A Scottish town has been named one of the top spots in the UK to see the stars at night.
Now that the weather is slowly turning warmer, the thought of heading out at night to do some stargazing is a lot more enticing. With searches for "where to see stars" soaring by 9469 per cent in the UK recently according to researchers at BestGamblingSites.com, people across the nation are keen make the most of spring.
As well as looking into search interest, the researchers also analysed light pollution data to predict the best and worst locations in the UK for stargazing this April. It was found that Elgin is the top destination in Scotland, and the 10th best in the UK, to see the stars this month.
Situated on the south coast of the Moray Firth, the town was singled out for its "low light intensity and dark sky". It was also found to have an artificial brightness score seven times lower than that of nearby Aberdeen.
Each location on the list was also assigned a Star Visibility Score out of 100, which was calculated by analysing light pollution, the luminance of the night sky, and the sky brightness against natural brightness. According to the experts, Elgin has a score of 70.2.
Coming in at number one on the list is St Davids in Pembrokeshire, which received a Star Visibility Score of 74.4. Following behind in second and third are Uckfield in East Sussex and Truro in Cornwall, with scores of 73.8 and 73.5 respectively.
April is known as Global Astronomy Month, while April 15 to April 22 in particular is celebrated as International Dark Sky Week, so there is no better time find a good spot and look up at the night sky.
Global Astronomy Month is the world's largest annual global celebration of astronomy, featuring events all over the world. Meanwhile, International Dark Sky Week is held during the week of the new moon in April, and sees people turning off their lights to observe the beauty of the night sky without light pollution.
The best locations in the UK to see stars based on star visibility score
- St Davids, Pembrokeshire — 74.4
- Uckfield, East Sussex — 73.8
- Truro, Cornwall — 73.5
- Wells, Somerset — 73.2
- Kendal, Cumbria — 72.9
- Ripon, North Yorkshire — 71.4
- Winchester, Hampshire — 71.1
- Eastbourne, East Sussex — 70.8
- Haverhill, Suffolk — 70.8
- Elgin, Moray — 70.2
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