When the sun sets over Death Valley National Park, the world's largest International Dark Sky Park begins to shine.
High-powered telescopes are at the ready for ample stargazing during the Death Valley Star Party, put on by Furnace Creek Resort and the park.
Under the darkness of night, gazing up at the seemingly millions of stars twinkling overhead, we couldn't help but pull out our smartphones and launch our star gazing apps. Scanning the sky, constellations were easily apparent and planets popped onto the screens. For those of us who live in or near cities across the USA, star gazing of this magnitude just doesn't happen.
When the sun sets over Death Valley National Park in the California and Nevada desert, about two hours west of Las Vegas, the world's largest International Dark Sky Park begins to shine. And with an area encompassing more than three million acres and exceedingly clear skies (rain is very rare here – just over two inches a year, on average), it's no surprise that the park has received that designation and is a popular destination for night-sky tourism, which is on the rise.
"Death Valley is a place to gaze in awe at the expanse of the Milky Way, follow a lunar eclipse, track a meteor shower, or simply reflect on your place in the universe," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.
To help visitors do just that, the park and Furnace Creek Resort are hosting the Death Valley Star Party February 20 – 21. Over the course of the two days, amateur and seasoned astronomers are invited to join park rangers and the Las Vegas Astronomical Society on the resort's golf course, where telescopes of various sizes will be set up to gaze upwards. Expected to be in full display are Jupiter, Comet Lovejoy, Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula and myriad other star clusters, galaxies and nebulae.
An event schedule for the two days also includes presentations and a laser-guided tour of the night sky featuring naked-eye visible objects (no telescope required!). Daytime viewing will be available, too, on Saturday, for a different perspective. A full schedule will be available at the park's visitors' center.
For "Star Wars" fans, there's a totally different way to see "Stars" in Death Valley. Several scenes of the original trilogy were filmed within the park, at easily-accessible sites such as Dante's View, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Desolation Canyon, Artist's Drive and Golden Canyon, to name a few.
Death Valley National Park and Furnace Creek Resort host a number of other stargazing events throughout the year, though mostly between November and April, when temperatures are lower.
Can't make it to Death Valley? The 31st Annual Winter Star Party (February 16–22) is underway on Scout Key (mile marker 34.5 off US Hwy 1) in the Lower Florida Keys. Each year, more than 600 astronomers from around the world gather for warm-weather viewing of the Southern Cross and other southern constellations; the Florida Keys are among the only places within the contiguous USA where these objects can be seen.
Though not a star, full moon hikes are offered at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Groups are small in size, and the hikes are led by park rangers – a fantastic way to see the park after dark. Not surprising, several parks within the National Park Service have opportunities to explore the night skies, too; click here to learn more.
Source by: http://experience.usatoday.com/america/story/national-parks/2015/02/17/stargazing-in-death-valley/23570411/
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