Start Stargazing and Open Up the Skies
Outreach astronomer Neill Sanders founded nonprofit Go Stargazing to make stargazing more accessible. ATE asked him to share his story and top tips for getting to know your dark skies.
This article is based on an interview with Neill Sanders conducted by ATE Founder Soraya Abdel-Hadi.
This article is also available through ATE Reads, audio versions of selected content from All The Elements - a nonprofit network for those working on diversity in the UK outdoors.
Listen to Neill read this article to you:
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The audio recording is made possible with support from co-operative tour operator HF Holidays, who have been providing walking and activity holidays since 1913.Find out more at hfholidays.co.uk.
My introduction to the stars
My first memories of stargazing are with my dad on holiday in France under some really dark skies. I was in my early teens when he showed me the first few constellations, or patterns of stars, in the sky. In my mid teens, and early adulthood, astronomy wasn't all that cool so I diverted to computers and computer games, stuff like that. But then in my early 40s, I just needed a break, to get away from work and the computer screen. And I ended up in the middle of Northumberland National Park under starry skies at a Star Camp with lots of other astronomers.
I was in a really high pressure job at the time and looking for an escape. I saw Richard Darn, who is very active in the astronomy community, pop up on my telly and say that he was organising a Star Camp in Kielder Forest. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get time off work then, but I made a mental note to book it for next spring - and I did!
I went up there and I met Richard, who is now one of my best mates. The first couple of nights were a bit cloudy, so I met everybody in the pub. Stargazing can be a social thing as well, especially when it’s cloudy. I remember looking through his telescope, up at the starry skies and just falling in love with the dark, star-filled skies. That whole experience gave me the bug. I volunteered at an observatory and that’s when I realised that a good part of the fun of it was showing other people what’s in the skies, not just enjoying them for myself. That's what my organisation Go Stargazing is all about. It encourages people to get out there, away from our light polluted skies and at the best times, in the best places and just look up.
Stargazing is a fantastic escape. I think it's just the best thing you can possibly do if you want to get away from your computer screen, from your TV or your mobile phone.
How different cultures view the stars
Humans have been looking up at the night skies in wonder and amazement for thousands of years. Our view of them hasn't changed, the stars are pretty much as they have been for all of humanity. What is different is people's interpretation of them. Different cultures see the night skies in different ways. That's what makes it more accessible; everybody has the same view, but we are free to interpret the skies and enjoy them however we wish to.
In the UK, we see patterns of stars called constellations with names based on characters from Greek mythology. It just so happens that our culture has inherited the way the Greeks saw the skies. They had these fantastic creatures and characters and they would use the night skies to tell their stories of mythology.
But they're just one culture of many hundreds who all saw the skies differently. Whereas Greek mythology has 110 or so patterns of stars, the Navajo Indians for example only had about seven. Their patterns of stars include a lizard, the first slim one, the revolving male, the revolving female. They were revolving because that’s what these stars do, they rotate around the sky as the Earth turns. In contrast, the Chinese have over a thousand different patterns of stars in the sky and they include everything from the emperor's wardrobe, through to a toilet and even a pair of legs.
Just recently I was telling a group of stargazers the names of the stars in the sky. We may have inherited the Greek mythology for the names for the patterns of stars (or constellations) but the individual star names themselves are Arabic. One of the lasses spoke fluent Arabic, and she corrected my pronunciation of a star. She said, in Arabic, the translation was ‘heart’ and this particular star was the heart of Leo. So cultures the Greeks inherited the Arabic names and which ended up being incorporated into their own stories.
‘Stargazing’ is for everyone
You don't need to be educated, have an academic degree or know anything about astronomy to enjoy the night skies. Sometimes when people hear the word astronomy, they think, ‘That's a science, and I'm not a science person, therefore I don't really have the qualifications’. This is why I always use the term ’stargazing’. It’s a lot more informal and you can think, ‘Well everyone can stargaze and enjoy it’. You don’t need to know the science facts to be amazed. And it can be quite fun just learning the patterns of the stars and some of their star names. Some of the names of stars, for example, Bellatrix in the constellation of Orion the hunter, feature as characters in the Harry Potter stories.
Stargazing for the blind and visually impaired
We have talked about how you can just look up at the sky, but obviously for some people it isn’t as simple. There are a number of projects and resources aimed at supporting the blind and visually impaired to stargaze. For example, there's kits you can buy that allow you to touch the constellations, feel the shape of them and the lines in-between. You can listen to astronomer Wanda Diaz Merced, who lost her sight, explain how she learnt how to listen to the stars in her TED talk, so she could continue her research. There are also resources for group leaders and individuals on how to support hard of sight or blind people to enjoy the starry skies, too. You can find some links at the end of this article.
Okay, so let's get into some practical bits.
What kit do you need to stargaze?
Your eyes are the best kit you've got. You can see most of the stars and some planets with just your eyes. Then, a pair of binoculars is a great addition for any beginner. At the time of sharing this at the start of 2025, we are experiencing the ‘Parade of the Planets’ which is where the Earth is on the same side of the solar system as six other planets. This means that when we look out in the night sky, we can see those six planets somewhere in the sky. Four of them are bright enough to be seen with your eyes. Two of them, Uranus and Neptune, are too distant to see without a telescope. But, if you point a simple pair of binoculars at Jupiter, you can see up to four points of light on either side of it - these are Jupiter’s largest moons. A pair of binoculars will reveal some really cool detail in the constellation of Orion – just below the three belt stars in Orion’s sword, you could see a really cool nebula, (which is a cloud of stardust) and this nebula appears as a wispy object in the view of your binoculars.
