Astronomy
Here at Eddington Lodge, as well as being able to enjoy the more traditional holiday experience and explore all that North Cornwall has to offer, we aim to go one step further and enable our guests to explore the astronomy of the Cornish night sky. With large, easy to use telescopes coupled with the knowledge we provide, we hope to be able to bring a further dimension to your holiday in an exciting and educational way. We aim to provide a friendly and helpful environment for all who stay at Eddington Lodge. Whether you have a passion for the jewels of the cosmos or a more passing interest in astronomy and the twinkling lights of the night sky, there is plenty of onsite help and information to set you on your journey around the heavens.
Take advantage of our observation pods situated onsite and enjoy your astronomy holiday with some of the best sights the cosmos has to offer without the hindrance of light pollution or hassle of setting up equipment.
Our stargazing courses are available from 1st September to the 31st March each year, as between April and August there is very little astronomical darkness, which means you won't see as much of the good stuff in the night skies! Between September and March you will find some breathtaking sights to behold and will have a fabulous experience here.
20" Dobsonian in one of our observation pods
The Observation Pods - Beginners
Once you are here and at a convinient time we will take you up to our two 20″ Dobsonian telescopes for a daylight introductory session on correct and safe use of the equipment - this will usually take about fifteen minutes.
After completion you will be booked onto the free visual tour of the night sky based on when we think the best conditions for your stay will be. At the time of the tour we will collect you from your log cabin and show you some of the best sights for the time of year. Sessions last approximately 1 hour.
Experienced members
If you are experienced at astronomy you willl be able to have access to the telescopes without prior tuition and a set of eye pieces (should you require them) for the duration of your stay. You are more than welcome to bring your own eye pieces to use on our Dobsonians and they take both 1.25" and 2".
The Rosette Nebular
Astrophotography
We have a fully equipped and automated 2.7 meter motorised observatory dome housing a Williams Optics triplet refracting APO telescope that we use for both planetary photography and imaging deeper objects in the night sky.
This is not just for enthusiasts but for people of any level to come and experience some of the more high tech aspects of astronomy and learn some new skills or spark enthusiasm in old ones.
The Astrophotography course includes an introduction to the equipment, setup and configuration, picking a target to capture, software use and execution and finalising the image. At the end of your session you will be able to take away the images and any of the raw data captured during the session. The entire course should last between 1 and 3 hours depending on experience and involvement and may be split over 2 sessions.
Although the brighter objects in the nights sky such as the major planets can be viewed most of the time when the skies are clear, deep sky objects are best observed at periods of new moon. Please visit our Events & Highlights page for detailed information on the very best times to book your stargazing and astronomy holiday
All courses can be booked once you arrive and are subject to availability and environmental conditions.
Tours and Courses
We offer several courses to enhance your stay at Eddington Lodge and help you to make the most of the telescopes. All tours and courses can be booked once you arrive and are subject to availability and environmental conditions. Please contact us if you have further questions.
Visual tour - £FREE for guests booking on our website, £50 for non-direct guests (single cabin, up to 4 people), 1 hour - Beginners
All of our guests are welcome to join us on a guided tour of the night sky. This is both a great way to become familiar with the telescopes and their operation, and is also a perfect opportunity to be guided around some of the best celestial sights for the time of year that you are visiting. Upon arrival just let us know that you would like to take part and we will arrange a date and time for you to take advantage of this awe-inspiring tour. This course lasts for approximately 1 hour.
Visual extra and tuition - £45 - A one-to-one for beginners and intermediates
If you enjoyed what you looked at during your first hour on the telescopes or if you wish to jump in and explore yourself, we offer a further one hour guided time looking at other sights and detailed tuition on the telescope. During this session you can become comfortable on the operation of the telescope and look at some of the fainter and deeper objects in the night sky and build upon the knowledge learned in the Visual course. After susessfully completing this course you will be given eyepieces and access to the telescopes for the duration of your stay at eddington lodge and may use the telescopes at your pleasure within our guidelines.
Astrophotography - £45 per hour (1-3 hours depending on experience and objective) - All experience levels
Our fantastic observatory and state of the art astrophotography equipment provide the opportunity to photograph and take home an image of a deep sky object such as a galaxy or nebula - the ultimate astronomy holiday keepsake! Available to all experience levels, we aim to provide a package to suit everyone, whether you are a complete beginner or veteran in the field. Details of astrophotgraphy can be discussed once you start your holiday.
Our equipment:
In the Observation Pods:
Custom built 20" (0.5m) F4 dobsonian style Newtonian reflectors
Orion optics mirrors, dual focuser with 1.25" and 2" adapter, low magnification finder scope, access to Telrad reflex finder scope.
In the Observatory:
Williams Optics 132 Triplet APO refractor, 2" filter wheel (RGB and Narrowband), Atik 4000 Mono CCD, Williams Optics field flattener, robotic focuser, NEQ6 Pro mount, ST80 and ZWO autoguiding.
When to book
As long as you are booking between 1st September and 31st March and are not booking in the 3 days before or after a full moon, you will be visiting us at an excellent time to experience the incredible night skies over Cornwall. Please visit our Events & Highlights page for detailed information on the dates and times for meteor showers, new moons and celestial events, however please don't worry if there are no events detailed at the time you plan to visit. The night sky is stunning on every clear night so you will have plenty to observe!
