MIKE Alexander has had a late night – he has been up till the wee small hours gazing at the Virgo cluster of galaxies. But Alexander is no ordinary observer. He runs a “stargazing” bed and breakfast in Galloway and spent the previous evening giving a guided tour of the star-strewn heavens to a guest from London who had not seen a truly dark sky before.
“The visitor said that was the first time in his life that he had felt like he was on a planet,” explains Alexander. “It’s a great place to see the stars – Dumfries and Galloway has some of the darkest skies in the country. When I was growing up in C
ardiff, I spent lots of time running around in the back garden looking up at the stars.
“Sadly, those days are gone for city dwellers now – there is too much light pollution. A couple of years back, I thought I’d combine my love of astronomy with opening a business. Along with my wife, we had a mad idea of starting a stargazing B&B.”
As it turns out, the idea was anything but mad. The twinkling tourist attraction is a key element of the Dark Sky Scotland project. As part of its year-long programme, Alexander has been out on the road speaking to other B&B owners about capitalising on the night-time views.
“Seeing stars down to the horizon will impress any visitor who comes to a more rural area of Scotland,” he says. “We just want B&B owners to encourage their guests to go out and look up. When they do, invariably they are blown away.”
Donna Black of VisitScotland, which backed the Dark Sky Scotland campaign, says: “This kind of initiative is exactly what we are looking for, a creative idea which captures the interest of visitors and shows what Scotland can offer that nowhere else can.”
There were three major strands to the Dark Sky programme: family events with stargazing for all ages; workshops for teachers to help them inspire children to take an interest in space science; and community and tourism workshops, with the aim of helping visitors to make the most of Scotland’s dark skies.
Dark Sky Scotland was the brainchild of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE). Dan Hillier, from the ROE, thinks that the year has gone extremely well.
“More than 30 organisations have been involved in the Dark Sky Scotland campaign and what that shows is that it taps into an existing interest and we reckon that more than 5,000 people – young and old – have actively taken part,” he says.
“It has shown that astronomy is not a niche thing; there is a broad appeal. One of things that really stood out is the enthusiasm of people coming to the events. They have a real appetite for the stars.”
It’s not just the year past that counts – what will happen in the future? Hillier hopes the Dark Sky programme will be rolled out UK-wide for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, a global celebration of all things astronomical.
Steve Owens, the UK co-ordinator for the International Year of Astronomy, says: “Encouraging an appreciation of dark skies will be a very important part of next year.
“At the moment, we are looking at developing certain areas as ‘dark sky parks’ and taking that idea out on a worldwide stage will be a good thing for Scotland. It’s about creating a lasting legacy of stargazing, not just a fleeting interest in the stars.”
During the year, novice stargazer Joanna Harrison decided to capitalise on the dark skies of Dunlop in Ayrshire and captured the imaginations of budding stargazers in her Beaver Scout troop in the process.
She says: “Between them, they had already amassed quite a bit of information so they were eager to participate. We added games including dressing-up as planets and racing to get in order of distance from the sun and they were hooked.
“Next, out to the park for some live stargazing. When the children recalled the most familiar constellations, we told a story or two bringing them yet further to life. The children really took to the mystery, magic and story-telling.”
One of the things Alexander likes to show to younger guests is the Moon reflected on their palms – letting them hold the Moon in their hands. This type of “hands-on” astronomy was one of the hallmarks of the year. Events took place in castle grounds, country youth hostels, parks, schools and community centres. The reach extended to Scotland’s most remote parts. A partnership with the Forestry Commission gave access to Scotland’s woodland for events – the perfect vantage point to appreciate the country’s inky black skies.
Dr Martin Hendry of Glasgow University was the astronomer on the Dark Sky project, and he was surprised by some of the questions the programme raised.
“One thing that struck me was the interest in some of the bigger, deeper cosmology questions like ‘how did it all begin’,” he says. “It also highlighted the close links between the arts and astronomy. Our ancestors picked out constellations, using them to tell stories as they appeared to dance across the sky and that still has universal appeal.”
A quarter of a century ago, the film Local Hero was released. Last weekend, the film was screened again in Glasgow and the scene that still enjoys the greatest ripple of recognition is the moment where jaded, 1980s oil executive Mac describes the aurora borealis to his astronomy-buff boss. As Mac stands inside a windswept red telephone box, he observes the beauty of the vivid northern lights overhead. He becomes an accidental stargazer and it changes his life. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of Hendry’s favourite films. He says: “That’s a great moment. Everybody should have a moment like that.”
And, if the Dark Sky Scotland campaign has its way, everybody will.
• The next Dark Sky Scotland events take place at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (15 March), Glasgow Botanic Gardens (18 March) and Laggan (28 and 29 March). Log on to:
www.darkskyscotland.org.uk for details. E-mail
for details of the International Year of Astronomy. For details about Mike Alexander’s B&B, visit
www.gallowayastro.comThe full article contains 1065 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
