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The Bowes Museum

The Bowes Museum

Barnard Castle, Darlington, County Durham, DL12 8NP

Best time to visit

The Bowes Museum is a private location and is only accessible out of normal hours for stargazing by prior arrangement or when public events are scheduled.

Weather forecast

  • 06/05/24

    13° 18%

  • 06/05/24

    11° 17%

  • 07/05/24

    10° 11%

  • 07/05/24

    10° 11%

Weather forecast for Barnard Castle (0.4 miles away) updated 06/05/24 at 20:00.

Local light pollution

The Bowes Museum is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to asuburban suburban 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 The Bowes Museum

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 Mon 6th May

Mon 6th May

Waning Crescent
6 % illuminated
Dark from 21:35 to 02:29
Dark for 4h 53m
Moon phase on Tue 7th May

Tue 7th May

New Moon
2 % illuminated
Dark from 21:38 to 02:26
Dark for 4h 47m
Moon phase on Wed 8th May

Wed 8th May

New Moon
0 % illuminated
Dark from 21:41 to 02:23
Dark for 4h 41m
Moon phase on Thu 9th May

Thu 9th May

New Moon
1 % illuminated
Dark from 22:41 to 02:20
Dark for 3h 39m
Moon phase on Fri 10th May

Fri 10th May

Waxing Crescent
5 % illuminated
Dark from 23:58 to 02:17
Dark for 2h 19m
Moon phase on Sat 11th May

Sat 11th May

Waxing Crescent
10 % illuminated
Dark from 00:53 to 02:14
Dark for 1h 21m
Moon phase on Sun 12th May

Sun 12th May

Waxing Crescent
18 % illuminated
Dark from 01:28 to 02:11
Dark for 0h 43m

Find more dates

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

Calendar

Events nearby

Display nearby events on a calendar

  • Bishop Auckland Astronomical Society monthly meeting

    Friday 7th November 2025 from 19:00pm to 21:00pm

    Bishop Auckland Community Fire Station, Bishop Auckland, DL14 6RS (11.7 miles away)

    More info

  • Bishop Auckland Astronomical Society monthly meeting

    Friday 5th December 2025 from 19:00pm to 21:00pm

    Bishop Auckland Community Fire Station, Bishop Auckland, DL14 6RS (11.7 miles away)

    More info

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