AONB (area of outstanding national beauty)

6pm – 10pm

Isle of Wight Observatory, Newchurch Dark Skies are special areas where there are low levels of light pollution. When there is an absence of light pollution thousands of stars are revealed at night, this is beneficial to the wildlife and tranquillity of an area. We are lucky that much of the Isle of Wight has a high quality of night sky. This is especially apparent within Wight AONB. The Dark Wight Skies event is an introduction to the world of astronomy, the benefits of the Island’s Dark Skies and the Dark Wight Skies Initiative (www.darkwightskies.com) which is the ambition to achieve international recognition for the Island’s night sky. The event has been organised in partnership with Vectis Astronomical Society. Visitors will be able to use a range of telescopes to see the stars, including the Orion Nebula, which is in the mid southern sky during February evenings. There will also be talks and activities from a range of organisations around the benefits of Dark Skies for people and wildlife. This event will take place from 6-10pm on Monday, 16th February 2015 at the Isle of Wight Observatory, Watery Lane, Newchurch near Amazon World (nearest postcode is PO36 0LX) There’s no need to book, just turn up on the night, preferably with a little torch and warm clothing – all ages welcome. More details about this event will be posted on the ANOB website.