Lochup toskyand stargaze

Loch Lomond has been named as one of the top locations for stargazing in the UK.

National Dark Sky Week, which ran from April 22-30, saw stargazers around the globe enjoying a peaceful, spiritual and annual experience that was initially designed to raise awareness of light pollution and encourage celebration of the beauty of the night sky.

With this in mind, Psychicworld.com wanted to discover the UK’S best hidden gems for stargazing with Loch Lomond ranking in third place.

Top spot went to Tresco in the Scilly Isles with 99.38 out of 100, followed by Glen Brittle in the Isle of Skye with 99.33.

However, Loch Lomond scored 95.26, sharing third spot with Lindisfarne Castle on the Northumberland Coast.

The ratings were gathered using a combination of methods including the Bortle Scale, a classification system which uses astronomical observations to measure light pollution, along with an SQM (Sky Quality Meter), an instrument used to give a reading on the luminance of the night sky. Artificial Brightness meanwhile measures sky brightness against natural brightness.

The Bortle Scale also rates how easily stargazers can see the Triangulum Galaxy, 2.73 million light-years from Earth, with the naked-eye.