More than 100 stargazers descended on Hadleigh Castle Country Park to catch a glimpse of distant planets and faraway solar systems.
Around 150 amateur astronomers turned up on Saturday night for the first of park's three winter stargazing events, and were relieved initial cloud cover cleared so they could get a better view of the skies.
The amateur astronomers were aided by experts from Southend Planetarium and the Castle Point Astronomy Club, who set up 22 telescopes to watch the stars.
For more on this story see tomorrow's Echo.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article