Darker skies than last month... and lots to enjoy! Here's what we're looking at in our dark island skies this month. Click here to download this document as a PDF.

A version of this article appeared in the last ever (!) publication of Scilly Now & Then magazine, out in July 2022. We would like to thank Beth Hilton for her support for us from the very beginning - before we even had an observatory - and we are honoured to have been part of this brilliant local publication for its last few years.

June and July mark astronomy’s ‘low-season’, as Scilly’s glorious long sunlit days dominate over short, late, sometimes barely dark nights. Stargazing on Scilly in the summer months is really limited to 11pm and onwards – after midnight is your best bet!
 
True, it may not get completely dark before you head to bed, but if you’re enjoying the evening outdoors, the hours after the late sunset pose an interesting time to ‘look up’: you’ll notice the first, brightest stars pop out – first you may see bright orange Arcturus, then pale Vega, almost directly above, before one by one, the next bright few appear as their constellations take shape. It’s a good way to familiarise yourself with well-known named stars.
 
It’s the perfect time, too, to spot noctilucent clouds – these high-altitude clouds can appear dazzlingly bright, electric blue in the sky, up to 2 hours after sundown (or before sunrise) and above the northwest horizon. We’ve very well placed for the opportunity to see NLCs on Scilly, with such low, open horizons and zero light pollution.
 
Scilly Dark Skies Week, 1-7 October 2022
 
We had such a great time last year that we’re running it again! Scilly Dark Skies Week will return to St Martin’s between 1 and 7 October 2022. The week of grassroots astronomy includes nightly talks and daily practical workshops. This year the week coincides with a full Moon, so several talks and observation sessions are devoted to our nearest celestial neighbour. The observatory will be open every evening for ticket holders – and being October, it will be dark nice and early!
 
Returning speakers include Cornwall-based astronomer extraordinaire Carolyn Kennett (whose fascinating talk on archeo-astronomy, the connection between Cornwall and Scilly’s ancient monuments and the night sky was a highlight of last year’s event), along with COSMOS regulars Professor Ian Morison and Mark Holmes. New speakers this year include the Open University's Professor Andrew Norton, a regular St Martin's visitor who just happens to have once been vice-president of the Royal Astronomical Society; and multi-award-winning Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Martin Lewis, who specialises in planetary imaging.
 
Tickets are £175 for the week, which includes daily workshops and nightly talks, plus guided stargazing. Alternatively you can attend a single talk or workshop for £20.
 
There’s more information about Scilly Dark Skies Week on our website – cosmosscilly.co.uk. And as ever, get in touch at [email protected] if you have any questions about visiting us or the night sky in Scilly. And do keep sending us your photos! The one on at the top of this article was sent to us by observatory visitor David Emerson, who took this stunning long exposure in May, outside St Martin’s church.