Position: Academic Visitor

Departmental duties: Public Engagement with Science and Technology (PEST) Public lecture outreach and Education visits for PWT and Blackett observatory, Marlborough College, Wiltshire

Room: 704

Telephone: +44 (0)1865 273306

E-mail: ceb@astro.ox.ac.uk

Websites:

• http://www.blackettobservatory.org/
• Kielder Obvervatory: http://www.kielder-observatory.org/
• Kielder Observatory events: http://www.kielderobservatory.org

About the Kielder Project:

In 2005 the RIBA ran an International Open Competition to design an observatory as part of the Kielder Project. This competition attracted more entries than any other so far run. Charles Barclay Architects (CBA) a small firm based in London and run by a distant cousin Charles asked me to join the entry team as astronomy consultant. The initial budget was very tight and conditions strict.

Our design which has as its theme a pier from which the voyage of discovery of the night sky can begin is totally eco-friendly and built from local wood and is wind and solar powered. After a lengthy selection process we beat off other designs and after local planning approval, construction started in the winter of 2007/2008. The Observatory was largely complete for the opening by the last Astronomer Royal Sir Arnold Wolfendale in April. The telescopes were already I existence and the local Astronomical Society reorganised itself to become Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society. Finally completed with telescopes installed by June 2008 it is now fully up and running and supported by active websites www.kielderobservatory.org for the events and KOAS and  www.kielder-observatory.org for the project itself. The observatory provides not only a facility at night for amateur astronomy and school/ public outreach but also a point of interest and destination for walkers during the day.

The Kielder Project involves projects centred on Kielder Water in Northumberland which aim to provide attractions and facilities for a wide area of the North of England, specifically Sunderland with its cities of Newcastle and Carlisle. The forest also includes a Calvert Trust centre offering a base for families with disabled children to holiday together. This is an area of outstanding beauty and as a glance at the Campaign for Dark Skies UK light pollution map shows, is the largest really Dark Sky area left in England, thus the Observatory will be unique in this respect.

Right-click to download a brochure about Kielder Observatory (pdf, 11 Mb)