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stdClass Object ( [id] => 201 [title] => Funding received from the Cultural Recovery Fund [alias] => funding-received-from-the-cultural-recovery-fund [introtext] =>

We were delighted to be awarded £23,300 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund Cultural Recovery Fund. This was a welcome investment in maintaining our core team, upgrading our observatory buildings and keeping them COVID-secure for visitors.

[fulltext] =>

 

Kielder Observatory receives funding from the National Lottery Heritage Cultural Recovery Fund

 

We were delighted to be awarded £23,300 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund Cultural Recovery Fund. This was a welcome investment in maintaining our core team, upgrading our observatory buildings and keeping them COVID-secure for visitors. We were one of over 470 organisations to receive funding, which came from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and was designed to support heritage recover from the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and it built on more than £146m delivered to the sector in the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund, which included funding for revenue and capital works. For more details, see the news story on NLHF's website https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/news/over-470-heritage-organisations-receive-culture-recovery-fund-lifeline 

 

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We were delighted to be awarded £23,300 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund Cultural Recovery Fund. This was a welcome investment in maintaining our core team, upgrading our observatory buildings and keeping them COVID-secure for visitors.

)

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 197 [title] => A Star by Any Other Name [alias] => a-star-by-any-other-name [introtext] =>

Can you name or own a star? Ellie, one of our Astronomers, discusses websites which offer the opportunity to buy or name a star. Can you buy a star? Who can name a star? Why don’t Kielder Observatory offer this service?

[fulltext] =>

 

A Star by Any Other Name: Can you name or own a star?

By Ellie Macdonald

 

A quick search on the internet of “Buy a star” will turn up dozens of websites that offer you the chance to name or even buy a star. At Kielder Observatory we frequently receive emails asking about these services and enquiring if we offer similar. We have never and nor will we ever offer a service like this because of one simple reason: you cannot own a star and we do not have the authority to name one.

 

(The signing of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Credit: United Nations)

 

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty was introduced in light of the “Space Race” between the US and the USSR and it aimed to set out some base rules for space. Article II of the treaty states:

“Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

The treaty  also says that that governments are responsible for public and private organisations that operate within their country, so that they too have to act according to the treaty. The treaty was an attempt to find a compromise between the USSR, who wanted space to be the preserve of governments, and the US, who wanted the private sector to have the same access. In  other words - there is a ratified UN treaty that prevents you from owning a star, or any other celestial body. 

 

A star by any other name

So, you cannot own a star, but what about naming? Many of the services offer you the chance to name a star in memory of a loved one or as a gift, and have it placed into a registry or catalogue. The official naming of stars is the domain of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU support the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) which is an international group of astronomers who research and catalogue star names drawing on cultural and historical traditions. You can read more about how exactly they determine proper names here. A proper name is a name you would use to recognise a star like you would a place or person, such as Sirius “the scorcher” or Alphard “the solitary one” rather than a scientific designation. No one outside of the IAU have the authority to give a “proper” name to a star.

 

Stars which have not received a “proper” name from the WGSN are typically referred to by one or many of their catalogue numbers. Star catalogues are lists of stars which assign a designation to each observed star and log certain characteristics such as magnitude, spectral class, distance, amongst others. There are well over 100 star catalogues and establishing one is not particularly difficult. Some of the star catalogues most used by astronomers are the Hipparcos (HIP), Tycho-2 (TYC), Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), and Henry Draper (HD) catalogues.

 

Companies which offer the opportunity to name a star can do so by simply starting their own star catalogue (by just listing stars) and then selling off stars. The stars named through these services are named only on this one specific catalogue. Some of them assign stars at random, so there is no guarantee that the star you pay to name on their catalogue is visible. The star in question may never rise above the horizon from your locality, or it may be too faint to observe from most telescopes on the planet.

 

 

Down to earth

The urge to name a star after someone  is not new. The Henry Draper star catalogue was named after him as his wife Mary Anna funded the creation of it. On a personal note - I know what it is to love and lose someone close to me. I know the urge to render a finite life and an infinite love into something that will outlive everyone. I understand why this is appealing, but at the same time I want to make it absolutely clear what it is that you are purchasing when you go to these sites.

