{"id":97,"date":"2026-07-04T12:19:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/?page_id=97"},"modified":"2026-07-09T09:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:27:07","slug":"dark-skies-astronomy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/?page_id=97","title":{"rendered":"Dark Skies &#038; Astronomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull has-custom-content-position is-position-bottom-center\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);min-height:840px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1618\" height=\"1080\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-109 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids.jpg 1618w, https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41880_navigational_aids-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-10 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-36f65c2d wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-831b2db5 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-xx-large-font-size\">North Ronaldsay: <em>A Dark Skies Island<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2021, North Ronaldsay was officially recognised as a\u00a0<strong>Dark Sky Community<\/strong>\u00a0by the International Dark-Sky Association, in recognition of the island\u2019s hard work to protect and preserve its natural night-time environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With very low levels of light pollution, clear nights on North Ronaldsay can be spectacular, with breathtaking views of the Milky Way arcing overhead, surrounded us with a dome of stars stretching across the wide skies and out towards the dark sea horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The island community is committed to protecting this special environment, promoting responsible lighting, and raising awareness of the impact of light pollution. Through talks, walks and astronomy events, North Ronaldsay continues to share its night skies with residents and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Videos and Links<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>International Dark Sky Community recognition<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darksky.org\/our-work\/conservation\/idsp\/communities\/north-ronaldsay-dark-sky-island-scotland\/\">Link to the International Dark-Sky Association page.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Eric Walker: TAL telescope demonstration<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cuivEEu60BA\">Eric Walker shows how to take the TAL telescope to bits.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>North Ronaldsay Science Festival 2023<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/r_b8LlhBn0o\">Eric Walker\u2019s presentation from the North Ronaldsay Science Festival.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Facebook group<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/886177725067405\">Find the North Ronaldsay Dark Skies group on Facebook.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108,"parent":73,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-97","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/97\/revisions\/117"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northronaldsay.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}