Back Garden Astronomy Week

We love the fact that TCB is in such a beautiful rural location, far from large populations and light polution.  Whilst during the day we can enjoy the wonderful scenery, at night we are blessed with dark skies.  An ideal spot to do a little star gazing.  

During the first week in February it's Back Garden Astronomy Week, a week when the BBC's Sky at Night Magazine are running a new campaign designed to inspire the nation to discover the wonders of stargazing.  You are invited to sign up in advance and each day from Saturday 2–Sunday 10 February they’ll send you a no-nonsense email newsletter that will help you discover a magical new sight every night, all visible from your back garden with just a pair of binoculars.  For the full article https://is.gd/RMK6QG.  

You don’t have be an expert or have a telescope to enjoy the night skies – all you need are your eyes! Give yourself several minutes to adjust to the darkness and on a clear night, you can enjoy an evening of awesome stargazing. In the summer get out the bean bags and lie down on the lawn, but at this time of year wrap up warm, then get ready to start your stargazing adventure.  If you've got binoculars, then use them, they'll enhance your experience, bringing out colours and quantity of stars.  The sky changes throughout the year, showcasing an array of different skies for you to enjoy.

Don't forget to look for satellites – they look like moving stars and there are lots of them up there. Look for satellites in the first two or three hours after sunset and check heavens-above.com to see if the space station is coming over.

Apparently (and I haven't counted personally!) there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches in the world!  Good luck with your star gazing.