Zion Park After Dark

Where will you be for tonight's full moon?

Tonight's full moon - the Wolf Moon - is located in the direction of the faint constellation Cancer the Crab. You're not likely to see any of Cancer's stars in the moon's glare. But you might notice 2 stars - both bright and close together - to one side of the moon tonight. They are Castor and Pollux, the "twin" stars of Gemini. Read more about tonight's full moon at https://earthsky.org/tonight/january-full-moon-is-the-wolf-moon/

O R I O N !!

Look up to see Orion the Hunter! 🌌

You've probably seen it before. It’s a constant companion on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, and on summer nights in the Southern Hemisphere. Plus, it’s probably the easiest constellation to spot thanks to its distinctive Belt. Orion’s Belt consists of 3 medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at the Hunter’s waistline. So if you see any 3 equally-bright stars in a row this evening, you’re probably looking at Orion.
https://earthsky.org/tonight/orion-the-hunter-is-easy-to-spot/

📸 Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere see Orion the Hunter arcing across the southern sky on January evenings. Southern Hemisphere? Turn this chart upside-down, and look in your northern sky. Image via EarthSky.

A great documentary about light pollution...

How artificial light threatens nature | DW Documentary Light can be deadly. Many animals and plants are threatened by artificial light. Numerous organisms have found their evolutionary niche in the dark of night,...

Get cozy and watch...

Zion National Park Night Skies ~ 4K Check out the extraordinary night sky at Zion National Park! Zion is a place where the sky is dark enough that you can look upward and marvel at what lies b...

January Evenings...

Rigel is one of several brilliant stars that grace our night sky in January. It’s also the brightest star in one of the most beloved constellations: Orion the Hunter. Rigel appears blue-white to the eye. It’s a stunning contrast to red Betelgeuse, Orion’s 2nd-brightest star. Like Betelgeuse, Rigel will someday explode as a supernova.
https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/blue-white-rigel-is-orions-brightest-star/

Save the date! Jan. 9, 6:30pm // Canyon Community Center

Join us on January 9th with Zion National Park!

Saturn!

🪐🛰️
Saturn, with its magnificent rings, is known as the jewel of the solar system. But did you know that the rings have “spokes” in them? The spokes are fainter, transient features that appear as ephemeral structures in the rings. Now, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has taken new images and time-lapse video of this fascinating phenomenon. NASA said late last month that Hubble watched Saturn during “spoke season,” monitoring the cycle of the spokes as they come and go.

Hubble was observing Saturn last October when it saw the spokes. The new images show the faint spokes on both sides of the planet simultaneously. The spokes rotate along with the rings around the planet. Although small compared to Saturn, the spokes can be both longer and wider than Earth!
https://earthsky.org/space/spoke-season-saturns-rings-hubble/

📸 This is Hubble’s view of Saturn on October 22, 2023. The spokes are visible as faint “smudges” on the rings on both sides of the planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI/ Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC).

Where can you enjoy dark skies in Utah? Look no further...

Dark Sky | Utah State Parks Dark Sky

Here's An Awesome Night Sky-Astronomy Calendar...
Happy 2024!

Night Sky Calendar 2024 | Astronomy Calendar 2024 Mark your calendar for the major celestial events of 2024.The eternal ballet of the Moon and planets, the stunning performances of meteor showers and other a...

Where should you be to see the eclipse tomorrow? Here's a guide with locations in the eclipse path...

2023 Annular Solar Eclipse Plan a trip to Utah to see the 2023 annular solar eclipse. Discover recommended base camps and tips for viewing the eclipse.

Zion National Park has one of the most recognizable skylines on earth... Can you name the mountains shown here? Check out this great guide on how to spot constellations and star clusters with just a pair of binoculars.

✨ See the star clusters in Perseus ✨

The Perseus’ location straddling the outer reaches of the Milky Way has filled this constellation with rich star clusters that are perfect for binoculars. The largest of these surrounds the bright star Mirfak or Alpha Persei.

🌟 The open star cluster Melotte 20, also known as the Alpha Persei Moving Group and the Perseus OB3 Association, is a collection of about 100 young, massive, hot B and A-class stars spanning 3 degrees of the sky. The cluster can be seen with unaided eyes and improves in binoculars. It is approximately 600 light-years from the sun and is moving through the galaxy as a group.

🌟 Aim your binoculars midway between Mirfak and Cassiopeia’s W, the realm of the Double Cluster. These two open star clusters, each 0.3 degrees across and approximately 0.45 degrees apart, form a spectacular one-degree-wide sight in binoculars or a telescope at low magnification. (That’s twice the width of the Full Moon!)

🌟 The more westerly cluster NGC 869 is slightly closer to Cassiopeia. It is more compact and contains more than 100 white and blue-white stars. NGC 884, the easterly cluster, is a bit more sparse and contains a handful of 8th magnitude golden suns. Use your telescope to see their double stars, mini-asterisms, and dark lanes of missing stars. The two clusters are inside the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way galaxy, about 7,300 light-years from the Sun. Their visual brightness has been dramatically reduced by opaque interstellar dust in the foreground.

Adapted from Chris Vaughan

Will you have children with you while you're visiting Zion National Park?
The Junior Ranger program has all kinds of fun ways kids can learn more about our National Parks, whether in person or from a device. Look up, do you see the Milky Way? A constellation? Time to explore together!

Junior Ranger Night Explorers - Night Skies (U.S. National Park Service) The National Park Service has developed a Junior Ranger Night Explorer program, encouraging young park visitors to explore the starry side of their national parks.

Star Gazing 2022: Whether you're in Zion or star gazing at home, see what's happening in January's night skies....

Night sky, January 2022: What you can see this month [maps] Find out what's up in your night sky during January 2022 and how to see it in this Space.com stargazing guide.

Zion National Park is a designated dark sky area. What does that mean exactly? Here, stars and heavenly bodies are more easily seen than in urban areas where light 'pollution' can obscure views. Wherever you might find yourself in the canyon or nearby, you'll likely see The Milky Way and much, much more! Depending on when you visit, you'll be able to spot different constellations. Winter or summer, full moon or a sliver moon, you're in for a show anytime you look up.