Kielder Observatory's second observatory opened in April
Kielder Observatory's second observatory opened in April

Kielder Observatory expands offering after launch of second ‘world-class’ facility

The launch of a new state-of-the-art observatory at Northumberland’s Kielder Observatory has enabled an expansion of its events programme.

On the back of opening its second observatory in April, the facility has introduced two new events and plans to announce more in the autumn.

‘Exoplanets: The search for Earth 2.0’ explores the field of exoplanet astronomy and examines what made Earth suitable for life, while ‘Cosmology: The Observations which Changed the Universe’ examines recent discoveries that have changed scientists’ understanding of the universe.

In September, Kielder Observatory will launch a new series called ‘Introduction to Astronomy’.

Gary Fildes, founder and CEO of the observatory, said: “Many people assume the summer is not as good a time to look at the night sky but they couldn’t be more wrong.

“The summer months and leading into the autumn are the best time to see the planets. Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn all come into view.”

He continued: “The opening of our new observatory has allowed us to expand our events programme right through the summer months and beyond. It means more people can visit our world-class facilities to marvel at the stars and planets.

“Our focus on education and outreach has seen us work with schools across the North East and we hope to expand our work even further later this year.”

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