the sky never gets properly dark. Between early May and early August the sky will always have some light in it, even at midnight. This is especially a problem between June and mid-July when the sky remains blue-tinged throughout the night. It is still possible to observe during the summer months, but far fewer objects will be on display.

The Moon

While every effort has been made to prevent man-made light pollution spoiling the dark skies in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, there’s nothing that can be done about that source of natural light pollution: the Moon. As a rule, you should try and avoid observing when the Moon’s in the sky (unless, of course, you’re observing the Moon! – see page 17), especially when it’s a full Moon. The best two weeks of any month for observing fall on either side of the New Moon.

But don’t let all this put you off: if it’s a clear night head outside. You won’t be disappointed!

Page 12: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

How to observe: what should you take with you? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a telescope to observe the sky. The dark skies of Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park will look stunning even to your naked eye.

One of the most important parts of your stargazing session is making sure your eyes get properly dark adapted. This will allow you to see even the faintest stars clearly. If you step outside from a lit room, or out of your car, your eyes will not be used to the dark, and you may initially struggle to see much at all. But if you stand in the dark for ten or fifteen minutes your eyes will be dark adapted enough to fully appreciate the view overhead.

If you have a pair of binoculars, take them with you, but you will need to have very steady hands (or a tripod) in order to get good, still views through binoculars. 10x50 binoculars are best, giving a decent magnification while remaining light enough to be comfortable while holding them overhead.

There are some crucial items that you should bring with you when observing:

Warm Clothing including hat, gloves, scarf, thick socks, stout footwear, and a warm jacket. Even in summer it can be cold outside at night. The more comfortable you are the longer you’ll want to stay outside.

A Hot Drink from a thermos, and some snacks, can lift your spirits as you wait for clouds to clear, and will encourage you to stay outside if it’s already clear. Avoid alcohol when outside at night.

A Torch is vital. On a clear moonless night, Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park will be so dark you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. In order not to spoil your dark adaption you should cover your torch with a red filter.

A Star Chart is good if you want to start learning your way around the night sky (see pages 14-15) but make sure you use a red-filtered torch to view it.

A Blanket or Deck-chair can make your observing much more comfortable. Rather than standing craning your neck, you might like to lie on the ground, or sit in comfort. This is especially handy when you’re planning being outside for a long time, such as when you’re watching a meteor shower (see page 21).

Finally, before you set off, make sure you leave a note of where you’re going with someone, as well as an indication of when you plan to return.

Page 13: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

What you will see: learning your way around the sky One of the biggest challenges for new stargazers is identifying just what they are looking at in the night sky. This is made even more difficult in a truly dark sky, such as you’ll see in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, as there are so many stars on view.

On a clear moonless night you will see thousands of stars overhead. These are grouped into 88 constellations, but to begin with you will only want to learn a few of these in order to get your bearings. Here is a brief description of which constellations to look for, and on the next page are simple star charts.

Looking North

The Plough is perhaps the most easily recognised group of stars in the northern sky and it is a very useful ‘skymark’. The Plough is always above the horizon and allows us to find Polaris, or the Pole Star. If you imagine the plough as a saucepan, then you can follow the two stars furthest from the handle, up towards another not-particularly-bright star. This star is Polaris. If you are looking at this star, you are facing north.

On the other side of Polaris is a W of stars (or an M depending on which way up it happens to be; the stars appear to rotate anti-clockwise round Polaris once every 24 hours). This is the constellation of Cassiopeia. These stars in the northern sky are the same all year round, so you will always be able to find them on a clear night.

Looking South

The stars in the southern sky change as the seasons change, the winter skies being perhaps the most exciting, and as it’s dark for longer, they’re easier to see too. One of the most easily recognised constellations in the sky is Orion the Hunter, with his Belt. You can use Orion’s Belt to find other shapes by following the line of the belt right, till you come to a V-shape of stars – Taurus’ head – and then a small group of faint stars – the Seven Sisters, or Pleaides cluster. From Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park you should look for the Orion Nebula, a faint smudge on his sword, where new stars are being formed before your eyes. This nebula isn’t visible from a city, and makes an excellent binocular object. Follow the line of the belt left, and you come to Sirius, the Dog Star, brightest star in our night sky.

What Next?

There are, of course, far more stars to be seen than just these, but if you can find these objects reliably, then you can use them to find your way round other constellations too. Astronomical magazines publish monthly sky- charts with much more detail than the following star-charts, including the current position of the planets, but you’ll find it helpful to master these first before progressing onto more complicate charts.

