Coll & The Cosmos is a stargazing weekend break on the Isle of Coll which makes the most of the islands incredible dark sky. The break has been specifically designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. No prior knowledge of astronomy is needed; well bring you the best of the night sky in a way that is fun and easily understandable.
Coll & The Cosmos is a collaboration between Coll Bunkhouse and Cosmos Planetarium. We use state of the art technology to deliver an amazing stargazing learning experience in a fantastic location. Our 6 metre indoor planetarium is a fully digital, 360 immersive multi-media theatre experience, ideal for taking a journey through the solar system and learning about a range of astronomical subjects.
We also offer an array of different astronomical equipment to use, from simple binoculars to large astronomical telescopes with Goto and wireless Bluetooth capabilities. If you have your own telescope, bring it along and well show you how to get the best use from it. During the day, we can offer solar observing with close-up views of the sun and its flares, filaments and sun-spots, using our dedicated Hydrogen Alpha and white light solar telescopes.
Why Coll?By night, Coll has a naturally unpolluted starry sky equivalent to Death Valley National Park in the USA which make it perfect for stargazing. With a sky that dark, many deep sky objects can be seen with the naked eye. Some of these include star clusters like the Beehive & Double Cluster, nebulae like the Great Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. The bright band of the Milky Way can also be easily seen arching over the night sky at certain times of the year.