MORE dates and sessions have been added to this year’s highly-anticipated Exmoor Dark Skies Festival to satisfy high demand.
Exmoor National Park Authority has announced extra dates have been added to the event, between Friday, October 18 and Sunday, November 3.
Julie Colman, rural enterprise coordinator at Exmoor National Park Authority, who is organising the festival, said: “There are a host of ways to help you learn about the constellations and discover the night skies on Exmoor.
“The National Park is a designated Dark Sky Reserve where light pollution levels are so low, residents and visitors can look up and enjoy some of the darkest skies in the country.
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“This means that, on a clear night, thousands of stars can be seen with the naked eye and it’s one of only a few places in the UK from where the Milky Way can be seen.”
The planetarium sessions in South Molton are fully booked, but the organisers have added more in Minehead.
Professor Roger Davies, from Oxford University, will be giving an exciting talk entitled The Search for Distant Worlds on Tuesday, October 22.
In this talk, he will share the amazing story of how planets beyond our Solar System were discovered. Alongside this, there will also be fun dark skies-themed craft activities and watercolour painting sessions happening at national park centres, perfect for anyone who wants to get creative while learning about the night sky.
Julie added: “The festival is a such a celebration of our dark skies. We hope that by helping people enjoy and understand more about them, they will value them even more and help us to protect and conserve them.”
There are more than 50 events for both children and adults, suitable for all levels of stargazing fans. Plus, there's a dark skies story writing competition which has a Celestron Starsense 102AZ telescope up for grabs.
People can find more information on all Dark Sky Festival events at: www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/stargazing or by searching ‘Exmoor Dark Sky Festival’.