STARGAZERS will be checking out the wonders of the cosmos like never before, after the unveiling of one of the largest public telescopes in the North.

A mammoth 19in reflecting telescope, housed in a dome at Dalby Forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire, will be revealing a host of out-of-this-world wonders to the Scarborough and District Astronomical Society.

The instrument complements a smaller 12in telescope, also owned by the club, which was installed in a nearby observatory earlier this year.

It will be used by club members and also to introduce novice night-owls to the hobby.

To mark the occasion, a Nightwatch event has been organised for Saturday, August 11, as the centrepiece of a festival staged by the Scarborough society to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Forest ranger Brian Walker said: "Dalby is an ideal place for astronomy, free from the invasive light pollution that has robbed many towns and cities of their starry skies.

"This summer's public Nightwatch coincides with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, so there's a chance we'll see shooting stars and many other celestial wonders, such as star clusters and galaxies.

"But even if the weather doesn't cooperate, our wildlife rangers will be out in force with harmless moth traps and bat detectors to search for life back on earth."