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Bodmin Moor - an International Dark Sky Landscape


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I'm pleased to announce that Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, has been recognised as an International Dark Sky Landscape by the IDA, making it the first AONB in the UK so designated. The application was submitted by Cornwall Council with the voluntary technical support of Caradon Observatory. As one of the co-authors of the bid it's great to see this project through to completion. My role was relatively minor, it's taken a huge amount of work and enthusiasm to get to this point, and to secure an ongoing commitment to secure this status. It's very encouraging to hear councillors, portfolio holders and the local MP speaking enthusiastically about the educational potential of astronomy, and the waste and potential health impacts of excessive lighting.

30826193824_9139e59c78_b.jpg

 

As a resident of SE Herts, I'm well placed to appreciate the difference between the skies that the majority of the UK population experiences compared to a truly dark site. Here's a visual comparison:

crowdy-east_orig.jpg

ware-east_orig.jpg

(Taken from a set of comparison shots, they aren't perfect but I've tried to make them as fair as possible.)

I've also finally got around to putting up a new website for Caradon Observatory, which is far easier for me to work with than the old one. If anyone would care to take a look I'd appreciate any feedback.

Wishing you all dark skies, I believe there are now 10 International Dark Sky Places in the UK? Is there a comprehensive list somewhere on SGL? The IDA map can be a little tricky to browse as the pop-up pictures are too large.

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Congratulations, not sure what it all means other than recognition of the night sky condition but it is a all about awareness.  

I used to live in Porthleven in the mid-1970's and, as a geologist, was involved with the tin industry and exploration across the region.  We had a field office in Bodmin and were exploring various parts of the area - I would never have thought of it being a favourable dark sky area but then again such concepts were  not common at that time - this was before my now burgeoning interest in astronomy. Fast forward 40-years - same sky but greater awareness that such features are important and have 'value'.  I feel a trip back to Kernow coming on. 

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18 minutes ago, estwing said:

Mike73 did most of his sketches from a place recommend by me 270 miles away!...Crowdy reservoir 

I often refer to his gallery on his website - it's a great resource for a visual observer :thumbsup:

 

Congrats to the OP on the Dark Skies designation!

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11 hours ago, estwing said:

Used to go on Davidstowe aerodrome but I doubt that's still there...

Here it is on Google Maps. One of the taxiways is used as a road and it's possible to get onto one of the runways. I was surprised to hear recently that it was used as an F1 track, briefly in the 1950s.

 

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Well done and congratulations to everyone who achieved this. I'm delighted.  The more areas like this the better. Cornwall and Devon between them must have some of the largest areas of dark sky country in England anyway.  There's a good stretch of countryside between Bude and Hartland point which is dark too. That's where I do most of my astronomy. I wish they'd designate that a dark sky area. 

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10 minutes ago, obrazell said:

Pity it is alway sso cloudy down there form my experience.

Owen

It can be. I've spent weeks in Cornwall on some visits and hardly seen a star. It's the warm westerly winds that can do that, low after low after low rolling in off the Atlantic. But it can also be superbly clear and dark,  particularly when the weather comes form the east or notth. 

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On 13/07/2017 at 20:19, Ouroboros said:

The more areas like this the better. Cornwall and Devon between them must have some of the largest areas of dark sky country in England anyway.  There's a good stretch of countryside between Bude and Hartland point which is dark too. That's where I do most of my astronomy. I wish they'd designate that a dark sky area. 

I believe Cornwall County Council is considering a bid for west Cornwall. Dark Skies status isn't just about sky quality, there has to be an ongoing commitment to check the levels of light pollution to retain it. There must be some unheralded locations for astronomy around the UK, this map might make a good starting point.

darksky01.jpg

(From Dark Sky Discovery.)

On 16/07/2017 at 18:28, obrazell said:

Pity it is alway sso cloudy down there form my experience.

It's true that we live in a cloudy country but according to this map the south enjoys the most hours of sunshine.

sunshine_average_1971-2000_17.gif

What I don't know is quite how well that relates to hours of clear skies at night. If anyone can shed any light on this I'd be interested, but I'd want to see evidence rather anecdotes. ;) Cornwall, Wales and West Scotland are wet, because when those clouds roll off the Atlantic they dump much of their rain there. But that's not the same as cloudy, much of that cloud will still travel across the rest of the UK. (In the map above the east of the country does get more sunshine than the west, but it's not as marked as the north/south difference).

I travel down to Cornwall regularly and I've logged quite a lot of imaging hours. But I've done markedly better when I've had some flexibility in my arrangements, sometimes putting off a trip a week based on the forecast or even cancelling outright when it's been particularly bad.

Personally, I'd be wary of taking a pure astro-holiday anywhere in this country, even with a last-minute booking it might not work out terribly well. However, there are lots of places I'd like to visit for a mix of (hopefully) astronomy and other attractions.

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6 minutes ago, Knight of Clear Skies said:

I believe Cornwall County Council is considering a bid for west Cornwall. Dark Skies status isn't just about sky quality, there has to be an ongoing commitment to check the levels of light pollution to retain it. There must be some unheralded locations for astronomy around the UK, this map might make a good starting point.

darksky01.jpg

(From Dark Sky Discovery.)

