1 Dec 2025

Astronomy Month at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace

Written by James Ryan

A person leans over to look through a telescope, which is pointed towards a very bright moon. The moon is hanging in the sky over Hugh Miller's Cottage.

Stargazing from the garden at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum

Astronomy Month at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Museum runs from Monday 17 November to Sunday 14 December.

Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum in Cromarty is celebrating all things space over four weeks this winter, including a variety of workshops and displays. These workshops include brand new stargazing evening sessions and the return of our popular children’s science club. James Ryan, Visitor Services Assistant at the museum, explains more:

‘To help us stand out, we have been offering a variety of science-themed experiences throughout 2025. Hugh Miller was a 19th-century scientist, and his greatest strength was making science accessible to general audiences through his books, lectures and newspapers.

‘We have carried on Miller’s legacy of making science accessible through a variety of different workshops and activities over the past few years. However, because Hugh Miller was a geologist and natural historian, we had been focusing primarily on Earth-based natural sciences.’

Quote

“This new and exciting offering will see us looking up and ‘boldly going’ into uncharted territory at the museum.”

James Ryan

Visitor Services Assistant, Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage and Museum

A photograph of a group of stars in the night sky, which seem to be emitting a blue-purple glow.

The Orion Nebula seen in the winter night sky | Image: James Ryan

Historically the museum has closed in winter, except for the occasional special event. James tells us that this new venture helps to keep interest in the museum while also aligning with the museum’s mission of making science accessible for all. He says: ‘We were thinking of what science offering we could provide when it is cold and dark. Miller himself was not an astronomer; however, he did theorise the geology of other planets while studying the old red sandstone in Caithness in the 1840s. This provides an excellent link between our usual geology offering and this brand-new space science month.’

A photograph of a full moon against the black night sky.

A man kneels in a garden and pushes down on a lever, which releases a water-propelled rocket a short distance away. A group of people are watching from beside the wall of a nearby building.

A small child and a man sit at a table and look at an artefact through a magnifying glass. They are bathed in a green light.

Events in Astronomy Month include stargazing evenings in the museum gardens, taking place on select evenings over the four weeks between 5pm and 7pm. The museum will provide visitors with telescopes and binoculars, and will explain what you might be able to see during this time of year: the moon, constellations and (if visitors are lucky!) even some of the planets in our Solar System. During the museum’s open stargazing evenings, we will also display some objects from our geological collection to discuss the origins of the Earth and ongoing astronomical science taking place.

The museum will run two Science Club sessions covering astronaut training and the hunt for alien life. These take place on Saturday 22 November and Saturday 6 December (starting at 10am) and require booking in advance.

Find out more and book tickets