Dark Skies Gigha

Gigha’s night sky on a clear night is exceptional

Gigha’s night sky on a clear night is exceptional with a Bortle rating of 2 (1 is the darkest skies and 9 corresponds with inner city skies). Thousands of stars are visible from the island and our galaxy, the Milky Way, is visible from horizon to horizon. Dark Skies Gigha is a non-profit community group based on the Isle of Gigha which aims to promote and facilitate interest in observing the night sky as well as providing educational experiences through regular events covering all age groups. The group also encourages islanders and visitors to become aware of the detrimental effects of light pollution on wildlife, humans and the night sky. Thanks to the hard work of the Dark Skies Gigha group, the huge expanse of dark sky and minimal light pollution, a site on the north of the island has been named a Dark Sky Discovery Site by the UK Dark Sky Discovery Partnership. Gigha’s site is Milky Way class, the highest designation because it is possible to see our galaxy, the Milky Way, very clearly on a dark cloudless night. This award makes the Isle of Gigha one of the top twenty most remote zones in Scotland which have been designated as a Dark Sky Discovery Site in the Milky Way class. The group have created a Dark Sky Theatre at the Dark Sky Discovery Site on the north of the island which features a night sky interpretation board, benches and stargazing pamphlets for islanders and visitors.