Death Valley National Park will host the Celestial Centennial Mars Fest early in April/NPS
Gazing into the star-studded skies above Death Valley National Park offers many rewards, thanks to the lack of light pollution and the dry air. That will be the focus early in April when the park hosts the Celestial Centennial Mars Fest.
Scheduled for April 8-10, everyone is invited to attend this free night-sky and outer-space festival celebrating Death Valley's connection to the cosmos and the centennial of the National Park Service. The event will include talks, field trips, programs, stargazing, and expositions with scientists, park rangers, and astronomy experts.
"Death Valley National Park is proud to team up with NASA, SETI Institute, Mars Science Laboratory, and many others to showcase the amazing work being done," said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. "Death Valley is a great place to bring all of this together for the public to see."
Death Valley offers some of the best stargazing in America. The International Dark-Sky Association has designated Death Valley National Park as a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park, the highest rating of darkness.
"Visitors to the park are often amazed by the amount of stars they can see here," said Superintendent Reynolds in a release. "Some people have never seen the Milky Way before visiting Death Valley."
The Mars-like terrain of Death Valley National Park has also contributed directly to the knowledge of the solar system. Death Valley is one of several National Park Service sites that have been frequently used as 'analog sites' to test theories and equipment before employing them in space. This year's Celestial Centennial builds upon previous years' Mars Fest events "as we look beyond the red planet and contemplate our place in the cosmos," the release noted.
Most activities will be based at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. On the night of Friday, April 8, astronomer and night-sky advocate Tyler Nordgren will deliver a keynote address, followed by a live taping of Planetary Radio with Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society and astronomer Jill Tarter, former director of the SETI Institute.
The park will host day and night family-friendly events on Saturday, April 9, including festival expositions, stories, demonstrations, and night sky viewings. Talks and field trips with run throughout the day. Field trips and speakers will continue until mid-afternoon on Sunday, April 10th.
Comments
I am excited to see the night sky being interpreted throughout the NPS this year. On April 2, a special spring star party will be held at Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the NPS partnering with the Smoky Mountain Astronomical Society and other local amateur astronomy clubs.
What a great idea! Star parties are a perfect way to appreciate the parks. My husband and I have fond memories of camping at Katahdin with our local astronomy club. It only took a few nights out under the stars to become familiar enough with the night sky to tell time by the constellations. A really lovely experience.
Death Valley is another favorite park. Sounds like a fun event. Ordinarily I would consider April rather late in the year to visit--pretty warm--but for a star party it's probably perfect, warm at night. Might be a good time to see some wildflowers, too.