The Wonders of The Dark Sky Stargazing event held at Woodoaks Farm in September was jointly organised by The Chiltern Society, the West of London Astronomical Society (WOLAS), South West Herts Astronomical Society (SWHAS), Woodoaks Farm and the Colne Valley Regional Park.
This event offered a chance to marvel at the September night sky guided by astronomers. The location was chosen because it is a wonderfully open area where your view of the night sky is unobstructed with lower levels of light pollution than urban areas.
This special event was initiated by Karen-Anne Devoil, who describes the evening for us:
“On Thursday 12th September a ‘Wonders Of the Dark Sky’ stargazing event took place in the ideal open sky location of Woodoaks Farm.
This sold-out event was arranged in collaboration with The Colne Valley Regional Park, The Chiltern Society, The West Of London Astronomical Society (WOLAS), South West Herts Astronomical Society (SWHAS), and Woodoaks Farm.
After a heavy downpour earlier in the evening, the skies cleared for the start of a wonderful evening of stargazing. Experts from WOLAS and SWHAS had set up their observing stations and mobile observatories so that everyone could easily view the delights of the night sky. Attendees were able to view striking detail of craters on the Moon, the stunning rings of Saturn, and it’s intriguing moon Titan, as well as some amazing deep sky objects such as the ring nebula and dumbbell nebula, globular clusters of stars and the Andromeda Galaxy our nearest galaxy neighbour. The evening was topped off by a clear view of the ISS orbiting overhead with some interesting commentary provided by Stewart Coulter WOLAS outreach officer.
During the evening visitors were also provided with observing notes and star charts of the night sky and could also view the onsite astronomy exhibition, take part in the family focussed space quiz and also enjoy hot drinks and snacks which were kindly provided by the tea shack.”
An extraordinary evening of stargazing made possible by the organisers and volunteers. We would like to thank everyone who came together to make this evening a success including the organisers, all the volunteer marshals and astronomers as well as Sue Lacy for the set up at Woodoaks and providing these excellent photos and Stewart Coulter of WOLAS for providing much of the astronomy information over the PA on the night.
Huge thanks to our partners the Chiltern Society, the West of London Astronomical Society (WOLAS) South West Herts Astronomical Association (SWHAS) and Woodoaks Farm.
More Information
Find out about Star Gazing Events, including OBSERVING SESSIONS AT RUISLIP LIDO, Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2023, 6 – 8 pm from the West London Astronomical Society
Light pollution and preserving dark skies, Karen Devoil, Chiltern Society magazine Autumn 2023