 

At the end of the day what you are buying is a certificate (and sometimes assorted accompaniments). If this is what you want - all power to you. This said, the star you name will not be recognised by that name by anyone other than you. The star you name may not even be observable under the best conditions at the most ideal location. 

 

This may seem all very negative at this point - you cannot name nor can you own a star. What can you do then? The saying  “we’re made of star stuff” is as true now as ever and you can keep this in mind. You don’t need to name a star because all that is you was once a star. Energy, therefore matter in a sense, cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system such as the universe, we are stuck in this cosmic recycling plant. This is the first law of thermodynamics. Each one of us has always been “here” in some form, and always will be. You and your loved ones are older than all those stars in the sky anyway. 

 

A gift from space

If you are looking for a space-themed gift for a loved one then meteorites make great tangible presents. Meteorites are rocks that originate from a source in outer space and that have fallen to the Earth’s surface. Some of these meteorites are older than Earth itself and you can hold them, smell them, lick them (if you are a geologist). Take care to look for authentication when sourcing meteorites though, look for sellers that are reputable and try to get verification prior to acquisition, particularly for larger samples. We often stock some meteorites which we sell during our events at the observatory. 

 

We love the stars here at Kielder Observatory, but part of their beauty is their universality. They don’t really belong to us small stargazers on this pale blue dot, and that is the way it should stay.

 

(The pale blue dot revisited. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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Can you name or own a star? Ellie, one of our Astronomers, discusses websites which offer the opportunity to buy or name a star. Can you buy a star? Who can name a star? Why don’t Kielder Observatory offer this service?

)

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 166 [title] => Perseverance, Hope, and Questions to Heaven [alias] => perseverance-hope-and-questions-to-heaven [introtext] =>

In 2020 three missions launched with the same destination in mind - Mars. About half of all Mars missions have failed, but with Hope and Tianwen-1 already in orbit and working well, 2021 could well be shaping up to be a year of historic success. No pressure Perseverance. 

[fulltext] =>

 

Perseverance, Hope, and Questions to Heaven

By Eleanor Macdonald, Astronomer

 

In 2020 the planets aligned, quite literally, and 3 missions launched with the same destination in mind- Mars. About half of all Mars missions have failed, but with Hope and Tianwen-1 already in orbit and working well, 2021 could well be shaping up to be a year of historic success. No pressure Perseverance. 

The United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe was the first of this batch of missions to reach the red planet. After 7 months and having travelled 494 million kilometres it entered Mars orbit on Tuesday evening. A few days later, Hope sent back its first picture of Mars:

[Caption: The image captured daylight breaking on Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. Credit: UAESA]

The Hope probe will spend the next 2 years orbiting Mars and collecting data to provide the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. The team at the Emirates Mars Mission want to understand climate dynamics on Mars, and also to answer key questions about the rate at which Mars loses hydrogen and oxygen gases to space. 

The day after Hope, Tianwen-1 also established orbit around Mars. Tianwen roughly translates to “Questions to Heaven”. It is the first successful interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and consists of an orbiter, deployable camera, lander, and rover. Tainwen-1 will spend the next few months orbiting Mars before attempting to land the rover. In that time, it will be scanning the surface of Mars to refine the target landing zone for the rover in Utopia Planitia. Should the CNSA be successful in landing their rover they would be only the second space agency to do so, after NASA. The objectives for the mission include studying surface soil characteristics, the distribution of water ice, and Mars’s magnetic field. 

Finally, on the 18th of February the third mission that was launched during the 2020 launch window will reach Mars. The Perseverance rover is the centrepiece of the $2.5 billion Mars 2020 mission from NASA. It is about the same size as a small car and weighs in at just over 1000kg. The design of the Perseverance rover, affectionately nicknamed “Percy”, is based on that of the Curiosity rover but there are plenty of new additions.

[Caption: A diagram of the Perseverance rover which labels its scientific instruments. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Perhaps the most exciting new feature being sent to Mars with Perseverance is the Ingenuity helicopter. The entire purpose of Ingenuity is to be a technology demonstration. It will reach Mars attached to the belly of Perseverance and after a few months it will be placed on the Martian surface and attempt- for the first time- powered flight on another planet. 

