Abergavenny Astronomical Society, Usk Astronomical Society and the Brecon Beacons Dark Sky Board have been working to run the first Dark Sky Festival. This first event will be held on-line over the weekend of Friday 24th to Sunday 26th September. There is a great line-up of speakers and authors presenting.
The festival is suitable for anyone with an interest in the night sky, particularly younger audiences over the age of 10.
Please visit https://www.breconbeacons.org/things-to-do/activities/stargazing/dark-sky-festival-2021 for more information and to book. All events are £2 per household.
The programme is as follows:-
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. Alan Bowring
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. Dr. Henry Schofield
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. Nick Busby
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. Paul Davies
Welsh myths and legends of the night sky
25th September 14:00 – In this talk David Thomas explores how the Welsh characters and heroes of the Mabinogion and other folk tales are reflected in the night sky. David Thomas
How 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? Keith Moseley
The 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. Colin Burgess
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. Nick Busby