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Dark Sky Festival 2021

24 - 26 September 2021

Dark Sky Festival 2021

The Brecon Beacons National Park is only one of 18 places in the world with dark sky reserve status. We enjoy light pollution free dark skies and can see the milky way on clear nights amongst many other celestial treats.

Come and join us on our first virtual dark sky festival with a series of online events and talks against the backdrop of the Brecon Beacons Dark Sky Reserve.

The festival is suitable for anyone with an interest in the night sky. It is very suitable for younger audiences over the age of 10. All events are £2 per household.

  • Discover how long the sun might be around for
  • Why we are made of stardust
  • What planet earth looks like from a far away galaxy
  • How to find and observe the planets and what to look out for

These and many more questions will be answered. Come and discover the beauty of our night sky from the comfort of your home with your family and friends.

Couple sit at base of Hay Bluff looking out at the sunset

Time travelling 
24th September 11:30 - To gaze up at the stars is to look back into the past, much as Earth bound geologists do today.

Bat hanging upsidedown

Where has the night gone?
24th September 14:00 - This talk explores the mounting challenges bats are facing with the increase in artificial lighting at night and how we can practically mitigate this problem.

 

Picture taken from Abergavenny of Jupiter and its largest moon Ganymeade and its shadow.A beginner's guide to observing planets

24th September 19:00 - This guide for absolute beginners will show you how to find and observe planets and what to look out for.

 

What's eating the universe?

25th September 10:00 - Award-winning physicist Paul Davies walks us through the puzzles and paradoxes that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day.

Llangorse lake by starlight

Welsh myths and legends of the night sky

25th September 14:00 - In  this talk D.J.Thomas explores how the Welsh characters and heroes of the Mabinogion and other folk tales are reflected in the night sky.

 

Sunset over Llangorse lake with man and dog on Mynydd LlangorseHow stars work

25th September 19:00 - Are other stars like our Sun? If not what are they like - small and peaceful, or large and violent? What makes them the way they are? How long will the Sun be around for and what might happen to it?

SpacemanThe greatest adventure

26th September 12:00 - The Greatest Adventure traces the events of the 20th century; the first satellite in orbit; the first animal, man and woman in space; the first spacewalk; as well as the ultimate US victory in the race to land on the moon.

Picture is of an Argentinian meteorite in the Usk collection called Camp Del Cielo.Meteorites and the story of the solar system

26th September 14:00 - This talk will reveal how the solar system was formed, explain why we are made of stardust and provide some surprising facts about the origin of some familiar materials.


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