 

[Caption: An artist’s impression of the Ingenuity helicopter and the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Mars’s atmosphere is thin, only 1% as thick as Earth’s, and this makes generating the lift necessary for flight difficult. In order to make it possible Ingenuity has been made as light as possible at only 1.8kg. If the technology can be successfully demonstrated it will pave the way for future helicopter missions to Mars. The hope is that helicopters could be useful on Mars by allowing us a birds-eye view of geological features and to set sight on regions traditionally off-limit to rovers due to steep or slippery terrain. 

[Caption: The Jezero crater and planned landing site for the Perseverance rover. To the left of the landing site you can see a water inlet and an ancient river delta. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Perseverance will be aiming to land in the Jezero crater. This site has been selected due to the likelihood that it used to contain water. In images it appears to have both in inlet and outlet as well as an ancient river delta. River deltas are landforms created by the deposition of sediment from rivers as they run into slow-moving or stagnant water sources, such as lakes. The hope is that the river deltas on Mars will, like Earth, contain a large amount of organic matter. This is important because Percy’s raison d’être is to finally answer the question we’ve been asking for years: Is there life on Mars?

Well, almost. Perseverance doesn’t aim to investigate if there is currently life on Mars, rather it is looking to find evidence of past life. This is something that has been investigated to some extent by most surface Mars missions, but Perseverance has the best chance yet of getting us a definitive answer. 

Previous rovers have searched for signs of life by pulverising rock into a fine dust and heating it to essentially see if it smells of dead stuff. Perseverance won’t be crushing rock; it will be drilling into it in order to obtain a core sample which will then be packed safely away. The goal is to collect around 0.5kg of rock which will, for the first time ever, be sent back to Earth.

Once the rock samples are back on Earth, scientists will finally have the opportunity to examine it with a full suite of laboratory instruments. The rock which will be collected will be selected based on the probability it holds evidence of ancient life. The rock collection mechanism will also provide an opportunity to test our ability to get things off Mars and could be vitally important for developing strategies for possible future crewed missions. We will have to be patient, however, as NASA has no plans to collect these samples soon, it will be 10 years at least. 

Furthermore, Perseverance has MOXIE. The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilisation Experiment, that is. This is a technology demonstration that will produce oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Mars’s atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide so, if successful, MOXIE will open a number of new possibilities for mission planners trying to figure out how to support humans on Mars. 

At approximately 8:55pm GMT Perseverance will land. Its Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) profile is identical to Curiosity’s, with one difference – Terrain-Relative Navigation (TRN). TRN is a new EDL technology which uses a special camera to quickly map the terrain. This is compared with an onboard map and if Perseverance determines that it is heading into hazardous terrain, it corrects course.  

[Caption: The Entry, Descent, and Landing profile for the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

It is likely to be a tense couple of minutes, the team have already taken to calling it the “Seven Minutes of Terror”, and you too can participate in it! The entry, descent, and landing of Perseverance will be broadcast live by NASA on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, amongst other channels starting at 7:15pm GMT. More information can be found on the NASA website. 

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In 2020 three missions launched with the same destination in mind - Mars. About half of all Mars missions have failed, but with Hope and Tianwen-1 already in orbit and working well, 2021 could well be shaping up to be a year of historic success. No pressure Perseverance. 

)

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 163 [title] => From STEM to stars! [alias] => from-stem-to-stars [introtext] =>

The restoration of an historical telescope will form the centrepiece of a project to inspire thousands of school children to reach for the stars and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

[fulltext] =>

 

Kielder Observatory, set in the beautiful Kielder Water and Forest Park, in Northumberland, has secured a grant from the Reece Foundation to help restore an original Herschel telescope at Newcastle University to full working order. It will use the restoration to inspire thousands of school children, with an initial pilot of its programme, From STEM to Stars, at schools across Northumberland and Sunderland in the WISE Academies Trust.

The telescope will be at the centre of a project to create Kielder Observatory Star Groups – groups of school children who will study the restoration of the telescope to learn about the science and engineering skills involved while learning more about the night sky from the observatory’s team of professional astronomers.

The team will be visiting schools for activities and children will also be visiting the site, which sits under the finest dark skies in Europe. Star group members will have the opportunity to become Kielder Observatory Ambassadors and have work placements at space companies in the North East.

