Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
You don’t need to be earthbound, even in lockdown. In this event, author and science communicator Abigail Beall, author of The Art of Urban Astronomy: A Guide to Stargazing Wherever You Are, and Wigtown’s own astro-photographer Helena Cochrane discuss how anyone can take inspiration and solace from the stars, and why we should value our dark skies.
Abigail Beall is a science journalist and author of The Art of Urban Astronomy: A Guide to Stargazing Wherever You Are. She grew up in Scotland and now lives in Leeds. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @abbybeall.
Helena Cochrane is a 16-year-old astro-photographer and YouTuber who grew up in Wigtown where she took early inspiration from events at Big Bang. She has been taking pictures of deep space for almost a year - bringing her growing numbers of followers on her journey of discovery. You can find her on Facebook @HelenaAstrophotography and on Instagram @helenas_astro.
Professor Andy Lawrence FRSE, FRaS was appointed as the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1994, a position he still holds. He works at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, a historic site shared between the University's Institute for Astronomy and STFC's UK Astronomy Technology Centre.
His research interests are in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), observational cosmology, survey astronomy, and e-science (the Virtual Observatory).
Professor Andy Lawrence joins them to talk about why our skies are under threat.
You don’t need to be earthbound, even in lockdown. In this event, author and science communicator Abigail Beall, author of The Art of Urban Astronomy: A Guide to Stargazing Wherever You Are, and Wigtown’s own astro-photographer Helena Cochrane discuss how anyone can take inspiration and solace from the stars, and why we should value our dark skies.
Abigail Beall is a science journalist and author of The Art of Urban Astronomy: A Guide to Stargazing Wherever You Are. She grew up in Scotland and now lives in Leeds. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @abbybeall.
Helena Cochrane is a 16-year-old astro-photographer and YouTuber who grew up in Wigtown where she took early inspiration from events at Big Bang. She has been taking pictures of deep space for almost a year - bringing her growing numbers of followers on her journey of discovery. You can find her on Facebook @HelenaAstrophotography and on Instagram @helenas_astro.
Professor Andy Lawrence FRSE, FRaS was appointed as the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1994, a position he still holds. He works at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, a historic site shared between the University's Institute for Astronomy and STFC's UK Astronomy Technology Centre.
His research interests are in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), observational cosmology, survey astronomy, and e-science (the Virtual Observatory).
Professor Andy Lawrence joins them to talk about why our skies are under threat.
