In pictures: Northumberland park's night sky beauty
- Published
Photographer Cain Scrimgeour, from North Tyneside, has taken photographs of the sky at night in Northumberland. They will be used to help Northumberland National Park Authority's bid to be recognised as Europe's largest Dark Sky Preserve.
If successful, the park will be given special protection, like Exmoor and the Brecon Beacons, so that stargazers can continue to observe the skies without the threat of light pollution.
Mr Scrimgeour got involved with the project after being commissioned to take pictures and create a short time-lapse video of what can be seen at the park as night falls.
He said he wanted to "inspire people to venture into the night and witness the true beauty of the park".
Some of his favourite sights include: "The stunning Milky Way stretching horizon to horizon, the vast array of constellations and the magic of the Moon."
"The images are lit by moonlight, or by an artificial light. The varying colours are all dependent on the conditions and the light pollution in the area, making every image different," he said.
The bid for dark sky status has been made jointly by the Northumberland National Park Authority and the Kielder Water and Forest Park Development Trust.
Dark sky areas are parks or other public land with exceptional starry skies and natural nocturnal habitats where light pollution is mitigated and there is natural darkness.
A spokesperson for the Kielder Observatory said astronomy tourism had brought more than 30,000 people to the area since it had opened in 2008.
- Published5 March 2013
- Published19 February 2013