“Hello, and welcome to this blog about nature at night! I’m Chris, and I’m very excited to be sharing my first post with you.
In this blog, I’ll be talking about nature, biodiversity and the importance of natural darkness in people’s lives.
But first, here is a little about me…”
My personal connection to the night
I took up astronomy during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and even though I had only just begun to conduct research as part of the Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby, I hadn’t otherwise had much of an interest in the night sky up to that point. But I remember seeing an advert for cheap telescopes and thought it might be good to pick one up that we could use at home. I felt it might be fun to share the experience with my family and explore the planets or moon with my children too.
So, I began to watch a few YouTube videos, initially reviews of telescopes, and later I switched to all sorts of YouTube channels about visual astronomy (what can be seen with our eyes) and astrophotography (what can be seen with the help of a camera). It was incredible to discover the beauty of space and how accessible it was to me… right from my own backyard! But then I noticed something about the language the YouTubers were using to describe how they felt about the night sky. In fact, I began to see some strong commonalities between this language and the sorts of theory and research I was working with – about connecting to nature (such as that found in the Pathways to Nature Connectedness). They spoke about the beauty, meaning, and emotion that the night sky held for them, as well as what it felt like to be underneath the night sky (through their senses) and how they attempted to protect the natural darkness from light pollution. From that moment onwards, I was hooked on astronomy! …and, as I was mostly interested in taking pictures of the night sky, I bought my first telescope and tracking mount (as you can see pictured), and attached it to a DSLR camera I already owned.
My first pictures of the night sky
It was a steep learning curve, but eventually, I managed to capture my first pictures of a double star cluster, the waxing moon, and the Andromeda galaxy. I should mention that to anyone unfamiliar with this process, the images below don’t come out of the camera like this! You need to use computer software to bring out the details and colors. However, that’s part of what I enjoy about this hobby. In one of my later blogs, I’ll discuss the process of capturing pictures like these in case others are interested in doing the same – it’s great fun!
Enjoying the Night
Of course, my enjoyment isn’t limited to gazing at the sky when I’m outside at night. I also love observing the biodiversity around me. I’m fortunate to regularly see badgers and foxes that visit most nights. During the warmer months, we’re treated to the sight of bats, while moths are around throughout all seasons.
I find being outside in the dark to be quite peaceful and relaxing, especially when the noises of the daytime have disappeared and most people are indoors. It feels like I have the world to myself!
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief first post and stay tuned for more.
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