Purpose-built teaching and public outreach facility run by the Jerimiah Horrocks Institute division of the University of Central Lancashire. Home to the Moses Holden Telescope, one of the largest telescopes in the UK, as well as the historic Wilfred Hall Telescope the site also has a planetarium all of which are used for undergraduate teaching and encouraging public engagement in science. Access to the facility is strictly by prior booking on one of their monthly open evenings.
Location events organiser
Alston Observatory organises events at this location
Please contact Alston Observatory directly with any enquiries relating to visiting this location
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.star.uclan.ac.uk/observatories/alston-observatory/
Weather forecast
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27/07/21
17° 13% -
27/07/21
15° 16% -
28/07/21
15° 51% -
28/07/21
14° 55%
Weather forecast for Longridge (2.1 miles away) updated 27/07/21 at 16:00.
Local light pollution
Alston Observatory is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a semi-rural location based on satellite data from CPRE.
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Urban
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Suburban
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Semi-rural
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Rural
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
Best time to visit
The below chart shows when the skies will be at their darkest at this location and therefore the best time to visit. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing. See our dark sky calendar for more details.
Tue 27th Jul
Wed 28th Jul
Thu 29th Jul
Fri 30th Jul
Sat 31st Jul
Sun 1st Aug
Mon 2nd Aug
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
Calendar