Scotland is known for its remote spots perfect for stargazing, but there’s one remote village that goes even further and is even twinned with Mars.
While the concept of partnering with similar sized cities in other countries is common, it’s not every day that you find a settlement connected to another planet. However, that’s what happened in the small community of Glenelg.
As reported by the Scottish Daily Express, the civil parish of Highlands has been named by NASA as the twin of Glenelg Intrigue on Mars. The Red Planet area is located near the Curiosity rover’s landing site in Gale Crater.
This week marks the 11th anniversary of the ceremony held to celebrate the ‘twinning’ of the two locations, which was held on October 20, 2012.
Coincidentally, due to its spread out population and low levels of light pollution, Glenelg is actually one of the best places in Scotland for stargazing and observing the Northern Lights.
As the days get darker, fall and winter are ideal times to gaze at the night sky — and now is the perfect opportunity to take a trip to the area.
Glenelg is one of the best areas in Scotland for stargazing thanks to its low light pollution(Image: DrPixel / Getty Images)
The civil parish, which has a population of around 1,500, is located on the Scottish mainland, near the Isle of Skye. It is accessed via Mam Ratagan, a 339 meter long single track.
Although Glenelg is spread over a wide area, the main village is called Kirkton of Glenelg — although it is usually referred to simply as Glenelg. The village itself is home to around 300 people.
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Twin with Mars
Glenelg’s unexpected partnership with the Martian region occurred when the Curiosity rover explored the Red Planet in 2012. NASA was looking for a palindromic name for one site, as the rover would visit it twice.
The event, which marks the first time a settlement on Earth has officially twinned with another planet, is the work of Emma Garrick, an officer of the Glenelg and Arnisdale Development Trust. As a result, a week-long space-themed celebration was held.
Glenelg Intrigue is located in the Gale Crater on Mars(Image: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Speaking to the Press and Journal in 2021, Ms Garrick commented: “This is a very exciting time. At that time, I was sitting in Arnisdale in my study and a news article came out observing that NASA was sending a Mars probe to the rocky region. an outcrop they identified as Glenelg.
“My brain was thinking ‘oh my God, that’s amazing. Here we are in Glenelg on Earth and they must have named it after us’.
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“We decided to do something to celebrate. We started thinking about how we could make it bigger and better and it really took on a momentum of its own.”
This unique event made headlines around the world, and even hosted former NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, who flew on five space shuttle missions during the 1980s and 1990s.
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2023-10-18 04:09:31
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