Location description
The North Pennines Observatory at Allenheads Contemporary Arts is located at the dark heart of the North Pennines AONB.
The observatory was officially opened in October 2017 and makes for an excellent resource enabling local people and visitors to take full advantage of being in a fabulous dark sky area.
The facility was developed by the North Pennines AONB Partnership for the community and was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the AONB Partnership’s Allen Valleys Landscape Partnership Scheme.
Day to day operations and management is run by Allen Valleys Enterprise Limited, a community benefit scheme, who together with a newly formed Astronomical Society offer a variety of public stargazing events throughout the year.
A visit is thoroughly recommended, prior booking required!
Location event organiser
North Pennines Observatory organises stargazing events at this location.
Observatory
Location has an observatory that is accessible to the public by prior arrangement or during public events.
Tonight's weather forecast
Location light pollution
This location is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a rural setting based on satellite data from CPRE.
When to stargaze at North Pennines Observatory
This location's rural setting means it benefits from dark skies depending on the time of the year and lunar cycle. In the calendar below where you can see stars indicates when the skies will be dark and the best time to stargaze. Yellow areas show the adverse effects of daylight (bold) and moonlight (faded). Hover over a day to see darkness times or click on a date for more information.