VOLUNTEERS have been braving January’s falling night time temperatures in a bid to measure the darkness of the North Pennines’ skies.

The AONB has more official Dark Sky Discovery sites than any other protected landscape in England but there are hopes that the area could be soon recognised as one of the best places in the world for stargazing.

Staff from the North Pennines AONB Partnership - which covers parts of Eden - have been working with night sky enthusiasts to gather scientific meter readings in the hope of the area becoming a Dark Sky Reserve.

Armed with Sky Quality Meters – instruments that measure night sky brightness – people have been heading out into the wilds to collect data.

Claire Hutchinson, Conservation Trainee at the AONB Partnership, who has been organising the project, said: “To become a Dark Sky Reserve, one of the requirements is that the area meets a certain quality of darkness. By using these meters, we can survey the skies to get scientific readings of how bright it is.

“In urban areas, which are full of artificial lights, the readings would only read about 16 or 17 because light spillage means the skies are very bright. In remote places, with few or no artificial lights, the readings would be between 20 and 23.”

There are different classifications of Dark Sky Reserve, according to how much light pollution there is; bronze, silver and gold. To qualify for gold level the skies must measure 21.75 or above.

“As well as using the results to work towards Dark Sky Reserve status, it’s also useful to help us monitor the brightness of the skies over time and to try to prevent them from getting any brighter," said Claire. "Having measurements to help us keep the skies dark will of course benefit stargazers, but wildlife as well since animals’ behaviour can be badly affected by artificial lights.”