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Benone Beach

Benone Beach

Sea Coast Road, Downhill, County Londonderry, BT51 4SD

Best time to visit

Park up in Downhill, take blankets and a hot flask, find a fantastic stargazing spot on Benone beach! The nearby Mussenden Temple makes for a great foreground object for astrophotos! Photo used with kind permission from Will Young.

Benone Beach 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

  • 21/04/26

    12° 4%

  • 21/04/26

    13° 0%

  • 21/04/26

    12° 4%

  • 22/04/26

    9° 0%

Weather forecast for Coleraine (6.3 miles away) updated 21/04/26 at 06:01. Powered by Met Office data.

Local light pollution

Benone Beach is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a rural location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite. For more advanced light pollution data, view this location on DarkSkySites.

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

Light pollution map of Benone Beach

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 Tue 21st Apr

Tue 21st Apr

Waxing Crescent
17 % illuminated
Dark from 02:07 to 03:32
Dark for 1h 25m
Moon phase on Wed 22nd Apr

Wed 22nd Apr

Waxing Crescent
27 % illuminated
Dark from 02:45 to 03:29
Dark for 0h 44m
Moon phase on Thu 23rd Apr

Thu 23rd Apr

First Quarter
38 % illuminated
Dark from 03:08 to 03:26
Dark for 0h 18m
Moon phase on Fri 24th Apr

Fri 24th Apr

First Quarter
49 % illuminated
Dark from 03:22 to 03:23
Dark for 0h 1m
Moon phase on Sat 25th Apr

Sat 25th Apr

First Quarter
60 % illuminated
NO DARKNESS
Moon phase on Sun 26th Apr

Sun 26th Apr

Waxing Gibbous
70 % illuminated
NO DARKNESS
Moon phase on Mon 27th Apr

Mon 27th Apr

Waxing Gibbous
79 % illuminated
NO DARKNESS

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

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