Brecon Beacons has one of the few Dark Skies in Europe
The first International Dark-Sky reserve in Wales is situated in the Brecon Beacons. You’d be hard pressed to find a community which goes to such great lengths to ensure light pollution is reduced. The hard work is obviously paying off – on a clear night you can see just about everything from anywhere.
On a clear night in the Brecon Beacons, you can see the Milky Way, major constellations, bright nebulas and even meteor showers. It’s enough to make anyone starry eyed.
Our Park has some of the highest quality dark skies in the whole of the UK, making it the perfect destination for stargazers. There are loads of opportunities to enjoy stargazing – everyone in the area thinks that this is something worth shouting about, so our entire National Park has been made an International Dark Sky Reserve. In 2012, we became just the fifth destination in the world (and the first in Wales) to be accredited.
Through this highly prestigious status, we hope to preserve our magical night skies for future generations and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions in our Park. We also intend to help protect a whole host of nocturnal creatures that need dark nights to forage, hunt and migrate.
The jewel in the skies on December 8th will be the Geminid meteor shower. Martin Griffiths, Lead Presenter of Dark Sky Wales will also give a presentation on this fascinating astronomical event.
Dark Sky Wales with their mobile planetarium will take you on a virtual tour of the heavens, and hopefully the skies will be crisp and clear so Allan Trow and Martin Griffiths can also use the telescopes and binoculars to guide you around the heavens and spot those all-important geminids.
This wonderful time of year will also allow those participating to see the wonders of the winter sky such as the great hunter Orion and his wonderful nebula, the seven sisters and Taurus the Bull.
If the weather is unkind this event will still go ahead with the presentation and mobile planatarium.
Tickets are £15.00 which includes Soup and a roll to warm you up for the night.
This event starts at 7.00pm and you need to come dressed in warm clothing.
Organised by the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centre in conjunction with Dark Skies Wales
