Stargazing

A full moon is shining, bathing the woodland in a pale unearthly gleam. Then it passes behind clouds and the darkness deepens.  At first it seems silent but then I hear the sudden cry of a fox, the hoot of owl; a rustle in the undergrowth; sounds I don’t notice by day.  As my eyes become accustomed to the dark, I see and feel the landscape in a totally different way.  

Do you fear the dark or embrace it?  Me, I love the countryside at night. Whether by moonlight or in the pitch dark of the occult moon, it’s a whole different world. 

Everything is more intense. Your senses are more alert.  It’s just more…I dunno…spine-tingling, exciting.  Yet our society generally shuns the dark, turning almost obsessively towards the light.  Why else do we keep the street lights on and bathe every building in brightness?  Is it because, deep within us, there still lurks an atavistic fear of the dark – of wild animals and menacing human enemies?  Do the shadows conjure nightmares of ghosts and ghouls and things that hiss and rustle in the night?  Or is it that we rely so much on the sense of sight?  Once darkness falls, the advantage shifts to those creatures which use other senses.  What we can’t see often frightens us? But at the edge of fear comes excitement, no? 

Try it.  Turn off your torch too.  Our eyes have something called dark adaptation so that, during low light levels the body produces a photosensitive chemical called rhodopsin.  When bright light hits the eye, the rhodopsin splits into two leaving you night blind (which is why you can’t see in the dark after turning a bright torch on and then off again). 

Yes, you gotta take sensible precautions but really, don’t let fear put you off embracing the magic of a dark night.  Of course, there’s night swimming too, and boating – is there anything more magical than moonlight on water?  But I save that for summer. J

Then, of course, there are the stars.  One of my greatest joys, when we lived out on the moor, perched on top of a hill, was to lie out on the grass on a summer night and watch the star-tangled magic skies. Dazzling star dancers in stately swirls of symphonic splendour.  Okay, that’s enough sidereal alliteration.  I used to send myself quite dizzy, projecting myself into the Milky Way to join the dance; imagining myself huge, embraced by supernovas.

But anyhow.  I’m pleased that our Exmoor skies have been recognised as some of the darkest in the country.  We’ve been designated a Dark Sky Reserve, the first in Europe.  Actually this does puzzle me as, when I look at a Google satellite map of Europe there are some helluva big tracts of open countryside out there but hey…I’m not complaining.  We’ve got it so we’ll sure as hell milk it!  

Truly, if you love dark skies, if you love watching the stars and planets, that whole great big amazing universe out there (and the ones beyond), this is the place to come.  Because of our lack of light pollution, it makes it a great place to come to starwatch.  We also boast a DarkSky Discovery site over at Wimbleball Lake. 

Now, I don’t know if you’ve been watching BBC Two’sStargazing LIVE with Brian Cox and Dara O Briain. But tomorrow (8pm on 18^th January) Dulverton is going to be the star of the show when astronomer Mark Thompson asks all of us here in town to turn off our lights.  The idea being that we show the rest of the UK just how amazing a sky without light pollution may be.  Apparently they’re bringing astronomers (tame ones, I hope) and telescopes. As they say on their leaflet –

There’s a whole universe of incredible wonders above your head, isn’t it time you looked up?

Oh, and check out Exmoor Star Gazers....

Oh (again), and in typical Dulverton fashion the local businesses have joined in with some fabulous window displays.  Even the estate agents are getting in on the act with some truly terrible puns! 

light pollution from shop opposite! 

The Big Bang v X Factor

I don’t usually listen much to statistics (I’ve massaged enough in my time) but something about the one I was sent yesterday rang alarm bells. When it comes to their children’s career choice apparently ten percent of parents would rather their children followed the TV talent route, rather than try for science or engineering.


WTF? Now X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent are guilty pleasures in The Bonkers House – Adrian won’t even be in the same room when they're on but James and I sit with a bag of popcorn between us and lap ‘em up. Only... Hmm. Maybe we’ll eschew the next series.

It seems science still has an image problem. A further ten percent of parents denigrate scientists and engineers as ‘geeks’ and over a third still see engineering as ‘man’s work’. Ye gods. Most weird of all is that, while a lot of parents say they would like their children to follow a scientific path, nearly 70 percent baulk purely because they don’t understand the fields.

WTF#2. My parents had NO idea about languages, yet it didn’t stop them encouraging me. C’mon people.

I have always cherished a small hope that James would consider science as a career. He’s good at it and, I dunno, is there anything more sexy and exciting than researching and understanding life – which is what science fundamentally is? He’s still hanging onto professional rugby player followed by corporate lawyer (aaaghhh) but, hey, there’s time yet.

And, in order to plant the seed, I may just take him to The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, this March in London. See – we need scientists, we need engineers. UK employers have huge difficulty recruiting the people they require. And, hand on heart, do we really need more Beyonces or Justin Biebers? Just sayin'...

Sooo...here's the plug.  The Big Bang Fair aims to “unleash the scientist from within” with 120 exhibitions and interactive activities.  It's aimed at all ages, from young children to school leavers. Plus there are live performances every day, including Wallace and Gromit with their “World of Invention” road show.

My top ten cool things you could do if you were a child (I have restrained from adding comments - you can imagine them for yourselves):

1. Discover how to weld big structures using chocolate.
2. Make your own earthquake.
3. Find out how the liquid crystals in an LCD TV can be used for bullet-proof vests.
4. Uncover the weird science behind sound with The Feel Good Vibrations workshop.
5.Take a look at your blood up close and visit a Stem Cell Lab of the Future.
6. Have a go at handling real bionic implants and uncover where they fit in your body.
7. Step inside the BodPod and discover your body shape and why what you eat matters.
8. Use pedal power to help generate electricity. Challenge your mates to see who can create the most energy.
9. Find out how algae can be used to produce hydrogen, electricity or other forms of green energy
10. Get behind the wheel of the latest McLaren innovations (yeah, James would LOVE that).

Then came a quote from Brian Cox, which rather puzzled me until I realized it wasn’t the actor (the original Hannibal Lector, of course) but the "funky" physicist.
‘The Big Bang exists to give young people and their parents a better understanding of how just fun and inspiring science and engineering can be,’ he says, in a rather unfunky way. ‘You can find out for yourself by visiting The Big Bang this March. It’s free to attend, and the ideal place to find out about the exciting career options out there.’

You tell ‘em, Brian. Except....oh come ON!  Tell 'em all about the really cool stuff, why don't you? 

Oh, for pity's sake....now I get the statistics.  Maybe science needs Simon Cowell.

The Big Bang takes place at ICC London ExCeL from 10-12 March 2011. Find out more by clicking here

Hmm, I know which one I prefer ;-)