Stephen Mackintosh (Highland Astronomy) is a freelance astronomer, night sky photographer and STEM educator based in the Highlands of Scotland. He delivers public outreach astronomy talks, tours, and private stargazing events at select dark sky locations around the Inverness area and wider Highlands.
His professional guiding can include any of the following:
Stargazing parties
Dark Sky Consultancy
STEM based astronomy outreach for schools and larger organisations
Visit Stephen’s website and astronomy blog at modulouniverse.com.
Evening Stargazing Tours and Vouchers
During the darker months (September – March) Stephen offers bespoke evening stargazing tours based out of Inverness.
Click here for details on 'Evening Stargazing Tours'.
Hotel Outreach
He also offers hotel based stargazing experiences and guiding from several high quality accommodations within dark sky locations across the Scottish Highlands. Please see offerings from The Torridon Resort and The Steadings.
Festivals
He makes frequent appearances at science, art and music festivals, delivering interactive talks and stargazing activities. Examples: Scapa Fest (Sustainable Living in Action), Belladrum Tartan Heart (Music and Arts), the Inverness Science Festival (STEM) and The Hebridean Dark Sky Festival (Art, Science and Music).
Astronomy Programmes
In addition to the above Stephen leads two astronomy programmes operating out of the Abriachan Forest Dark Sky Discovery site and the Inverness Local Nature Reserve. He is also an STFC researcher and Spark Award grant holder for work in public outreach.
Full details of all scheduled astronomy programme events can be found on my Highland Astronomy page or on this page.
Testimonials
“Stephen is an articulate and nuanced astronomer, with a real flair for communicating complex concepts in a way that people can understand. His video telescope work is excellent, revealing details of the cosmos on a computer screen for all to see, allowing audiences to marvel at Jupiter’s moons, faint nebulae, and distant giant galaxies.” – Steve Owens, author of “Stargazing for Dummies’ @darkskyman.
“I’d thoroughly recommend Stephen Mackintosh to host an astronomy event. As well as being extremely knowledgeable, he is a good communicator that is well able to hold the attention of a large group. I look forward to working with him again and to what I’ll learn about and see in the night sky” — Caroline Snow, Project Manager, Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, Inverness.
“I have spent many a happy but chilly night alongside Stephen Mackintosh, enjoying a guided tour of the night sky. He has shown me planets, galaxies, clusters and nebulae. Every sighting has been accompanied with informative commentary about their discovery and historical background. Wrap up warm and bring a flask of hot chocolate. You will be in for an unforgettable night.” — Gavin Macfie, Writer and Outdoorsman at Living Mountain.
“Fantastic evening; fascinating talk and loved being shown the Milky Way, various stars and constellations. Thank you.” – Claire Grove
“A great gift- an awakening to our heavenly skies.” – Rosie Newman
“Fascinating evening! Stephen is very knowledgeable and patient (given the freezing temp). We were gifted a voucher for his tour and I highly recommend it as a present for amateur star gazers in your life” – Jenni Russell
“Beautiful location, whoever knew there were so many stars! Informative, educational, enjoyable. great value. Recommended” – Bernice Nott
"Just got home from an excellent night at Abriachan stargazing with Stephen. Really enjoyed the evening especially as I’m a novice to this subject but Stephen explained it all in an easy to understand manner. And to top the evening off we had a lovely display with the Northern Lights dancing overhead. Thanks again Stephen excellent evening." - Sheila Coubrough