Catherine Johns, CEO of Kielder Observatory, said: “Herschel is a familiar name in the North East. Both William and Caroline Herschel were hugely influential in the study of astronomy and to be able to restore a telescope that William Herschel himself perhaps used is very exciting. This project is part of our developing strategy to reach beyond the observatory site and connect with people in innovative ways to convey that special moment of Kielder inspiration.

“The project will enable children to work with expert businesspeople and academics in the North East, helping them make a direct link between STEM subjects at school and STEM career opportunities in the North East.”

Zoe Carr, OBE, CEO of the WISE Academies Trust said: “We’re delighted to be the first schools to be involved in this exciting project. It’s important for our pupils to learn about their rich, scientific heritage and the great innovation that has been achieved here in the North-East.  This project not only looks to the past but will also inspire pupils to see the possibilities that lay before them through the exploration of careers in engineering and STEM subjects.”

Anne Reece, chairwoman of the Reece Foundation said: “The Reece Foundation is delighted to support this project which brings the Kielder Observatory facilities to schools and children in the region – and links this to one story from the region’s rich history of innovation and scientific discovery.

“The opportunity to see the stars and planets alongside the chance to restore such a historically significant object as the Herschel telescope is one not to be missed. We are sure this will be both inspiring to the new generation of engineers and scientists that the region and the world so desperately need – and also a lot of fun.”

Dr Angela Dyson, director of physics at Newcastle University, said: “We’re really excited to be part of this project. Alexander Herschel was the founding professor of physics at Newcastle in 1871. His father John, grandfather William and great aunt Caroline were all eminent astronomers. Restoring the telescope has been an ambition of ours for quite some time. This project provides a unique platform to inspire and enthuse the next generation of engineers, physicists and astronomers.”

The new project comes as Kielder has recently received planning permission to site a new five metre diameter Spider 500 radio telescope, known as the Tanlaw telescope, which will allow it to contribute to worldwide scientific research, attract university research into Northumberland and develop its remote outreach activities, particularly in schools.

The observatory has already announced the development of an augmented reality Kielder Observatory, allowing people to view a virtual nighttime sky, and is developing an online Kielder learning resource, with many more initiatives on the horizon.

The observatory, which attracts around 20,000 visitors per year, has a team of astronomers, guest speakers and volunteers who discuss and make observations about the Universe through a series of public events.

 

 

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The restoration of an historical telescope will form the centrepiece of a project to inspire thousands of school children to reach for the stars and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

)

stdClass Object ( [id] => 160 [title] => Kielder Observatory Podcasts! [alias] => kielder-observatory-podcasts [introtext] =>

New podcast series from Kielder Observatory - tune in every month! We'll be covering topics from cosmology, exoplanets, immersive tech, space situational awareness and much much more. Listen and subscribe!  

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New podcast series from Kielder Observatory - tune in every month! We'll be covering topics from cosmology, exoplanets, immersive tech, space situational awareness and much much more. Listen and subscribe!  

)

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 159 [title] => New radio telescope for Kielder [alias] => new-radio-telescope-for-kielder [introtext] =>

Kielder Observatory is excited to announce we've submitted plans for a fantastic new telescope onsite.

[fulltext] =>

 

New telescope!!!

We’ve just submitted plans to site for a new five-metre-diameter, Spider 500 radio telescope.

The move into radio astronomy allows us to contribute to worldwide scientific research, attract university research into Northumberland and develop our remote outreach activities.

It will make a dramatic difference to our astronomy offer. We can use it for citizen science projects and engage a wide variety of audiences in STEM, illuminating career pathways and providing student placements and apprenticeship opportunities.

The telescope will mostly be funded by the Tanlaw Foundation. Lord Tanlaw selected Kielder Observatory because of its commitment to public outreach and its remote location. He said: “It is hugely important that we can use this facility to reach a wider, hitherto excluded, audience to observe the Universe and create distance learning in astronomy, data science and astrobiology.”

This telescope is part of “Kielder Observatory Constellations”, our strategy to reach beyond the observatory site and connect with people in innovative ways to convey that special Kielder moment of inspiration. We’ve already announced the development of an augmented reality Kielder Observatory, with many more initiatives on the horizon.

 

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Kielder Observatory is excited to announce we've submitted plans for a fantastic new telescope onsite.

)

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 158 [title] => Your Own Kielder Observatory [alias] => your-own-kielder-observatory [introtext] =>

Click here to read more about how Kielder Observatory is bringing cutting edge technology to the depths of Kielder forest.

