grand canyon national park is hosting a unfastened stargazing celebration

this yr’s annual “megastar party” event will run from june 18 through 25.
grand canyon country wide park in arizona is an awe-inspiring 1,900 square miles of deep valleys, hanging formations, and some of the oldest uncovered rock in the world. as remarkable as it is throughout the day, after the sun units, the night time sky provides an entire new detail of magic to the park’s fabulous landscapes.

in birthday party of the awesome perspectives above the grand canyon in the dead of night, each june, the park rangers host a “big name celebration” in the national park all through which they invite stargazing enthusiasts and informal observers to “view an assortment of planets, double stars, famous person clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies with the aid of night” on this specific international dark sky park.

this year’s annual star party will take area from june 18 thru 25. occasions start on both the north and south rims at 8 p.m., however consistent with the national park service (nps) , the great viewing is after nine p.m.

“skies could be starry and darkish until the moon rises the primary night time. it rises gradually later in the course of the week of the superstar party,” the nps said on its website.

past constellation tours at 9, nine:30, and 10 p.m., park rangers on the south rim will host precise activities every night time of the famous person birthday celebration, starting with a presentation from aaron yazzie, one of the engineers who constructed the mars rover. yazzie is part of the navajo country and will proportion how their land connects to the red planet. on other nights, sports will encompass talks approximately the james webb telescope, global dark sky places, extraterrestrial existence, and how, in the 1960s and ’70s, astronauts trained for his or her moon missions in northern arizona.

happenings at the north rim will include nightly astronomy-associated discussions at 8 p.m. inside the grand canyon motel auditorium. the topics of of these displays might be introduced at the park bulletin forums. there may also be telescopes installation on the porch each night time and beginner astronomers accessible to share their know-how.

how to get tickets
even as the event is free, attendees are nonetheless required to pay the park entrance rate ($35 consistent with car, $30 per motorcycle, or $20 according to man or woman coming into by way of foot, bicycle, or park commute bus). entrance passes can be purchased on line or on the park entrance.

if you could’t make it this 12 months, the nps has already introduced that the 2023 dates can be june 10 via 17.