COUNTRY VIEWS
A new Scottish observatory will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of vandalism
A new Scottish observatory will rise like a phoenix from the dark ashes of vandalism, says Sara Maitland.
In the early morning of 23 June, someone, or ones, deliberately set fire to the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory and totally destroyed it.
In 2009, the Galloway
Forest Park was designated by the International Dark Sky Association as the fourth Gold Tier Sky Park in the world – and the first in the UK – because of its extraordinary stargazing conditions. In October 2012, the Observatory was opened and since then has become a major educational and tourist asset for south-west Scotland.
It offered a 20-inch reflector capable of seeing deep into space, along with a 14-inch sister telescope for viewing the planets. The rooftop observation deck allowed visitors to explore constellations with the naked eye – and to see phenomena such as meteor showers, aka shooting stars, and the Aurora Borealis. It was extended in 2017. It only takes a few words to say that, but it takes over a decade of hard work, dedication and development to do it.
So far we have no idea who perpetrated this wicked destruction. But it does seem likely that it was a wanton act of vandalism, and clearly preplanned. ‘Clearly’, because the observatory site is not exactly easily reached – no one foolishly chucked a lit cigarette out of their car window as they whizzed past, because several miles of pretty rough single-track road lead up into the hills and stop at the observatory car park. There are no other drivable destinations beyond it. One of the reasons why the Galloway night skies are so spectacular is because our population density is so low: there are 42,000 people per square mile in Islington, compared to just 80 in Galloway – and most Galloway-dwellers live down on the coast, not up in the hills. The observatory is set in a high wilderness.
WISHING ON A STAR
Obviously, as I write, the trustees of the observatory are reeling, but they are determined “to regroup, rebuild and come back bigger, better and stronger than before”. They are already thinking about the new observatory, but sensibly they have closed their fundraising site until they have decided precisely what they want and how much it will cost. Keep an eye on their website (scottishdarkskyobservatory. co.uk) to see what they are up to and how hard they are working. And when the time comes, be ready to support them. I can assure you, it will be worth it.
A few years ago, I discovered that a dear friend of mine had never (knowingly) seen the Milky Way. For those of you who are like him, the Milky Way is a band of billions of stars –though you will not ever see that many – which is in fact the opposite side of our own ring-shaped galaxy and is easily visible when the sky is clear and clean.
So we booked into the observatory for an evening show. It turned out to be cloudy, but we enjoyed ourselves enormously and learned a lot from the lecture and film show. Then, as though by magic, just as we were leaving to drive home, the clouds parted. There, suddenly, in that huge silent darkness, unmistakably clear and unspeakably lovely, the White Lady’s Pathway, the Milky Way, danced for us. It was one of those moments when beauty and joy come together in glory.
I have a grandchild now and I want to be able to take her (when she’s bigger) up that twisty track into the dark hills and show her the glory of the night skies.
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