A new program at Cape Lookout National Seashore, Astronomy Night at the Cape, will take you through the night skies to better understand the part of the park that exists overhead.

National Park System units along the East Coast were closing down Wednesday in advance of a potent winter storm, known in some circles as a "bomb cyclone," expected to batter the coast through Thursday with gale-force winds, freezing rains, and possibly a foot or more of snow in some parks.

Trying to understand how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke views himself as a conservationist cut from the mold of Theodore Roosevelt is an ongoing challenge. While he wants to bolster the ranks of hunters and anglers, the secretary also wants to shrink some national monuments, allow target shooting on as many public lands as possible, and allow hunters to chum for bears with donuts and greasy loaves of bread.

Beginning Wednesday, lighthouse tours at Cape Lookout National Seashore on North Carolina's Outer Banks will be offered from 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.