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Turning Down The Lights At Great Basin National Park

It’s really dark where I’m standing--so dark that I’m fumbling with pen and notebook to jot down the amazed comments of the folks next to me: “Cool!” “Oh wow!” “Fantastic!” No, we’re not inside Lehman Cave, where rangers like to turn off the lights for a minute or so during their cavern tours to emphasize the pitch darkness underground. We’re at a picnic area close by the visitor center at the cave, where the ninth annual Great Basin Astronomy Festival is underway.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Biodiversity Inventory Reaches 1,000 Species Mark

While it has been hundreds of years since Europeans first arrived in North America, new species continue to be discovered in the landscape. Most recently, those involved with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have reached the 1,000 plateau in terms of new species to science discovered in the park.

Mark Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore's Birthday By Gazing At The Stars

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the “star” of an upcoming autumn night sky event; October 21 marks the 48th anniversary of the establishment of the national lakeshore. In celebration of that birthday, you're invited to join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society in the Dune Climb parking lot on October 21, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., for the final Star Party of 2018.