Astronomy compels the soul to look upward, and leads us from this world to another.

— Plato, Philosopher

Look up at night, that’s all that I ask. The night sky is incredible and every time you look up you will find something different (unless it’s cloudy of course!). I was going to say every time you look up you will see something new, but that is very seldom the case, what you are seeing is a remnant of something that happened a long, long time ago.

“Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to take in the vastness of the universe.”

— Maria Mitchell, Astronomer

From a young age, I’ve always been interested in the night sky, although never managed to get into things in any great detail. My time in the Royal Navy and as a boating enthusiast, taught me that not only is the night sky a wonder, but also an aid to navigation. Even now as I work in the hydrographic survey industry the position of the sun and stars is still prevalent in what we do even with the advances of modern technology.

“To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.”

— Stephen Hawking, Astrophysicist

I now live in a small village in the North East of Scotland called Lumphanan. We have the advantage of little light pollution, it’s not perfect or an international dark sky site, it’s good enough for what I need to do and if I need to get a darker site, then a short drive away can get me up into the hills and away from any light pollution.

I’ve always been a bit of a keen photographer, nothing more than a few simple snaps, but taking photo’s of the moon, night skies and producing star trails peaked my interest a few years ago and now I’m keen to explore how much further I can get.

I hope you enjoy the site and it should show you what you can do with the right dedication and equipment*.

*without breaking the bank!