From Dark Skies to London: Kielder Observatory at New Scientist Live 2025

Ever wondered what the Milky Way looks like away from city lights? Kielder Observatory brought the magic of the night sky to London with telescopes, VR experiences, stunning astrophotography, and interactive activities - inspiring thousands to look up, explore, and protect our stars. Discover how we engaged curious minds of all ages and shared the wonder of the cosmos.

Kielder Observatory Shines at New Scientist Live 2025

Earlier this month, Kielder Observatory took to the stage at New Scientist Live 2025, the UK’s biggest festival of ideas and discovery, and what an incredible weekend it was!

We brought a little piece of Northumberland’s starry skies to London, giving attendees a taste of the wonder that awaits under truly dark skies. Our Dobsonian telescope, equipped with a digital eyepiece, showcased pre-recorded footage captured at our observatory - a mesmerising experience for many visitors who had never looked through a telescope before.

Throughout the weekend, our team enjoyed in-depth discussions with people passionate about the cosmos, sharing knowledge, stories, and inspiration about astronomy and our place in the universe.

We also gave attendees a glimpse into the future of astrophotography with the cutting-edge Seestar smart telescope, demonstrating how accessible capturing the night sky is becoming. Alongside this, we displayed a stunning collection of images taken from Kielder Observatory, including shots of the Aurora Borealis - which surprised many guests, who were amazed to learn that the northern lights can often be seen right here in the UK!

To highlight the importance of protecting our night skies, we invited visitors to take part in an interactive activity: three large boards featuring our signature image of the Milky Way - but with the stars removed. Guests were asked to “put the stars back in our sky” as a pledge to tackle light pollution. Many were shocked to learn that 99% of Europeans can no longer see the stars in great detail due to excessive artificial lighting.

Our VR experience was another big hit, allowing guests to explore what the night sky could look like from London if light pollution disappeared, an inspiring, immersive reminder of what we’re all missing.

On Schools Day, things got creative with origami star-making and a chance for students to write a question to an astronomer… or even an alien! The results were brilliant - keep an eye out for a future blog where we’ll share some of our favourites.

We couldn’t have done it without our fantastic team. Huge thanks to our volunteers who joined Lindsey, our Experience & Communications Coordinator, and Dan, our Director of Astronomy and Science Communication. Jo inspired visitors with her passion for our mission to spark curiosity and wonder in science. Alex guided guests through the constellations in our VR night sky safari, and Finn - a former Kielder astronomer now at the prestigious Greenwich Observatory - shared his expertise on our digital telescope.

Their enthusiasm and dedication truly captured what Kielder Observatory is all about: inspiring people to look up, discover, and protect our night skies.

We’re so proud of what we achieved and thrilled to have connected with so many new audiences who may never have experienced dark skies before. Hopefully, we’ve inspired a few more people to look up, and think differently about our universe and our place within it.

We hope to return to New Scientist Live in 2026, bigger, better, and continuing to bring the magic of the Kielder dark skies and astronomy to the public.

Learn more about the event, and maybe we will see you there next year! : live.newscientist.com