Where should you go to stargaze?
The best place is the easiest one to get to. So, for me, that's my back garden. There is light pollution, but it’s not bad. If I was going to go further afield, then maybe I might go a couple of miles out of town. The more you can escape the worst of the light pollution, the more you’ll see in the sky.
You can use the Go Stargazing app to find good stargazing locations near you. You’ve also probably got an observatory near you and then you can see some really cool things through telescopes. You’d be surprised how many places there are – over 100 public observatories in the UK. Lots of them are open to the public regularly, whether that’s once a week or once a month. Cost is often a couple of pounds donation on the door and you can spend a couple of hours with your local astronomers.
Consider natural and artificial light
Almost more important than where you go is when. Plan your journey to stargaze to avoid a full moon. When there is no bright moon in the sky, the skies are dark. When there’s a bright moon in the sky, nowhere is dark.
When you are under starry skies, try not to use your phone. Stay away from white light, let your eyes adapt and adjust to the darkness.
My project Go Stargazing provides resources to help you explore UK dark skies
Go Stargazing features hundreds, probably thousands of stargazing locations. About 200 of them are ‘Dark Sky Discovery Sites’. These are sites that have been identified as accessible places where you can go to stargaze. I've also added places that I know about or been told about, which are maybe not so official, but still really good stargazing locations. So use my website to help you find your nearest place to go.
But actually where I put most of my energy is featuring stargazing events. There's about 4,500 events in my database for this year alone. They could be observatory open evenings or astronomy club meetings. It also features events around Dark Skies festivals, so places like the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors, the South Downs, they're all dark sky areas. There's also National Astronomy Week, which is normally the first week of February. Lots of the events are free or just cost a couple of pounds.
My top tip would be don't be put off by the fact that they say ‘astronomy’ in the event name or that they are run by an astronomical society or it's at an observatory. You’d be made welcome wherever you go.
You can access Go Stargazing through the website or by downloading the free app. When you use the app it will tell you where the nearest events and locations are to you.
Consider connecting with your local astronomy societies and clubs
Even if you're a complete beginner, you would be welcome to join your local astronomy society. And to start with you might find some of the talks a bit much, but you could also find out when they do their practical stargazing sessions. They’ll tell you, “Oh we’ll be in this carpark on Saturday if the weather is clear” and you’ll be invited along. You might be invited to make a small donation to cover the cost of the village hall, tea and biscuits are usually included, and membership would maybe cost around £20 a year.
It is worth acknowledging that like a lot of the outdoors the demographics of some of the societies are not very diverse, but if you are interested in astronomy, they are very, very welcoming.
If you are a bit nervous of joining a new group, organise to go with friends
Most astronomy clubs want to introduce their local communities to their local dark skies. For example, they might support Cub Scouts to achieve their stargazing badge. Contact your local club or observatory and ask about visiting and arranging a trip for a group. This is often available in return for a donation towards their costs.
What is Astronomers Without Borders?
Astronomers Without Borders is all about breaking down barriers and encouraging diversity in astronomy. I’m their UK National Coordinator. One of their programmes is to distribute hundreds of thousands of solar glasses to poorer countries so that everyone can see a solar eclipse in any part of the world. My vision for the UK is that lots of people from all different walks of life, and hopefully lots of kids are all standing there with solar glasses on looking up at the sun safely. How cool would that be?
Thank you for reading this article. To find out more about local stargazing locations and events, visit Neill’s website Go Stargazing or download the Go Stargazing app. To find out more about the partial eclipse and request solar glasses, visit the dedicated page on the Go Stargazing site.
Our thanks go to HF Holidays, who made the audio version of this article possible. HF Holidays is Britain's longest-running co-operative tour operator, with over 111 years' experience in organising walking and activity holidays worldwide. They connect like-minded people through shared outdoor experiences and have a community of 48,000 members who have a passion for the countryside. As a B Corp Certified business, HF Holidays is dedicated to sustainable travel and community-focused initiatives such as their Pathways Fund, which has been raising money to provide assisted holidays and preserve and protect the countryside.
All The Elements is a non-profit community of individuals increasing access and representation for systemically-excluded and underrepresented groups in the UK outdoors. We run events, offer one-on-one support, curate online resources, promote the work and successes of our community members, offer consultancy and more. You can find out more on our website, follow us on social media and subscribe to our Substack newsletter.
Stargazing resources for blind and partially sighted people:
Astronomy for blind and visually impaired by Wonder Dome, provides links to initiatives in different countries.
Astronomers Without Borders has guidelines on how to make stargazing events more accessible for different groups.
NASA has used sound to share pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope. You can listen to them on the Sonifications page on the NASA website.
Things you can do next:
Check out GoStargazing.co.uk to find stargazing locations and stargazing events, or download the Go Stargazing mobile app.
Find out if you’ve got a local astronomy society near you, all of whom are very welcome to newcomers, especially beginners.
Use the Dark Sky Calendar on the Go Stargazing website to look up when the next new moon is, and advice for the best times for stargazing.
Read ‘Stargazing and the Sounds of Space’, an article by Francesca Turauskis from the Tremula Podcast Network, which shares more ways you can listen to space, as well as some stargazing podcast recommendations.
Head out to your closest stargazing location, look up and enjoy!
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