Kielder Observatory

North East Astrophotography Academy

Project goals:  

• Engage with groups from socio-economically deprived areas to build connections and understanding through shared interest in the dark skies
• Enable participants to independently capture and appreciate astrophotography and encourage participants to process and interpret astronomical images
• Enable and support community-driven research with at least three community-led research topics identified and initiated within project lifetime

The mission of Kielder Observatory’s North East Astrophotography Academy (NEAA) is to democratise access to astrophotography and to generate imagery and data for research enquiry, which then helps progress human understanding of the universe. 

This project focuses on how underrepresented groups, particularly those from areas of socio-economic deprivation, could be connected with, and then lead, the latest in knowledge and research in imaging the universe.

Nine community partners have been recruited so far (eight schools across north east England and the West End Refugee Service) and meetings and discussions are underway for co-developing the path forward.

A-level and GCSE learners from each of the eight schools have engaged with in-person sessions focusing on space, physics and photography to whet their appetites for further involvement, with specific content being directed by the teachers’ and students’ interests.

This project is driven by data collected through previous outreach work which evidences that there is interest across local underrepresented groups but the means to participate is lacking. The team at Kielder Observatory therefore wishes to co-create content with such groups so as to empower them to participate in the generation of imagery and data to enrich academic research and further our understanding of the universe. 

Hero image: An astrophotography talk given by a staff member at Kielder Observatory