Dark Skies

The night sky

The night sky is inspiring, from the thousands of stars visible on a clear dark night, to the arc of nebulous light rising across the sky that is our Galaxy, the Milky Way.  It is also amazing to think that with the naked eye we can view our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, which is 2.5 million light years away.  However, over the past 100 years, our skies have become more difficult to view as they have become obscured by man-made light pollution. Unless we act now, there is the potential for future generations to grow up never experiencing the wonder and beauty of a truly dark night sky.

What is light pollution?

Light pollution is artificial light that shines where it is neither wanted nor needed. Not only does light pollution have an impact on people’s enjoyment of the night sky, it has also been shown to have an impact on quality of life, as well as wasting energy.  

What we are doing?

The Peak District National Park is lived in and visited by many and is an area of the countryside that currently has some dark skies.  We are working with others to ensure that our special landscapes and skies are there for future generations to enjoy. We are looking to pursue international recognition for the quality of the National Park’s night skies.

Orion in the Peak 2012

In 2012, we are again asking members of the public, between 16 February and 23 February 2012, to measure how light pollution impacts the darkness of the night sky. Using this information we will be able to produce a map of night sky quality in the Peak District National Park.

The darkness of the night sky can be measured by comparing how the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) appears where you are, to the sky quality charts in the downloadable pdf below, and then letting us know via this website.

Instructions to take part (PDF)

Sky quality charts (PDF)

Finder chart to help locate Orion (PDF)

Please submit your results using the following link.

Results for Orion in the Peak 2011

In early 2011, we asked members of the public to measure how light pollution impacts the darkness of the night sky in our project ‘Orion in the Peak’. Participants were given instructions on how to compare the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) with a series of star charts, and then asked to return their results for analysis via the this website; the results are now available below.

Orion in the Peak 2011 - map of results (2MB PDF)

Summary of results from Orion in the Peak 2011 (PDF) 

Dark Sky Discovery 

The Peak District National Park Authority, Nottingham Trent University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council have recently announced the creation of several new National Dark Sky Discovery Sites. One of these sites is located at the Peak District National Park's Access for All site at Surprise View near Hathersage. 

Surprise View is a key gateway site to the Peak District National Park, and is a familiar location to many tourists and residents alike. However, most people only know Surprise View because of its amazing panoramic view of the Hope Valley, but the site has much more to offer. 

Becoming a Dark Sky Discovery Site means that people will be able to experience a whole new panoramic view, that of the Milky Way under a truly dark sky.

In addition to being the first Peak District Dark Sky Discovery Site, Surprise View also hosts our first seasonal astronomy interpretation panel, and takes a starring role as a downloadable landscape for the popular astronomy software package, Stellarium. Further information on this software package, and a link to the downloadable landscape will be available from this webpage in February 2012.

For more information about Dark Sky Discovery Sites, please visit the Dark Sky Discovery website. 

Please note: When accessing the Dark Sky Discovery Site, the ground underfoot can be rough, wet and muddy. Warm, waterproof clothing and sensible shoes are essential. Surprise View benefits from an accessible pathway, but this can be muddy after wet weather. The nearest toilets to Surprise View are located at Hathersage High Street, approximately 2 miles to the West along the A6187.

Acknowledgements

The Peak District National Park Authority acknowledges the work of the International Dark Sky Association, Globe at Night, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Campaign for Dark Skies, Peak District Dark Skies, Nottingham Trent University CELS, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and Macclesfield Astronomical Society’s MyDarkSky project.