[fulltext] =>

 

We're very excited to be partnering with Arcade Ltd to create your very own Kielder Observatory, via the magic of augmented reality... Thanks to the Digital Catapult North East and Tees Valley North East Social Tech Fund, we have £10,000 to create a prototype and, once we've seen how it works, we'll work closely with Arcade Ltd to raise further funding so that everyone can enjoy the experience. Imagine it - your very own "Kielder Observatory" that you can enter via a smartphone and view a virtual night-time sky!

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Click here to read more about how Kielder Observatory is bringing cutting edge technology to the depths of Kielder forest.

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 155 [title] => Exoplanet [alias] => exoplanet [introtext] =>

Poof! ‘Planet’ disappears from astronomers’ sight. Did it even exist?

[fulltext] =>

Exoplanet

By Dan Pye, Astronomer and Visitor Experience Lead 

 

A new study released on the 20^th April in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) offers an answer to a mystery that has been intriguing the world of astronomy.

Fomalhaut b, an extrasolar object and candidate planet orbiting the A-type main-sequence star Fomalhaut, was first documented using visible light wavelengths in 2008 by astronomers assessing data from the Hubble telescope and later confirmed in 2012 by an international team of astronomers as a large exoplanet. This method is different to the more commonly known ‘transit’ method which scans for a dip in light as a planet passes infant of its star.

 

 

Early in the discovery scientists argued against the idea of a unique Jupiter sized object shrouded by dust, and rather suggested that the image was a short-lived dust cloud unrelated to any planet based on the objects motion and lack fo infrared detection.  This seems to have been the case.

András Gáspár, an assistant astronomer at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory analysed recent images captured by Hubble in 2013 and 2014 and discovered that Fomalhaut b had indeed disappeared. Fomalhaut b could have been the result of two icy bodies colliding with one another leaving a cloud of fine dust particles visible enough to be observed.

This discovery discrediting the exoplanet however opens astronomers to a new kind of discovery.

“These collisions are exceedingly rare and so this is a big deal that we actually get to see evidence of one," said Andras Gaspar, an assistant astronomer at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and lead author of the new paper. "We believe that we were at the right place at the right time to have witnessed such an unlikely event with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope."

Today’s paper could help shape future exoplanet research.

“The Fomalhaut star system is the ultimate test lab for all of our ideas about how exoplanets and star systems evolve," said George Rieke, a Regents Professor of Astronomy at Steward Observatory. "We do have evidence of such collisions in other systems, but none of this magnitude has been observed in our solar system. This is a blueprint of how planets destroy each other."

Fomalhaut, a star twice as big as our sun and 20 times brighter, is located in the constellation Pisces Austrinus approximately 25 light years from Earth and is one of the brightest stars in the nights sky. 

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Poof! ‘Planet’ disappears from astronomers’ sight. Did it even exist?

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 152 [title] => Coronavirus measures [alias] => coronavirus-measures [introtext] =>

Update regarding current coronavirus measures for events at the observatory

[fulltext] =>

Update for COVID-19

All restrictions are lifted in England and we have reviewed our risk assessments. Masks are no longer required and are now a matter of personal choice. We are maintaining our reduced capacity at but this is under constant review.

We have retained our amended terms and conditions regarding cancellations:

• We have reduced our notice period from 14 days to seven days: this means that, if your plans change, you can request a transfer voucher to the value of your tickets, less an administration fee of £5, if the event is more than seven days away. If your booking is within seven days and the event is sold out, we can attempt to resell the tickets and issue you with a transfer voucher less a £5 admin fee if the tickets sell.

We have also retained some of the measures we put in place as they have helped managed the site and improve the experience. 

1. When you arrive at the Observatory, please wait inside your car until a member of staff escorts you to the building.
2. If you are bringing children, you are responsible for ensuring they remain at a safe distance from other people.
3. Hand sanitiser stations are available throughout the site – please ensure you use these whenever you switch locations.
4. Card payments would be preferred over cash.
5. As with all infectious diseases, please do not attend if you have any symptoms.

Please follow the guidance of the team at all times. In line with our existing terms and conditions, staff have the right to ask visitors to leave if they are not complying with guidance. We want all events at the Observatory to be inspirational and safe for everyone.

