Astronomy evening leaves Lothians college seeing stars

Published on 20/02/2009 08:55

STUDENTS and staff at a Lothians college have been stargazing for the first time.

The Newbattle Abbey College event was held to mark the International Year of Astronomy, which is commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of a telescope to study the night sky.

The college ran its first ever stargazing event in conjunction with the Forestry Commission and Dark Sky Scotland.

Norah Fitzcharles, depute principal of Newbattle, said: "Thanks to clear skies on the night, we were able to get great views of many planets and constellations.

"We were very grateful to have experts from Dark Sky Scotland on-hand to answer any questions we had.

"Learning about the night sky helped us find out more about how the universe works and we were delighted to be involved with this event."