Stoer Observatory Open Night

Join us at one of our free open nights for a tour of the night sky from our dedicated observatory here near Stoer. Discover why this part of Scotland is so special – we’re one of the few places in Europe with “Bortle 1” skies (the measurement standard for “darkness” – Bortle 1 is as dark as it gets!).

Telescope viewing
Step up to our 8” Meade SCT visual telescope to see the Moon, planets, star clusters, and more in real time. We’ll guide you through what you’re seeing and answer all your questions.

Astrophotography demo
Get a behind-the-scenes look at how we photograph deep space objects using our imaging telescope — a William Optics FLT132 refractor — along with powerful CMOS cameras and image processing software. You’ll see nebulae, galaxies, and other cosmic wonders come to life on screen. All pictures shown on this page were taken with this telescope.

Aurora & meteor watching
On clear nights, we keep an eye out for northern lights and meteor activity — and with our low light pollution, you’re in a prime spot to see them.
Weather-friendly options

If skies are cloudy, we’ll move indoors to the cozy Byre cottage for an engaging, informal presentation on astronomy, astrophotography, and cosmic storytelling — with plenty of time for Q&A.

Cake and drinks
There’s always cake, snacks and hot drinks on offer. Feel free to BYO favourite tipple if you’d like, and/or some snacks to share.