Telescopes for beginners | free mobile app

Altarichard Forest Car Park

Altarichard Forest Car Park

Altarichard Road, Magherahoney, County Antrim

Best time to visit

With wonderful vistas in all directions, including upwards, this remote car park on the road between Magherahoney and Cushendall makes for an ideal stargazing spot. Photo used with kind permission from Will Young.

Altarichard Forest Car Park is a Go Stargazing Site. The location has been identified by the Go Stargazing team as a good location for stargazing based on local light pollution levels, distance from nearby towns and cities and offers a safe place to park.

Weather forecast

  • 24/04/24

    3° 0%

  • 24/04/24

    3° 8%

  • 25/04/24

    3° 10%

  • 25/04/24

    2° 6%

Weather forecast for Slieveanorra (2.6 miles away) updated 24/04/24 at 16:00.

Local light pollution

Altarichard Forest Car Park is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to arural rural location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite.

The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.

Light pollution map of Altarichard Forest Car Park

Best time to visit

The Moon has a big impact on the visibility of celestial bodies in the night sky. Try to plan your stargazing when there is no bright Moon at night as this is when the skies will be at their darkest.

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.

Moon phase on Wed 24th Apr

Wed 24th Apr

Full Moon
100 % illuminated
NO DARKNESS
Moon phase on Thu 25th Apr

Thu 25th Apr

Full Moon
99 % illuminated
Dark from 21:26 to 22:21
Dark for 0h 54m
Moon phase on Fri 26th Apr

Fri 26th Apr

Waning Gibbous
96 % illuminated
Dark from 21:28 to 23:46
Dark for 2h 17m
Moon phase on Sat 27th Apr

Sat 27th Apr

Waning Gibbous
91 % illuminated
Dark from 21:31 to 01:01
Dark for 3h 29m
Moon phase on Sun 28th Apr

Sun 28th Apr

Waning Gibbous
84 % illuminated
Dark from 21:34 to 02:00
Dark for 4h 25m
Moon phase on Mon 29th Apr

Mon 29th Apr

Waning Gibbous
76 % illuminated
Dark from 21:37 to 02:38
Dark for 5h 0m
Moon phase on Tue 30th Apr

Tue 30th Apr

Third Quarter
66 % illuminated
Dark from 21:40 to 03:00
Dark for 5h 19m

Find more dates

If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!

Calendar

Stay and gaze nearby

Stay at one of these stargazing-friendly accommodation providers.

No locations found