Go Star Gazing

Discover a visitor experience that’s out of this world. Leave the bright lights behind: it’s time to see the night sky in all its glory.

Journey through time and space

The night sky is always impressive, but there are very few places in the world where it’s more impressive than in Mid Ulster. With very little light pollution around, the skies above us are among the darkest in Ireland. So dark, in fact, that Davagh Forest, outside Cookstown, has become the world’s 78th International Dark Sky Park. It’s only the second Dark Sky Park in Ireland and the first Dark Sky Park in Northern Ireland

The other planets in our solar system, the Milky Way, the Northern Lights, meteor showers and star clusters can all be seen from OM Dark Sky Park. Gaze at the moon, look outside our solar system at deep-sky objects and explore other galaxies.

Visit the OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory exhibition to learn more about the things you can see in our skies and about space in general. The exhibition uses the very latest interactive technologies to take you out of Mid Ulster to the outer reaches of the solar system and beyond.

Space in VR

The OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory exhibition and interactive visitor centre uses virtual reality headsets and holographic installations to give a suitably space age feel to your time exploring space. The technology helps to bring objects that are billions of light years away within touching distance of space explorers of all ages.

You’ll be able to get hands-on with mini-telescopes during your visit to get some practice at observing the sky and the landscape. Then try out our solar telescope, which is used to observe the Sun, as part of the exhibition. You’ll also see our 14-inch LX600 Meade telescope, which is on display but only operated by technical experts during star-gazing events and organised group tours.

Written in the stars

Leave it up to chance to decide what you’ll see during your visit to OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory or use our astronomical calendar so that your trip coincides with some night sky activity you’d particularly like to see. Moon phases, meteor showers, eclipses, conjunctions and many other things are covered in our calendar.

Keep an eye out on what’s at the Dark Sky Park and Observatory or sign up for email updates on upcoming events. Book to come along to a special star-gazing event to see the observatory in action after dark or enjoy an OM Odyssey Outdoor Film, where a film projection on the outside of the observatory building will take you on a journey through time and space.