Stargazing at Star Party 2022
Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park will have the opportunity to see striking views of countless stars, constellations and planets and learn more about the night sky at the 32nd Annual Star Party.
The Star Party returns in person June 18-25, 2022, after going live last year due to the pandemic. Activities sponsored by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix will take place on the South and North Rims.
Star Party activities are included in the park entrance fee, which is $35 per vehicle, valid for seven days.
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Grand Canyon Star Party 2022: What to expect
The Star Party will take place on both rims for eight days. Events include evening programming that begins at 8 p.m., constellation talks, telescope viewing with over 60 telescopes, and photography workshops.
Telescope viewing on the South Rim begins at sunset behind the Visitor Center. Best viewing will be after 9pm. At the North Rim, telescopes will be set up nightly on the porch of the Grand Canyon Lodge.
Dress warmly as temperatures drop quickly after sunset, even in summer. The telescopes will be dismantled after 11 p.m.
More than 12,000 visitors are expected over the eight days, according to Grand Canyon Night Sky Park ranger Rader Lane. Lane suggests visitors bring red flashlights instead of white for a better experience after dark.
Wondering why red light is useful for human eyesight in the dark? The Park Service has an article on this: https://www.nps.gov/articles.
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Grand Canyon Star Party Schedule
- June 18: Aaron Yazzie, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks about the latest Mars rover he helped build and the links between Mars and the Navajo Nation.
- June 19: Learn about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with John Durning, Deputy Project Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
- June 20: Take a tour of the universe with Dean Regas, community astronomer at the Cincinnati Observatory and former co-host of “Star Gazers” on PBS.
- June 21st: Learn how the International Dark-Sky Association protects the night sky from light pollution with Ashley Wilson, the group’s conservation director.
- June 22: Learn about Flagstaff’s role in training astronauts to go to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s with Lowell Observatory historian Kevin Schindler.
- June 23: Enjoy classical string music under the stars when the Dark Sky Quartet performs.
- June 24: David Koerner, professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University, will discuss life in the cosmos.
- June 25: Learn about the Southern Paiute connection to the night sky with Autumn Gillard, Southern Paiute Astronomer at Pipe Spring National Monument.
At the North Rim, constellation lectures and other astronomy programs will be presented at 8 p.m. each evening in the Grand Canyon Lodge auditorium.
To learn more about all activities, go to https://www.nps.gov/grca.
Grand Canyon International Dark Sky Status
The recipe for seeing the stars doesn’t just require a telescope and dark skies. The Grand Canyon was specifically designated as an International Dark-Sky Park in 2019 by the International Dark-Sky Association.
This designation is awarded in one of two ways: first, if a location is able to retrofit a certain percentage of lights to be dark sky compatible; and second, if it demonstrates a commitment to education and awareness of the night sky. In Arizona, Kartchner Caverns State Park and Petrified Forest National Park are among the places that have achieved dark sky status.
At the Grand Canyon, Lane said, 34% of the 5,000 lights in 2016 met the criteria to be dark sky compatible. Since then, more than 1,500 luminaires have been retrofitted to eliminate light pollution.
The process involved shielding lights, using low wattage bulbs, adding timers to some lights, and getting rid of some lights altogether.
“I can’t really think of any other place that has so much infrastructure while maintaining such pristine natural darkness, especially in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon,” Lane said.
“That is to say, there (are) places in the country that are extremely dark, but they are incredibly remote and difficult to access. And then there (are) places that have a lot of hotels and infrastructure and places that people can access, but this is usually accompanied by light pollution.
You can connect with Arizona Republic culture and outside reporter Shanti Lerner via email at shanti.lerner@gannett.com or you can also follow her on Twitter.
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