We're delighted to be working with the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty partnership to celebrate dark skies and the importance of connecting with this special, and often hidden, part of the Malvern Hills landscape.
Read more below from the Malvern Hills AONB partnership:
It’s estimated that 80 per cent of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way - the great band of billions of stars which cuts across the night sky. In parts of the UK, particularly in urban areas, visibility of any stars is reduced to a mere handful, all others shrouded by light pollution.
The Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership is proud to say that there are now two Dark Sky Discovery Sites in the area, where, when weather conditions allow, the Milky Way can be seen with the naked eye. To celebrate these recent designations the AONB is hosting an evening with celebrity astronomer Will Gater, recently described as ‘’one of the current generation of ‘rock star’ science popularisers.’’
Will is an astronomy journalist, presenter, author of several popular astronomy books and an experienced observational astronomer and astrophotographer. His recent tours have all been sell-outs and the Malvern Hills AONB unit is delighted that he has agreed to host an event for us and tell us more about our wonderful dark skies and what we can see in them.
The evening will begin at Castlemorton Village Hall for a talk titled Chasing Darkness which will cover what dark skies mean to us, what they can reveal and how we must work to protect their treasures. Following that, if the weather is clear, stargazing is planned – at nearby Golden Valley. This site is owned and managed by Malvern Hills Trust and is now one of the AONB’s two Dark Sky Discovery sites.
Sarah Jones, the AONB unit’s Support Officer said “We’re delighted that the area now boasts two designated sites, where the wonder of a clear night sky can be truly appreciated. It’s been proven time and again that dark skies are beneficial for many reasons and artificial night lighting disrupts the cycles of nocturnal creatures, impacts the quality of sleep we get and wastes money and energy. We’ve recently published guidance to help people minimise night lighting and our aim is to continue improving the quality of dark skies in the Malvern Hills AONB.’’
If you are a fan of space, science or astronomy we highly recommend getting your tickets early to avoid missing out. This event is aimed at anyone interested in astronomy and is most suitable for adults and children aged 10+.
Tickets are £6 for adults, free for under 16s and are available to book on Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/discovering-dark-skies-tickets-72227647839