Page 14: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park- Stargazers Welcome

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

What you will see: simple star charts

CASSIOPEIA

P: Pclaris

THE PLOUGH

Winler- Looking No1th.Spm

* capella

0PLE VIDES star CIUSler

+ PEGASUS

ORION

+ Rrgel

Winter - Looking Soulh. Spm

Page 15: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park- Stargazers Welcome

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

What you will see: pocket star charts

The Dark Sky Park has produced simple pocket star charts with only the brightest stars marked on them, to help you learn your way around the sky. There may be some of these charts where you are staying; just ask for them.

Page 16: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Things to look for: stars and constellations

Over the previous three pages we have described a few of the more recognisable stars and constellations visible from Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park. Of course there are many more to see. The following is a list of the constellations visible at different times of the year. Charts for these are not given, so find a detailed star chart for the date you’re observing, and try to find them on that.

Winter Stars Orion the Hunter* Taurus the Bull* Gemini the Twins* Leo the Lion* Sirius the Dog Star*

Spring Stars Virgo, and the bright star Spica Bootes the Herdsman* Hercules

Summer Stars Cygnus the Swan* Lyra the Harp* Aquila the Eagle (the brightest star in each of these three constellations make up the Summer Triangle) Pegasus the Winged Horse*

Autumn Stars Andromeda, and the Andromeda Galaxy Perseus

Stars Visible All Year Round The Plough* Polaris*, the North Star Cassiopeia* Draco the Dragon

Some of these constellations are harder to find than others. Those that are easier to spot are marked with an asterisk.

A typical detailed star chart from the Heavens Above web site might look something like this:

Page 17: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Things to look for: the Moon The Moon causes natural light pollution, which drowns out the light from faint stars and the Milky Way, and so it is best to avoid stargazing when the Moon is in the sky.

However, the Moon itself can be a very rewarding observing target in its own right. It is best observed when a crescent or half Moon, setting after the Sun in the evening. Through even modest binoculars you can make out a lot of detail on the Moon’s surface, especially around the terminator, the line between the lit and unlit part of the Moon’s surface. This line, when viewed through binoculars can be seen to dip into craters and rise over mountains, giving a real sense of the 3D surface of the Moon.

This image was taken through a small telescope (using the camera on a mobile phone) of the Moon in First Quarter on 31 May 2009.

On this image of the Moon, and when you see the Moon in the sky, even with the naked eye, you can make out shapes on the surface. These are flat, smooth regions on the Moon’s surface called mare, or seas. They were so named before anyone knew that there was no liquid water on the Moon.

The mare often give the impression that there’s a “man in the Moon”, but in reality it looks a bit more like an upside-down rabbit. Can you see the body, head and ears of the rabbit in the picture above? Have a look next time you see the Moon in the sky. You need good eyesight to spot it, but it’s there!

The rabbit’s “head” is the Sea of Tranquillity, where Neil Armstrong and

Buzz Aldrin set foot for the first time ever in 1969.

Page 18: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Things to look for: planets There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (Pluto is no longer considered to be a planet; it has been demoted to the status of “dwarf planet”).

Of the eight planets, five are visible to the naked eye in the sky over the course of the year, although not all at the same time.

The word “planet” comes from the Greek planeti, meaning “wanderer”. This is because the planets, as they orbit the Sun, appear to move against the background of fixed stars and constellations, changing position as the year goes on. The closer a planet is to the Sun the faster it moves against the background stars, so the more its position changes from night to night.

As their positions vary, you need up-to-date information about where planets are visible (www.roe.ac.uk/vc/actpublic/observing/skyatnight) but here is a quick summary of what you can expect to see in each case.

Mercury

By far the hardest naked-eye planet to spot, Mercury is never far from the Sun in the sky, so make sure you wait till the Sun has set before trying to find it. It is very dangerous to observe when the Sun is in the sky, even with your naked eyes, but especially so with binoculars or a telescope. Mercury will appear to be a tiny faint dot against the dusk or dawn sky.

Venus

Like Mercury, Venus is only ever seen just after sunset or just before sunrise. It is therefore known as the Evening Star or the Morning Star. It is the brightest thing in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and can show phases like the Moon when seen through a telescope or binoculars.

Mars

The red planet looks like a brilliant red star. The red colour was associated with blood and war, hence its name after the Roman god of war. In reality Mars’ red colour is as a result of the rust on the rocks on the surface of the planet.

Jupiter

The largest of all the planets in the solar system, Jupiter can get very bright indeed. Seen through a steady pair of binoculars you might spot the four Galilean satellites, moons of Jupiter named in honour of Galileo who discovered them 400 years ago.

Saturn

The second largest planet is not quite a bright as Venus, Mars or Jupiter in the sky, but a small telescope will reveal its beautiful rings, looking like bulges on either side of the planet’s disk.

