While astronomy lovers across the UK will be camped out in isolation at high altitude and away from light pollution there is an easier option – Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority has teamed up with Dark Sky Wales to host a stellar evening of star gazing and shooting stars at the National Park Visitor Centre on Thursday 12th August from 7.30pm until 11.00pm – although avid astronomers will be welcome to stay longer.
This spectacular event will include night telescopes, presentations, exhibits, the planetarium, talks and much more! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the universe, learn to identify the constellations, and see for yourself the wonders of the sky. Shooting stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters, and even a few planets will be at your fingertips as the Visitor Centre is briefly transformed into a mini-observatory offering star gazers a wonderful opportunity to view the night sky, see great views from telescopes and from within a mini planetarium, plus learn about star gazing equipment and astronomy from Dark Sky Wales.
Richard Levy, National Park Visitor Centre Manager said: “We are delighted to hold another star gazing event at the National Park Visitor Centre and we hope to attract a lot of people on Thursday night. There will be plenty to do inside if the weather doesn’t co-operate, but have our fingers crossed for clear dark skies.”
Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe, Member Champion for the Visitors Centres for Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority said: “Promoting our National Park Visitor Centre and making the most of this special place for local residents and visitors to enjoy is something we feel is very important. We are delighted to have the support of Dark Sky Wales, particularly Allan Trow who regularly shares his knowledge and expertise with us at these popular astronomy events. Star gazing is such a wonderful learning experience for the young and the old and we hope to encourage anyone who wants to learn a bit about star gazing or those who just want to make a wish to get themselves up to the Visitor Centre on Thursday 12th August.”
And if all this talk of making wishes on shooting stars and star gazing inspires your family to look to the heavens more often, be sure to keep an eye on the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park website www.breconbeacons.org for more star gazing events. You can visit our National Park Visitor Centre at any time, just grab a few blankets and a thermos of hot tea or chocolate and head to our spectacular countryside for uninterrupted views away from light pollution. Many constellations and even the Persiad meteor shower are viewable with the naked eye and you never know if a lucky falling star may cross your celestial sky.
Tickets for this event cost £5.00 per adult and £3.00 for under 16s (ticket price includes parking, entry into the portable planetarium and a jacket potato light meal) and the event will go ahead whatever the weather. For further information on star gazing in the National Park please contact the National Park Visitor Centre on 01874 623 366 or email visitor.centre@breconbeacons.org
Notes for Editors:
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park has some of the darkest skies in the UK and the National Park Visitor Centre is fast becoming the perfect location to host star gazing events, with the ideal combination of being easy to get to, but still secluded away from light pollution. At previous events star gazers have seen Mars, Jupiter, the International Space Station whizzing overhead at the beginning and even Saturn and its rings.