In this post I will talk about the work of the International Dark-Sky Association (https://www.darksky.org/)and the visit I made a few years ago to the Kielder Observatory, which is in the Northumberland Dark Sky park in northern England. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was founded in 1988 by David Crawford a professional astronomer, who spent… Continue reading Dark Sky Places
Tag: Astronomy
Astronomy Items
The Brightness of Venus
Anyone, even the most casual observer, looking at the evening sky in the last month will have noticed the brilliant white planet Venus shining in the west. Often known as the Evening Star, Venus is the third brightest natural object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. In this post I’ll talk about… Continue reading The Brightness of Venus
Measuring and Mapping Light Pollution
As discussed in a previous post , light pollution is a major nuisance to astronomers both amateur and professional. When astronomers classify how much light pollution there is at a particular location, they often use the Bortle Scale, devised by John Bortle and first published in the popular astronomy magazine Sky and Telescope (Bortle 2001). Rather… Continue reading Measuring and Mapping Light Pollution
SpaceX Starlink Satellites
Many of you will have seen the pictures last year showing long ‘trains’ composed of as many as sixty SpaceX Starlink satellites crossing the sky. A 'train' of SpaceX Starlink satellites just after their launch. In the days after launch these trains break up as the satellites position themselves into their final orbits These satellites… Continue reading SpaceX Starlink Satellites
Free e-book on Venus and how to Terraform it
Merry Christmas! With Christmas coming up I’d like to give a free gift to all my readers. My e-book 'Venus and how to Terraform it' will be available free in the Kindle bookstore for five days from today (19 December 2019). To get your FREE copy please click on the link below . Get free… Continue reading Free e-book on Venus and how to Terraform it
