Kielder Observatory is an

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

located in

Kielder Forest Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its covered by forest. The majority o ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The site is on Black Fell, overlooking

Kielder Water Kielder Water is a large man-made reservoir in Northumberland in North East England. It is the largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom by capacity of water and it is surrounded by Kielder Forest, one of the biggest man-made woodlands in ...

near the Scottish border. It is accessible from James Turrell's Kielder

Skyspace A skyspace is an architectural design in which a room, which is painted in a neutral color has a large hole in its ceiling which opens directly to the sky. The room, whose perimeter has benches, allows observers to look at the sky in such a way ...

via a half-mile long forest track. The observatory's design is the result of a competition managed by

RIBA Competitions RIBA Competitions is the Royal Institute of British Architects' unit dedicated to organising architectural and other design-related competitions. Architectural design competitions are used by an organisation that plans to build a new building or r ...

which was won by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based Charles Barclay Architects. The building is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine. It won the RIBA Award for its architecture in 2009 and also that same year a

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

. The observatory is administered by the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society, which is a registered charity consisting of a board of Trustees and ten permanent members of staff responsible for educational delivery.

History

Kielder Forest was a popular place for stargazing before the construction of the observatory, with the

Kielder Forest Star Camp The Kielder Forest Star Camp is an annual star party, held each autumn and spring in Kielder Forest in northern England. The area is known for its dark skies. The five night event is based on the Kielder Campsite. Free talks on astronomy are held ...

being an annual event. Amateur astronomer Gary Fildes—who had been involved with the Star Camp—began advocating for an observatory to be built within the forest and led a campaign that raised several hundred thousand pounds to pay for construction. Kielder Observatory was officially opened on 25 April, 2008 by Sir Arnold Wolfendale, the 14th

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...

, and in its first year entertained approximately 1200 guests. In 2014, the observatory had nearly 20,000 visitors, thus making it one of the top tourist destinations in Northumberland. In 2018, Kielder Observatory expanded to accommodate construction of the Gillian Dickinson Astroimaging Academy. The observatory also runs educational outreach activities in schools throughout the region via a project co-funded by various local authorities. In 2019, Kielder Observatory was awarded funding and contract for delivery in the

North of Tyne Combined Authority The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a combined authority, mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into be ...

district. In 2021, the observatory constructed a Radio2Space Radio Antenna, donated by the Tanlaw Foundation. This project is intended to educate the general public on

Radio Astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object, celestial objects using radio waves. It started in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observat ...

and assist teaching programmes in schools. In 2023, the otherwise named 16 inch Observatory, was renamed to the

Caroline Herschel Caroline Lucretia Herschel ( , ; 16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German astronomer, whose most significant contributions to astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigollet, which b ...

Observatory in memorandum of her contributions to science and astronomy. A plaque was unveiled by local author LJ Ross.

Staff

The science communication team at the observatory consists of practical and observational astronomers and astrophysicists. *Dan Pye – Director of Astronomy and Science Communication *Daniel Monk – Director of the Gillian Dickinson Astro-imaging Academy *Eleanor Macdonald – Science Lead *Adam Shore – Education Lead

Awards

Northumberland What's On Where Award 2015 – Best Visitor Attraction

North East Tourism Awards 2014 – Small Visitor Attraction (Silver Award)

Visit England Gold Award 2013 – Kielder Water Forest Park

References

External links

*
Kielder Observatory on Twitter

Kielder Observatory on Go Stargazing

Civic Trust Award Page on the Observatory

Kielder Forest Star Camp
{{Portal bar, England, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Buildings and structures in Northumberland Amateur astronomy organizations Astronomical observatories in England Infrastructure completed in 2008 Tourist attractions in Northumberland Recipients of Civic Trust Awards

History

Staff

Awards

See also

References

External links