Visitors left starry-eyed at National Park events

The task of peering into the night sky trying to discover new galaxies might seem like a job for astronomers armed with telescopes the size of small houses - but Cardiff and Swansea Astronomical Societies have definitely left visitors starry-eyed at two recent events held at the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centres.

Earlier this month both the National Park Visitor Centre, near Libanus and Craig-y-nos Country Park were briefly transformed into mini-observatories with over 40 keen star gazers visiting the Centres to view the night sky and learn more about astronomy. Hosted by the Cardiff Astronomical Society and Swansea Astronomical Society respectively, stargazers were also able to see demonstrations models and actual telescopes inside the Centres plus hear a range of talks on the night sky, star gazing equipment and how to become more involved with astronomy.

Richard Levy, National Park Visitor Centre Manager said: “Both our Visitor Centres are perfect locations to hold star gazing events, with the ideal combination of being easy to get to but still secluded away from light pollution. Although there was some cloud cover obscuring the night views, we were incredibly pleased with the turn out and are planning to hold similar events next year to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy.”

For further information on star gazing in the National Park, email visitor.centre@breconbeacons.org.