Dark Skies 2025
Building on the success of 2024, Dark Skies will be back in 2025!

This community event at Hertford Castle celebrates the night skies by switching off artificial lights to allow the stars to be seen without glare or local upward light. Groups of experts and enthusiasts, including LAPD Lighting Design, The University of Hertfordshire: Bayfordbury Observatory and the Hertford Astronomy Group, will come together to raise awareness of the effects of lighting at night on humans and the surrounding ecology with an evening of stargazing, educational talks and activities including a mobile planetarium!

The event will have limited lighting, and therefore a proportionate cap on visitor numbers is necessary for the benefit and safety of those in attendance.

Ticket Prices
General Admission: £2
General Admission plus Planetarium: £4

Tickets will be available in due course.

Alongside the event, BEAM will be showing a film about light pollution followed by a related talk between 3-6pm.

The chosen film is "THE CITY DARK" - a feature documentary about light pollution and the disappearing night sky, which premiered at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival. After moving to New York City from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question "Do we need the stars?". Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, philosophers, historians and lighting designers, the film is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.

The film will be followed by a related talk by lighting designer Simon Thorp, from LAPD Lighting, who will be providing further insight into the effects of artificial light at night on our surrounding ecology and the steps we can take to minimise our impact.

BEAM Ticket Information:

Tickets for the film and talk at BEAM are £5 and will be available here shortly. BEAM ticket includes entry to the main event taking place in Hertford Castle.

BEAM ticket holders are invited to arrive by foot via the main pedestrian gate located at The Wash, next to Weatherspoons and BEAM. Please note last entry for ticket holders is strictly 6:30pm. After this time, the pedestrian gates will be shut for public safety.

Please note BEAM ticket is for general admission and does not include entry to the mobile planetarium. If you would like to book a session in the planetarium please use link above to book this in addition.