It's true that we live in a cloudy country but according to this map the south enjoys the most hours of sunshine.

sunshine_average_1971-2000_17.gif

What I don't know is quite how well that relates to hours of clear skies at night. If anyone can shed any light on this I'd be interested, but I'd want to see evidence rather anecdotes. ;) Cornwall, Wales and West Scotland are wet, because when those clouds roll off the Atlantic they dump much of their rain there. But that's not the same as cloudy, much of that cloud will still travel across the rest of the UK. (In the map above the east of the country does get more sunshine than the south, but it's not as marked as the north/south difference).

I travel down to Cornwall regularly and I've logged quite a lot of imaging hours. But I've done markedly better when I've had some flexibility in my arrangements, sometimes putting off a trip a week based on the forecast or even cancelling outright when it's been particularly bad.

Personally, I'd be wary of taking a pure astro-holiday anywhere in this country, even with a last-minute booking it might not work out terribly well. However, there are lots of places I'd like to visit for a mix of (hopefully) astronomy and other attractions.

I'd second your final point, even living in SE France. We have, shall we estimate, about 250 workable nights a year, which is great - but it also means that we have about a hundred a year which are not.

I tried to find a comparable map for France and found this one of solar radiation. 

http://about-france.com/geo/solar-radiation-map.htm

It strongly confirms my anecdotal impression that the best chances for a clear sky are in the SE, which is why I came here of course. The professionals agree, hence the significant number of large-scope observatories in this area. So I think 'sunshine maps' probably do give a good impression of clear night probabilities.

A feature of our region is that thermic clouds often build systematically during the sunny afternoons. That is why there are so many free-flying enthusiasts in the area. They need those thermals! However, as soon as the land cools the thermals fail and the clouds drop down again so they are not an astro-problem.

Olly

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And looking at that map it is hardly surprising Mr P Moore chose Selsey as his new home after he left Armagh. I was down in Cornwall a few weeks ago (Widemouth Bay) and there was a lot of cloud but when the sky cleared it was glorious. I saw a fantastic Hale-Bopp from a couple of miles outside Falmouth back in the 90's. We pulled up at the side of the road and climbed over a gate to a field. It was so dark we couldn't see the cows no more than 10 feet away.

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I second that Cleetus.  My Dad lives about 10 minutes drive away from Widemouth, and the skies around there (if you can get a little way from the Bude ground light) are as good as I've found anywhere in the country.  I'm sure there's something about the sea air that, whilst full of moisture no doubt, is somehow 'cleaner' than other places.  My best images have all been taken in that part of the world, so I'm delighted to see somewhere relatively close by being recognised for their dark skies. 

 

Congratulations, Knight of Clear Skies, really pleased for you and your team.

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Congratulations to all those involved in this.  As someone who took over the IDA Dark Sky Park application for the Elan Valley and saw it through to completion, I am very aware of the effort required to achieve such designation....... and required to keep it!

Best wishes to all,

Les 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 17/07/2017 at 13:20, ollypenrice said:

I'd second your final point, even living in SE France. We have, shall we estimate, about 250 workable nights a year, which is great - but it also means that we have about a hundred a year which are not.

Wouldn't surprise me if the ratio is the other way around in the UK. In SE France, does the cloud also arrive in big dollops, or is it more mixed throughout the year?

Anecdotally, if I'm in Cornwall for a week I typically get a couple good nights and a few bits and pieces. But at times when there are storms rolling in off the Atlantic it can be nada, so I try to avoid those if I can.

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It's very dark here in The Blackdown Hills in East Devon too.  Unfortunately, we get lots of cloud and contrails :(  OTOH it's high time we got high pressure during the winter with accompanying cold weather and clear skies.  And with dryness fewer contrails.  The weather has been bad for several years now and I'm fed up with it - I know I'm far from the only one!!

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2 hours ago, Knight of Clear Skies said:

Wouldn't surprise me if the ratio is the other way around in the UK. In SE France, does the cloud also arrive in big dollops, or is it more mixed throughout the year?

Anecdotally, if I'm in Cornwall for a week I typically get a couple good nights and a few bits and pieces. But at times when there are storms rolling in off the Atlantic it can be nada, so I try to avoid those if I can.

When the weather is at its best we do often get cloud by day, the kind of small, individual fluffy balls as drawn by children. These are fine because they are supported by thermals which break drown when the land cools, dropping the clouds down in readiness for clear nights. It's rare, but not imossible, to have the cloud close down and squat over our heads for a fortnight. It is certainly not an annual occurrence. Mostly our weather keeps moving so if it's bad today it doesn't mean it will be bad tomorrow. A null week for astronomy is very rare.

Olly

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  • 2 months later...
On 17 July 2017 at 12:59, Knight of Clear Skies said:

I believe Cornwall County Council is considering a bid for west Cornwall. Dark Skies status isn't just about sky quality, there has to be an ongoing commitment to check the levels of light pollution to retain it. There must be some unheralded locations for astronomy around the UK, this map might make a good starting point.

Do you know how this bid for a dark sky area in west Cornwall is going, or even who submitted it?  Really the area would need to  cover areas both north and south of Bude.  Some of these areas are Bortle Class 2 if the online light pollution map is to be believed. That's slightly better than Bodmin and Exmoor. 

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