The third Dark Skies Festival has taken place with record visitors
More than 550 people enjoyed an action-packed evening of cosmic fun as Stargazing South Downs came to West Sussex.
The atmosphere was buzzing at Midhurst Rother College as families enjoyed space-themed activities, including moongazing, a virtual reality experience, indoor planetarium shows, jigsaw puzzles, science experiments, bat talks and owl demonstrations.
The free event was part of the South Downs Dark Skies Festival, now in its third year celebrating the national park’s special status as one of the best places in the world to view the stars.
This year the event had a lunar theme as 2019 marks half a century since the Apollo 11 landings.
Dan Oakley, ‘Dark Skies’ lead ranger at the South Downs National Park, said: “It was a terrific turn out yet again in Midhurst and there was a great atmosphere as people of all ages enjoyed the activities. Our huge colouring wall of the cosmos and the indoor planetarium shows were particularly popular on the night.
“It was a great opportunity for people to have fun and learn at the same time. The spectacular star-studded dark skies of the national park are a real asset for this region, as well as being incredibly important for nocturnal wildlife.
“We were impressed with the enthusiasm everyone had for the topic and level of knowledge some children had already. This bodes well for the future of maintaining the dark skies in the future.”
Dan added: “It was a rather cloudy night but we did manage to get some great views of the moon once the clouds parted and you could clearly see its cratered surface.”
As well as Stargazing South Downs, the festival included around 30 other events taking place across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex, including planetarium shows, moongazing, night-time walks, and puppet shows.