Page 19: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

Copyright STFC & FESDSP 2016

Things to look for: the Milky Way Our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains 100 thousand million stars. Most of these are too faint for our eyes to detect, and so we can only see the brightest few thousand stars around us as individual points of light in the night sky.

However the light from the remaining billions of stars blends together in the night sky forming a trail of grey light across the sky, which we call the Milky Way.

This image of the night sky was taken from Galloway Forest Park in

November 2010 by James Hilder, the Milky Way can be seen stretching across the sky. The red line is an aeroplane!

From Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, the Milky Way will look stunning on a clear moonless night. Even without binoculars you should be able to see structure within the Milky Way, patches where it’s a bit darker, or a bit brighter.

The Milky Way is always visible in the sky, however depending on time of night and time of year it might be low on the horizon and therefore slightly more difficult to see.

However it is worth persevering. The Milky Way is impossible to see from cities, and so very few people in the UK have ever seen it. While you visit Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, make sure you take the opportunity to be one of the rare few people who have actually seen our own galaxy.

Page 20: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

20

Things to look for: Other Galaxies and Nebulae Studded amongst the stars in the night sky you will spot, if you observe for long enough, several small fuzzy patches. Ancient astronomers, not knowing what they were, called them nebulae, or clouds. Now we know that these nebulae are in fact many different kinds of objects, from entire galaxies, to spherical globular clusters of stars, to clouds of gas and dust in space where new stars are being born, to the cold remnants of long dead stars.

These objects are amongst the most difficult to spot in the night sky, and are certainly never visible from light-polluted cities. Some of the most impressive nebulae are:

The Pleiades (M45) – or the Seven Sisters

Find The Pleiades using Orion’s Belt; trace a line up and to the right from Orion’s Belt, past the V-shape of the horns of Taurus the Bull, to the small group of stars that is The Pleiades. This cluster is actually made up of thousands of young stars, but our eyes are only good enough to see seven or eight of them. In fact you can test your eyesight using the Pleiades: how many can you count?

The Orion Nebula (M42)

Find the Orion Nebula just below the three stars of Orion’s Belt. The faint line hanging from his belt is a sword, and within the sword is a fuzzy patch that is the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery where new stars are being born. The Orion nebula appears as a fuzzy blob to the naked eye, but more details can be seen through binoculars.

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

Find the Andromeda Galaxy from the W-shape of Cassiopeia. The right hand V of the W-shape points to the very faint elongated hazy patch of this galaxy. Look at the Andromeda Galaxy and you are seeing the light from 100 thousand million stars, in a galaxy so far away that it took the light from those stars over two million years to reach the Earth.

The Seven Sisters The Andromeda Galaxy The Orion Nebula

The M-numbers after these nebulae are their number in the Messier catalogue. If you see an object marked on a star chart with an M-number, it might be worth a look!

Page 21: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

21

Things to look for: Shooting Stars The name “shooting star” is very misleading. These objects that can be seen streaking across the night sky are not stars at all, but in fact tiny bits of space debris being hoovered up by the Earth as it sweeps around the Sun.

As these particles of rock pass through the Earth’s atmosphere they are heated up and start to glow white-hot, and so for a split-second can appear as streaks of light in our night sky.

On any clear night you can see lots of shooting stars (or to give them their proper name meteors) if you sit outside for long enough, but there are some nights of the year where your chances of seeing them increase dramatically.

This is because, every so often, the Earth passes through a particularly dense region of rocky particles. At such times we get what astronomers call a meteor shower. During such showers you might see as many as a hundred shooting stars per hour!

The dates of some particularly good meteor showers are roughly:

03 or 04 January – Quadrantids Meteor Shower – up to 120 per hour

12 or 13 August – Perseids Meteor Shower – up to 100 per hour 13 or 14 December – Geminids Meteor Shower – up to 120 per hour

These rates are the maximum you’d expect to see in perfect conditions with the shower happening directly overhead. Conditions never are perfect, although in Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, given clear skies and no Moon, they are as close to perfect as it’s possible to be in the UK.

Observing meteor showers requires patience, as you’ll probably be outside for many hours. One of the best bits of equipment for meteor watching is a reclining deck chair!

To find out the exact dates of these and other meteor showers, visit the

Society for Popular Astronomy’s Meteor Section website at:

www.popastro.com/sections/meteor/showers.htm

Page 22: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

22

Things to look for: Satellites Everything we’ve described so far are natural objects, but it is possible to observe man-made objects in space too: satellites in orbit round the Earth.

