Out of the light

IMAGINE looking up at the night sky and seeing a galaxy that is 2.2 million light years away, or signs of life, closer to home, from the International Space Station?

Most people have never seen the Milky Way, let alone the Andromeda Galaxy, but with Northumberland designated a “Dark Sky Park”, with the largest area of dark skies in England, the opportunities for gazing into space are endless.

The Dark Sky Park incorporates Kielder Water and Forest Park and Northumberland National Park and is expected to be a huge boost to tourism. It stretches over nearly 1,500sq km from Hadrian’s Wall to the Cheviot Hills and Scottish border and is not only England’s first Dark Sky Park, but one of the largest in the world, along with Death Valley in the US.

Graham Fraser, an astronomer at Newcastle Astronomical Society, has been observing the night sky for 15 years and believes more and more people are now taking an interest in astronomy due to a desire to get back to nature and the so-called “Brian Cox effect”. Even looking at the craters of the moon through a pair of binoculars on a clear night can take your breath away, he says.

“I think people are feeling a bit disconnected from nature, especially people in cities with lots of light and lots of technology, and it’s part of a desire to reconnect with nature and see what is out there,” says Graham. “The first time anybody sees Jupiter or Saturn, it is amazing.

People often think it is going to be difficult or they will need expensive equipment. They don’t realise that with the naked eye and some guidance, there are a lot of interesting things to be seen.”

It’s possible to see a lot of planets without a telescope and as they change with the seasons, there’s always something different to see – the coloured bands of clouds and moons of Jupiter during winter, for example. “In February, Venus is in a good position to be seen, in March and April there are a lot of galaxies and in May, Saturn will be visible and it’s very exciting to see the rings of Saturn,” he says.

THE farthest thing visible without the aid of binoculars is the Andromeda Galaxy which looks like a “faint fuzzy patch”

and is 2.2 million light years away.

Another potential sighting – and a lot of people don’t realise it can be seen from earth – is the International Space Station. According to Graham, it can even be spotted during the day if you know what to look for.

“It goes around the earth about 15 times a day – not always on the same track – and if you know where to look, you can see this bright point of light going across the sky,” he says.

“The Space Station has a huge number of solar panels to power all the various experiments and what you are actually seeing is the reflection of sunlight from the solar panels. It is possible to photograph it in the daytime if you are willing to learn how to do it, but it’s quite fun to go out at night and see it passing overhead. The fascinating thing is you are looking at a point of light, but what you’re actually looking at is a space station with people living and working up there.”

The best time for observing is spring, autumn and winter, but even in summer during daylight it is possible to observe our nearest star – the sun.

“We use special equipment that filters out most of the sunlight and makes it safe,” says Graham. “You tend to think of the sun as a passive bright thing in the sky, but it’s a very dynamic changing object. There was a lot of activity last summer and it was possible to see sun spots and some very big flares coming out of the sun.”

Keeping Northumberland in the dark

Northumberland was awarded Dark Sky Park status by the US-based International Dark Skies Association (IDA). It is expected not only to reduce the spread of light pollution, but help maintain clear skies overhead and create a model for high quality, safe and eco- friendly public lighting. About 2,200 people live in the Dark Sky Park. It will also be of benefit to wildlife such as barn owls, bats, foxes, badgers and hedgehogs, who rely on the dark to forage for food.

The Kielder Observatory – the UK’s largest public observatory – has played a major part and had more than 50,000 visitors since it opened in 2008.

Along with Kielder, groups such as the Newcastle Astronomical Society will be running free events and activities at various Dark Sky Discovery Sites, including Cawfields on Hadrian’s Wall.

LOCAL businesses such as B&Bs in the park will also be providing star charts and binoculars, including Blacksmiths Cottage B&B at Alnham, in the Cheviots, which has a full telescope available for guests and frequent talks by astronomers.

The village of Elsdon is also holding family star nights at the village hall.

Apart from a total eclipse of the sun in Egypt, one of the most spectacular sightings Graham has had was the comet Hale-Bopp. “It was the sort of comet you could see if you were driving along the A1,” he says.

He also suggests looking out for meteor showers, otherwise known as “shooting stars”. They are visible at certain times of the year, most frequently in August and November. “It’s when the earth’s orbit passes through the debris of a comet: the comet might not exist any more, but the debris left behind will still be there so you’ve got lots of little particles that come into the earth’s atmosphere, burn up and give a flash of light,” he says. “They are quite spectacular to observe.”

As well as learning more about the night sky and the different constellations, what a lot of people take away from the star-gazing sessions is an understanding of their place in the universe which can be very humbling. “If you look up from what you are doing, it gives a much broader perspective,” says Graham.

Especially deep in the heart of Northumberland, where you can experience a night sky which is out of this world.