Watch the 2021 Dark Skies Festival
Did you miss out on the 2021 South Downs Dark Skies Festival? Not to worry, you can rewatch all of the fantastic videos below.
- Festival Launch – Friday 12 February 2021
Get ready to #EmbraceTheDarkness. ‘Dark Sky Dan’ introduces this year’s festival and how you can get involved.
- Real-time tour of the night sky – Friday 12 February 2021
Dr. John Mason of the South Downs Planetarium shows us what we can expect to see in the night sky over the next few days.
- Embracing the Darkness: Our journey to becoming an International Dark Sky Reserve – Saturday 13 February 2021
How did the South Downs – a national park home to 117,000 people – become an International Dark Sky Reserve?
Ranger ‘Dark Skies’ Dan Oakley recounts how a childhood fascination with the cosmos led to galvanising people across the National Park and beyond to ensure this generation, and the next, can enjoy beautiful, uninterupted dark night skies.
- Nocturnal Wildlife and Stargazing at Home – Monday 15 February 2021
Join South Downs National Park Rangers, Charles and Kate, setting up for an evening of stargazing in their back garden and looking at simple things you can do to help nocturnal wildlife.
- Live Q+A with Jo Marchant, author of ‘The Human Cosmos’ – Tuesday 16 February
From early cave paintings to the efforts of scientists to discover if early life-forms existed on Mars this fascinating book is a must for anyone interested in the science and culture around our ever changing relationship with the stars.
In this live interview Jo talks to Anooshka about what inspired her to write this book and why she thinks it is important for us to reconnect with night skies now.
- Tour of the night sky and focus on Mars – Wednesday 17 February 2021
Ahead of the NASA rover ‘Perseverance’ Mars landing on Thursday 18 February, Dr John Mason of South Downs Planetarium takes us on another tour of the night sky before homing in on the planet Mars, to explore why it is of such interest to NASA scientists and what they are hoping ‘Perseverance’ will discover.
- Mars landing Q+A with Dr. John Mason – Friday 19 February 2021
Following the successful landing of the Mars Perseverance Rover, South Downs ranger ‘Dark Sky Dan’ Oakley and Dr. John Mason from the South Downs Planetarium took your questions on what we can expect from Perseverance and future Mars Missions.
- South Downs Nocturnal Wildlife – Sunday 21 February 2021
Can you tell a difference between a twit-twoo and a hoo-hoo?
We’ve put together this helpful little video guide on identifying & spotting some of the elusive nocturnal creatures scattered around the National Park.
- Live Q+A with Tiffany Francis, author of ‘Dark Skies: A Journey into the Wild Night’ – Tuesday 23 February 2021
Author Tiffany Francis-Baker chats to South Downs National Park’s cultural Heritage Lead, Anooshka Rawden about exploring the nocturnal landscapes of the South Downs and other places.
Walking at night brings a whole host of new experiences and emotions. Anooshka chats with Tiffany about their shared love of exploring the National Park at night.