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Star-gazing
What’s big and dark and very sparkly at night? Yosemite
is!
Yosemite National Park, miles from the nearest city lights, has
a very dark night sky that makes it a great place to look at the
stars. Bring along a star chart and look for constellations, or
look through binoculars at some of our planetary neighbors.
For a speechless view of the stars, try Sentinel Dome
at night. It’s the best 360° unobstructed view of the
heavens you can see, especially during the meteor showers in August.
You’ll also have excellent naked-eye views of the Milky Way
galaxy. But aided by a telescope at Glacier Point,
you’ll be able to view many other astronomical objects such
as star clusters, gaseous nebulae and planets. This summer, during
mid-August to mid September, Mars will be very
near to earth. The closest approach will be on August 27. Mars will
be closer to earth than it has been on that day in over 1000 years!
In June, July, and August, amateur astronomers often set up telescopes
at Glacier Point on Saturdays, and astronomy walks or talks may
also be offered elsewhere in the park. Once the road is open to
Glacier Point, usually around July 1, rangers provide a star and
constellation sunset talk at the point itself. But on these selected
weekends, the rangers will be joined by between 10 and 30 amateur
astronomers with their own telescopes which are set up in or around
the ampitheatre at Glacier Point. If you plan a trip to Yosemite
during the summer, why not pick one of these weekends and come up
with your red flashlight to Glacier Point at sunset. The viewing
area at Glacier Point is mostly flat and can accommodate several
hundred persons. It may be best to avoid full moon weekends, as
many objects in the night sky will be washed-out.
These star parties are offered as a public service by the national
park and the astronomy clubs, and anyone is welcome to attend. Bring
your own telescope or binoculars and jacket (it can get quite cool
even during summer) and join the fun. To bring a telescope, you
may need to be a member of a sponsoring astronomy club; it is one
of the benefits of astronomy club membership. But you can come up
as a visitor to the park and enjoy looking through all the telescopes
any weekend. Here are the dates and which clubs will bring telescopes
for you to look through. Check with the park service regarding equipment
and for the current schedule.
YOSEMITE ASTRONOMY CLUB PARTICIPANTS
Summer 2003
• Jun 27 - 29, Santa Cruz Astronomy Club
• Jul 3 - 6, Tri-Valley Stargazers
• Jul 18 - 19, Sonoma County Astronomical Society (S.C.A.S.)
• Jul 25 - 26, San Jose Astronomical Association
• Aug 1 - 2, Central Valley Astronomers, Inc. and Astronomical
Society of the Central Coast
• Aug 15 - 16, San Francisco Amateur Astronomers (S.F.A.A.)
• Aug 22 - 23, Mount Diablo Astronomical Society
• Aug 29 - Sep 1, Peninsula Astronomical Society
 View
a map of the Park
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