If you have any questions at all, please email admin@kielderobservatory.org and we will do our very best to provide you with the answers you need as quickly as possible. 

 - Catherine Johns, CEO

 

 

 

 

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Update regarding current coronavirus measures for events at the observatory

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stdClass Object ( [id] => 148 [title] => Observe, Experiment, Archive [alias] => observe-experiment-archive [introtext] =>

Artist Helen McGhie (in partnership with Kielder Observatory) has produced work for the photography exhibit "Observe, Experiment, Archive" at Sunderland Museum, staff member Natasha Lund visits the exhibition to take a closer look.

[fulltext] =>

Wanderers, Anatomy of a Northern Astronomer, Dark Adaptation

By Natasha Lund Ba (Hons), Art Programme Lead 

 

The exploration of light, darkness the transformative nature of observing the night time sky. 

These are the core concepts of contemporary photographer Helen McGhie’s body of work “Dark Adaptation”, “Wanderers” and “Anatomy of a Northern Astronomer”. Along with other work, and in partnership with Kielder Observatory, the pieces can be viewed between the 15th November and January the 5th at the Special Exhibition Gallery at the Winter Gardens Museum in Sunderland. As the arts programme lead for the observatory, I went down to view the exhibition and have a chat with Helen herself. 

The Winter Gardens is a perfect stage for the exhibition to be set upon. With its verdant flora and fauna, spacious and stylish galleries and on trend eatery, it provides a perfect environment within which to contemplate the themes of scientific innovation, historical collections and the work of light and lens presented in “Observe, Experiment, Archive.” Helen’s work is one part of this response by photographic artists to the above and addresses not only the expression of the human condition but also how we might meet the challenges that face us in the future.

Of Helen’s work, the first is that it is at heart a process of telling the stories of those who seek out the darkness of the dark sky park, and who gaze up at the punctuating starlight that has inspired so many before them and will inspire so many after. A deeply personal experience, the act of observing is captured both starkly and enigmatically with “Wanderers”.

Here, Helen both conversed with and photographed staff from Kielder Observatory and her own mother. We are, us three, caught in the act of observing, performing for the camera whilst undergoing a journey into the darkness. The stark flash of a white throat and the sprinkling of winter snow accompanies Jesse, who is no stranger to the cold. The silent mist surrounds him and Kielder Observatory, our eyes into the universe, sits quietly in the murk. Jesse looks very at home. Perhaps that is what he feels when he stargazes. 

Helen’s mother is a lone figure on a forest track, flanked by the tall trees in the twilight hour. Although it is not yet truly dark, she is expectant and patient, wrapped up warmly whilst she waits for starlight. Perhaps her wandering will show her stars for the first time. I wonder what she would think of her encounter with the changing skies, as darkness takes her and hears only her voice and no one else’s. 

And finally, Helen photographed me. My hair is as bold as my stance, unafraid of the void that cuts off the landscape on which I stand. I am content in the darkness and surefooted. Kielder Observatory is my home and the sky is a map I can read and find beauty within. My portrait shows this, and I’m thrilled with it. 

 

 

After being presented with three individual stories, three wanderers who are not lost but seeking a path to somewhere new that is not earthly, Helen’s next submission is more an invitation to darkness. 

“Dark Adaptation” is a large, bold statement performative landscape where you are invited to consider what darkness is to you. It is in reality, as are most of the images presented to viewer, inspired by conversations with real astronomers and real people living and working under our dark skies. The particular story of this otherworldly image is in equal parts tragic, hopeful and brave. It speaks of stepping into new territory when the landscape has changed, even though you can’t see where you are going. 

However, we don’t get to hear this tale as it is personal, as is every encounter with the darkness, which is precisely the point. What do you see when you stand alone in the dark? Where are you in this image? Perhaps on the surface of Mars. Perhaps in a photography dark room. Perhaps on the boundary of something personally challenging. 

And the final instalment is the “Anatomy of a Northern Astronomer”, a catalogue style collection of images that embody, display and celebrate some of the tools, imagery and items that allow astronomers to practise their craft, along with some interpretative imagery that speaks of the scientific method. 

