Astronomy & Stargazing experiences across the UK - Click here for travel costs.

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    • Book/Gifts/Availability
      • BOOK NOW
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      • Current Availability
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  • Home
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    • BOOK NOW
    • ORDER GIFT CARD
    • Current Availability
  • Pricing/Info
    • Pricing
    • What does NOVA offer?
    • How & Where We Operate
    • Important Information
    • Personal Experiences
    • Group Events
    • School Events
    • Corporate Events
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    • Highlights of the Month
    • Planetary Timetable
    • Lunar Calendar
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important information

WEATHER (cloud coverage)

WEATHER (cloud coverage)

WEATHER (cloud coverage)

Cloud coverage dictates when we can run our stargazing experiences.


PLEASE NOTE:

When booking there is no guarantee of clear skies on any given date. It will typically take 1-6 attempts to complete your experience due to bad weather.



How do we update you:


1) Two days before your booking, you will receive an update on the forecast of cloud coverage.

2) On the morning of your booking we will confirm if the experience can go ahead or not.

(Typically <50%  cloud means your experience is feasible to go ahead.)  

3) If the night of your booking is a no-go then we will book another date until we have been successful in completing your experience.


***Please let us know if you are flexible on dates as we can alert you if a clear night comes up and offer you the slot if we don't already have a booking in place.***


click here to check the cloud forecast

RECOMMENDED CLOTHING

WEATHER (cloud coverage)

WEATHER (cloud coverage)

Warm clothing is essential for stargazing and not just in the winter.



The clearest nights are often the coldest ones for stargazing and even in the summer, temperatures can drop making it feel like winter again. The warmer you are dressed, the more comfortable you will be to enjoy your night under the stars.


Keep Warm Checklist:


  • Boots or wellies 
  • 2-3 Pairs of thick socks (thicker the better) - THIS IS A MUST!
  • Thermal undergarments
  • Thick coat
  • Thin layered tops/jumpers
  • Scarf/gloves/hat/ear muffs
  • Hot water bottle
  • Flask with a delicious hot drink of choice
  • A mat to stand on 
  • Hand warmers

OPERATING AREA

OPERATING HOURS

OPERATING HOURS

Looking for "stargazing near me"? 


Great! Although our home base is Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, we are able to run your stargazing experience in your home county across the UK.  


In the price of each experience we include the cost of travel 'up to 20 miles from Stratford' - ZONE A. This covers Warwickshire and parts of other counties such as Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire , Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and the West Midlands. 


We often travel across England and Wales for any one of our stargazing experiences so our customers can be closer to home. Previous customers have found this more convenient to be able to fit an experience around their busy lives. We do require additional travel costs which apply outside of ZONE A. 


OPERATING HOURS

OPERATING HOURS

OPERATING HOURS

Night owl or early riser? 

We've got you covered.


We operate all year round! Every single month from sunset to sunrise, whenever the skies are relatively clear. 


Some objects are visible all night and others rise and set, so anytime it's dark is a great time to explore the Universe. 


When you book your experience you can choose a time to suit you and times for your chosen date will only be limited by hours of darkness and clear skies available (or if your booking involves observing specific objects). 


(Please let us know if you have something in particular you want to observe and we will advise on the best time of year).  


Welcome to the late nights and early mornings of an Astronomer.

suitable locations

Bortle Scale

Dark Skies

The image is a visual representation of the Bortle Scale . It shows how light pollution affects the amount of naked eye stars that are visible. Darker skies are extremely important when viewing deep sky objects (DSOs) like galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. 


For deep sky objects it's better to be away from light polluted areas of towns and cities and to let your eyes adjust to darkness and to create better contrast of the objects. Even going a few miles from local dwellings will make all the difference.


Check out - www.gostargazing.co.uk and enter your postcode to find a dark sky spot near you.


We can research and find locations but can't always guarantee they will be close to your home. If you're outside our normal radius we work hard to find a suitable spot but it may be within a 20-30 minute drive of our home.

Good and Bad stargazing locations

Unobstructed Viewing

When looking for a location with a good night sky view you need to think about a clear 360 degree view from the location you are considering. This is not always possible but the less obstructions the better. Our image shows you a good location and a bad one.


If you are fortunate enough to have a garden with an unobstructed view of the sky and would like to do your experience at home then please let us know. 

No trespassing sign

Location Permissions

If you have a place in mind that isn't on your property, then please make sure you have permission to use the site. 


This is less of a consideration when it comes to public area's such as parks and public car parks but some places still require permission to access the area.  If you would like us to help then please pass on the information of the location and we will  do our best to check this for you.

REFUND POLICY & ADDED INFO

VISUAL OBSERVING VS IMAGING

VISUAL OBSERVING VS IMAGING

  • REFUND POLICY: Gift experiences are NON-REFUNDABLE and expire 12 months from the time you receive the gift card in the post. Direct bookings (non-gift card related) won’t be offered a refund if you cancel before at least 6 attempts have been made to complete your stargazing experience as it does typically take 1-6 attempts to complete an experience due to the weather. After your 6th attempt has been made, if you’d a full refund then please contact us. 


  • We require 15-20 mins either side of your booking  for equipment set-up . This doesn't impede on the time allocated for your experience. You will still get the total amount of time booked.


  • Included in the price of each booking is the cost of travel up to 20 miles from our base in Stratford-Upon-Avon. If you are looking to do your experience outside this radius additional travel costs will apply.


  • Full payment is required upon receipt of the invoice and this secures your booking. You will receive a booking confirmation shortly after the invoice is settled. Spread the cost terms will be sent via e-mail. For bookings, payments are only fully refundable once 6 unsuccessful attempts have been made to complete your stargazing experience (due to weather). 


  • On the day of your experience we will confirm whether or not we can go ahead. However from time to time the forecast can let us down and so if you're experience is affected by unexpected cloud on the night and we haven't completed at least 75% of the allocated time of your experience then we will rearrange to do your experience experience again to complete it. (i.e. We won't redo if: 1hr experience - 45mins completed / 1.5hrs experience -  1hr 5mins / 2hr experience - 1.5hrs completed).


  • We also offer other alternative payment methods including a pay monthly option. Please ask about this by contacting us. 


  • We offer 6 spaces per booking, so you can invite your friends and family.

VISUAL OBSERVING VS IMAGING

VISUAL OBSERVING VS IMAGING

VISUAL OBSERVING VS IMAGING

The images we see online, whether from the space based or large ground based telescopes are undoubtedly incredible, however there are a few things to consider about these images, compared to when observing these objects through a telescope:


Camera images (from telescopes) are long exposures, heavily edited, will have gathered light our eyes can't see (infrared and x-ray), are more sensitive to light than the human eye, some have been taken outside the disturbance of Earth's atmosphere and the equipment has been invested and developed for this specific purpose.


Viewing objects through a telescope is an incredible and mind blowing experience. It's the most natural, raw way you will see the planets, the moon, stars and anything else that resides amongst our cosmos. These sights are awe inspiring and we never know how it will effect people emotionally, some people cry, some people jump up and down and others have a smile from ear to ear.  


Please bare in mind, although you will not see images quite like the Hubble image, however what you do see through the telescope will leave you astonished and you will forever remember when you first saw them. 


Spread the cost - how it works

Spread the cost option
How our spread the cost option works

I have looked further into space than ever human being did before me. I have observed stars of which the light, it can be proved, must take two million years to reach the Earth.


William Herschel

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