Alston Moor Observatory launches during 2024 North Pennines Stargazing Festival

08 November 2024

On Thursday 31 November a group of 40 expectant people gathered in the Upper South Tyne Valley to launch a new observatory under the skies of the darkest mainland National Landscape, the North Pennines. The event, during the eighth North Pennines Stargazing Festival, was the culmination of over three and a half years of hard work and perseverance led by local astronomer, David Hymers.

On arrival the sky conditions were not promising to say the least. It was foggy on the tops and cloud cover was 100% at the observatory itself, in the grounds of Alston Moor Golf Club.

To start the evening Dr Jurgen Schmoll, (astronomer and instrument scientist at Durham University), took the audience on an entertaining journey through the history of telescopes and observatory development highlighting his experiences of building his own home observatories over the last 30 years.

During the break David checked on the night sky and he excitedly announced that the clouds had totally cleared. With the group now outside the reason this location is so perfect for an observatory was plain to see. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, was arching across the sky and constellations were making their presence felt. Local astronomer and science educator, Andy Gray, set up his Dobsonian telescope and handed out binoculars, and we were soon marvelling at various dark sky objects including Andromeda, the furthest object which can be seen from the North Pennines with the naked eye. Amazingly light from the Andromeda Galaxy has taken 2.5 million years to reach us.

Jurgen and David powered up the observatory and everyone had the opportunity to go inside the dome and see the telescope in action. Saturn was the first target, clear views of its rings and moons are a sight unlikely to be forgotten by the people at the launch event. After the observing session the group warmed up, inside the clubhouse, and were treated to a further astronomy talk – this time by Andy Gray.

During the evening David extended his thanks to the Alston Moor Golf Club and the majority funders of the project – Westmorland and Furness Council, through its Community Fund. Vital match funding was also received from Alston Moor Parish Council. The initiative could not have come about without numerous in-kind contributions of time and expertise from the Golf Club and many individuals – including Dr Jurgen Schmoll. The Alston Moor Business Association also funded the purchase of the telescope.

The observatory itself is a 2.2m Pulsar Dome which houses a powerful 11” Celestron telescope. Motors can automatically open the viewing window and rotate the dome through 360 degrees to seek out stars, planets, and other objects – from a laptop, app or remotely. Small groups of people can observe deep sky objects direct via the scope’s eyepiece, but it is also linked to the conference room in the clubhouse, via a fibre optic cable. This set up will enable groups of up to 30 to see what the telescope is trained on.

Alston Moor Golf Club own the observatory. The clubhouse houses the facilities to support the operation of the new community resources including a bar, catering and refreshment facilities, conference room and toilets. Local enthusiast, David Hymers, has led the development of the observatory from the start and will continue to manage the operation in close collaboration with the Golf Club.

In time David is keen to gather a small group of volunteers to get more involved in looking after the facility and helping with set up and running events. The aspiration is for a diverse range of groups to use the observatory – from schools, scouts, guides, and other youth groups to individuals with an interest in the night sky, both from the local community and visitors to the wider North Pennines.

The website – https://alstonmoorobservatory.org – is in development currently but in time it will be the place for people to find out more and to book on events and activities. In the meantime people can contact David Hymers, on admin@alstonmoorobservatory.org, for more information and to find out about getting involved with the exciting future at the new Alston Moor Observatory.