We own the sky...

On Friday evening I was lucky enough to go to Kielder Observatory with a friend for a special event they had on Aurora, or the Northern Lights. Kielder boasts the darkest skies in the UK and it most certainly seemed that way as we ventured along the windy roads into the back of beyond. We ended up (predictably) getting lost and had to pop into the local pub, where someone was kind enough to draw us a little map. Anyway, we arrived only 40 minutes late which I, as someone who gets lost regularly, regard as a small victory.

I bought this necklace from ASOS especially for my stellar jaunt.

I'm not sure the observatory was what I expected. It was sort of like a post modern (oo-er) wood cabin on top of a hill, it reminded me of the homes in the Woody Allen film 'Sleeper'.  We sat though a short presenstation on Aurora and solar flares and I found my jaw literally dropping. It's quite unsettling that we are due a solar flare and that the last time this happened in the late 1800's it kicked off big style and totally wiped out the technology used to send telegraphs. I'm trying my best not to wake up screaming. Imagine the havoc it would reap!

Sadly, the  Moon was too bright, which meant no Northern Lights. Boo.  So after the little talk I perused their telescopes and jumped at the chance to rotate the walls in the room by turning a wheel in the corner of the room. There was a chance to have a little break and stock up on sugar and hot drinks. They had a little 'tuck shop' of space themed snacks, which was sort of adorable. I spend the rest of the night stargazing. I loved being outside, it was crispy cold and windy, it's not very often I have to really wrap up warm in my Zara sheep-skin lined parka, with a bobble hat and the hood up. It was nice to feel that cold feeling on your nose and see your breath in front of your face. I also  couldn't believe how much more you could see compared to in the big ol' city. I saw the Seven Sisters Constellation as well as Taurus (which happens to be my starsign), Polaris which is more commonly known as the north star and have a good idea where the big dipper is.The astrologer pointed out a star that I noticed was more orangey than the others. He told me to imagine heating a electric hob, the hob starts orange and slowly gets bluer as it heats up. So this particular star had cooled down compared to the younger stars and was nearing the end of its life. You can also get yellow stars, which I guess are in the Autumn of their life and even blue stars, which are just little baba's. I looked at Jupiter and its moons through a smaller telescope that they set up on the decking outside. I saw Uranus, which was tiny and it was sort of mind blowing to hear about how far it was away from us. The night culiminated with a pretty impressive view of the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon.

The passion of all of the astrologers, fledgling and pro alike was astonishing and rather inspiring. One man had his teenage son there and he was serving teas and coffees whilst nattering about NASA and their equipment and the politics surrounding it all. Far healthier for a teenage boy to be doing that than raking the streets somewhere and kind of wonderful.The 'main man' running the event was incredibly knowledgeable and I found myself following him around, sort of like you hovered around the school dinner lady in Primary school. Desperate to hold her hand and walk around 'monitoring' the other children in the playground. Was that just me?

The drive home was actually really nice, apart from having to keep our eyes peeled for sheep running out onto the road or a hidden bend that would send me careering off to my death. When I got home I tried hot Ribena (Ohmygosh) and got warm infront of the fire before falling asleep on the sofa whilst watching Jurassic Park. Totally wholesome and probably the most fun I've had in recent months.

The next day I found myself feeling a little sad knowing that it was all over. I really do hope to be able to go back soon.