Astronomy in Crete

Since moving to Crete, we have been astounded by the amazing skies we can see most nights of the year. Living well away from major population centres, we have very little light pollution.

The night sky here is incredibly dark, with a huge number of stars visible. Weather conditions for observing are generally excellent, with clear night skies the norm rather than the exception. Observing is also much more comfortable with night - time temperatures normally no lower than 15 deg C between April and the end of September (considerably higher than this in midsummer).

Our new found hobby has encouraged us to invest in a very modest 70mm refractor which, whilst firmly a beginner's 'scope, is perfectly adequate for an entertaining night's viewing.

Additional aids are a copy of Starry Night CSAP on laptop as well as a copy of Astromist on a Palm Tungsten. Books, star charts and a local latitude planisphere are also available.

If you are an amateur astronomer and wish to use our telescope and viewing aids, you will be more than welcome to do so during your stay at Footscapes.

Footscapes is situated about 2 hours drive from the University of Crete observatory at Mount Skinakas, close to Mount Psiloritis. Check out the observatory's website and note the regular open evenings on which you can try out their 1.3m Ritchey Chretien telescope.

Here is a picture of Liz standing next to the main (1.3m) telescope at Skinakas. If it looks cold - it was! (January 2008, and at 1740m altitude, we were well into the snowline with the road completely impassable to vehicles because of some pretty big snow drifts).

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photo.