 

 

The image shows some of the items that make the sky safe, accessible and understandable- solar filter glasses, a red light to preserve dark adapted vision, and a laser to locate deep sky objects and draw out the constellations in the sky. It’s a lovely collection of items and oddities that shed light on what it means to be an astronomer, both recently and historically, some playful, some integral, and uncovers some of the tools astronomers employ- such as measuring minutes of arc with your fingers. 

It is fascinating to see an artist’s interpretation of the immersion of the individual in darkness, and the act of waiting for the universe to emerge. Helen confesses she herself is not an astronomer- and has thoroughly enjoyed stepping into the shoes of those who are and experiencing herself for the first time how darkness can draw a parallel to experiences in her own life. The research gained by speaking to astronomers, stargazers and spending time with us on site at the observatory in the cold, under the clearest skies, she tells me, has been an invaluable and amazing experience. I’d thoroughly encourage you to visit the exhibition, details can be found again below, and to also experience the works of the other photographic artist who explore a variety of themes in a poignant and documentarian way. For myself, I can’t wait to work with Helen again in the future and see where her developing PhD takes her in partnership with Kielder Observatory.

Natasha Lund 

Astronomer & Arts Programme Lead 

Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society 

natasha@kielderobservatory.org 

Observe Experiment Archive explores the parallels between photography and scientific methods such as observation, experimentation and archiving.

The exhibition considers how contemporary photographic artists can respond to both scientific innovation and historical collections, their work transforming our world through light and lens.

It delves into the age-old sense of wonder we feel when faced with the complex nature of our ever-changing world and the ongoing struggle to learn more. The exhibition also considers the power of human inventiveness in meeting global challenges.

Observe Experiment Archive features photography by Mandy Barker, Tessa Bunney, Liza Dracup, Sophie Ingleby, Helen McGhie, Maria McKinney, Robert Zhao Renhui and Penelope Umbrico.

 

 

 

 

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Artist Helen McGhie (in partnership with Kielder Observatory) has produced work for the photography exhibit "Observe, Experiment, Archive" at Sunderland Museum, staff member Natasha Lund visits the exhibition to take a closer look.

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As the Hubble Space Telescope fast approaches its 29th Birthday, it is a good time to review one of our favourite images from the past few years.

[fulltext] =>

 

By George Pattinson

 

At 7,000 to 8,000 light years away, hiding in the constellation of Cassiopeia is the Bubble Nebula. It is a fantastic example of an emission nebula: a dusty region of space which is being superheated - to temperatures of about 10,000 degrees Celsius - by an extremely hot and massive star. This glowing shell of gas is mainly made up of hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, which is being excited by the radiation from the central star (the brightest star towards the upper-left quarter of the nebula). 

 

As material from the surface of this fiercely hot star continues to be expelled, it pushes against an interstellar dust cloud which slows its progress and gives the nebula its distinct shape. The asymmetry of the expanding nebula hints towards irregularities in the giant dust cloud in which it is embedded; much like a plough piling up snow as it moves, where the star’s outflow encounters a denser region it is slowed more, whereas towards the bottom right of the nebula it flows more freely and quickly away. This is also the reason why the star in question lies off centre within the nebula. 

 

Every year in April, the Hubble Space Telescope releases a different image to celebrate yet another year since its launch (24th April 1990) into low-Earth orbit. In 2016, Hubble celebrated its 26th birthday by capturing the above image. It is the culmination of many visible photos taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in February of the same year, where red represents nitrogen, green for hydrogen and blue for oxygen. This snapshot of the Bubble Nebula gives us an insight into the complex environment surrounding such hot massive stars, with scientists estimating that this star is due to detonate as a supernova in the next 10 to 20 million years. 

 

If you would like to follow in William Herschel’s footsteps who discovered the Bubble Nebula in 1787, and observe this for yourself, then you are in for a bit of a challenge! It is possible to see as a faint glow through a medium 8” aperture telescope, if you know exactly where to look. It is situated in the constellation of Cassiopeia, about half a degree southwest from a well-known open cluster of stars called M52, surrounding the bright central star that is seen in the above image. 

 

For more information on this nebula or how to observe it, book an event at Kielder Observatory and speak to one of our experienced astronomers!

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As the Hubble Space Telescope fast approaches its 29th Birthday, it is a good time to review one of our favourite images from the past few years.

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Exciting things are happening at Kielder Observatory

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Exciting things are happening at Kielder Observatory

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