Satellites are only visible to us if sunlight reflects off their surface at just the right angle. For that reason, satellites can appear to “flare up” as they orbit the Earth and the angles align – for a just a few minutes – to make them visible to us.

Like shooting stars, you can see satellites on any night of the year if you spend long enough observing under a dark, moonless sky. Most of them will tend to be very faint however, and so you might prefer to look for satellites that can be predicted to get very bright when viewed from Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park.

The best (brightest) satellites to look for are called Iridium Flares, so named because they can flare up to many times brighter than even the brightest planet Venus. The flares last for only a few seconds (up to around 20 seconds) as the satellite gets to just the right angle between us and the Sun.

You might also be fortunate enough to see the International Space Station (ISS) (the largest man-made object ever put into space) pass overhead, along with the astronauts that are on board carrying out scientific experiments.

You can find out exactly when and where Iridium Flares and the ISS are expected to appear above Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park by visiting:

www.heavens-above.com

and entering your location via Configuration > Select from map

Once you’ve done that you can go to

Satellites > Iridium Flares > Next 7 Days

Or Satellites > 10 Day Predictions for ISS

This will tell you the brightness (magnitude) of the satellite pass. The lower the number the brighter it will be. Negative magnitudes are BRIGHT.

It will also tell you the time to look (and this is exact time, so make sure your watch is accurate), the direction to look (under azimuth it will quote an angle and a useful compass direction such as SE, NW, E etc), and what height above the horizon to look (under Alt). This height is quoted in degrees. As a rough rule your clenched fist at arms length covers ten degrees, so if you want to look 40 degrees above the SE horizon use a compass (or the Pole Star!) to find SE and then count up four fist-heights above the horizon. At the exact predicted time, the satellite will appear.

Page 23: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

23

Things to look for: the Northern Lights The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are a beautiful site to behold in the night sky, and are not visible from light polluted cities.

They are best seen from northern latitudes, but big displays will still be visible from Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park.

The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles from the Sun being blasted off the surface of the Sun and out into the solar system. Some of these charged particles hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere and can cause it to glow, much like a fluorescent lamp.

Only during a particularly strong display will the Northern Lights be seen from Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park. However it is such an amazing thing to see that it is worthwhile keeping an eye out for these strong displays.

They cannot be predicted much in advance (only a few days usually) but there is a handy website where you can find out more, and even sign up for email or text alerts when a strong display is due:

http://www.spaceweather.com/

and click on the “Aurora Alerts” tab.

Page 24: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

24

List of Useful Websites Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park: www.forestry.gov.uk/darkskygalloway

Galloway Forest dark Sky Park Facebook page: www.facebook.com/darkskygalloway

Heavens above for information on the International Space Station ISS and what’s in the night

sky: www.heavens-above.com

General Astronomy

Portal to the Universe – a one-stop-shop for astronomy news www.portaltotheuniverse.org

Universe Today – another great astronomy news website www.universetoday.com

The Night Sky this Month www.roe.ac.uk/vc/actpublic/observing/skyatnight

Northern Lights Alerts www.spaceweather.com

Dark Skies and Light Pollution

Dark Sky Scotland http: www.darkskyscotland.org.uk/

Campaign for Dark Skies www.britastro.org/dark-skies/

International Dark-sky Association www.darksky.org

Page 25: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

25

List of Good Astronomy Magazines and Books If you’re interested in exploring astronomy further, there are several great books and magazines that you should look at.

Astronomy Now Magazine

The UK’s best-selling astronomy mag, this monthly magazine is packed full of informative articles, stunning pictures, and great star charts for the month ahead. The star-chart covers an A3 page in the centre of the magazine and can be taken out and laminated, providing an excellent chart for exploring the sky.

£3.25 per month or £33 for a year’s subscription

Subscribe online via www.astronomynowstore.com

“Stars and Planets” by Ian Ridpath

A great beginners guide to astronomy, with detailed descriptions of each of the planets, a page per constellation, and seasonal star charts.

£12.99 RRP (£8.08 on amazon.co.uk)

“Norton’s Star Atlas” by Ian Ridpath

A beautiful hardcover star atlas for the dedicated astronomer, with the most detailed star charts you’ll ever need, and a great reference section too.

£21.99 RRP (£12.97 on amazon.co.uk)

Page 26: Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park - Galloway and Southern ......your visit to Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park, home to some of the world’s darkest night skies. Whether you’ve never really

26

Contributors

This document was written by Steve Owens, currently the Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium manager

Other contributors were:

Dan Hillier, Project leader of Dark Sky Scotland.

Keith Muir, head of Visitor Services for Galloway Forest District, part of Forestry Commission Scotland.

We welcome your comments on this pack: [email protected]

October 2016