33rd Grand Canyon Star Party Starts This Weekend

The annual Grand Canyon Star Party will start on Saturday, June 10^th. This is the 33^rd edition of the star party, and event and activities will be held at both the South Rim and the North Rim.

Nightly events begin at sunset. The best viewing usually isn't until 9PM and later.Most of the available telescopes come down after 11PM. On particularly clear nights some astronomers continue sharing their telescopes beyond 11.

The event is sponsored by the National Park Service, Grand Canyon Conservancy, the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, and the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix. Numerous telescopes will offer views of planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, as well as double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and distant galaxies. By day, keep an eye out for solar telescopes pointed at the sun. Weather permitting, expect spectacular views of the universe!

The star party is a free event, but you will still need to pay the normal park entrance fee. You can buy a seven day pass to cover the entire length of the star party, and that pass will give you access to both the South and the North rim.

Events on the South Rim will include a nightly show from a guest speaker at 8PM in the plaza of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. Those talks will be followed by free telescope viewing behind the Visitor Center building. There will be green laser constellation tours given nightly at 9, 9:30 and 10PM.

Over at the North Rim, telescopes will be set up each evening in the terrace of the Grand Canyon Lodge. Astronomers there will also give green laser constellation tours. Additionally at the North Rim, there will solar telescopes available on the terrace and at other locations.

Complete information on events at both the South and North rim can be found by clicking this link.

Keep in mind that temperatures on both rims can be cool, even in the summer, and that temperatures decrease quickly after sunset. So bring warm clothing and be able to add it in layers.

Another thing visitors should bring is a red flashlight. White flashlights and cell phone lights are discouraged and cause distraction to those using the telescopes. You can turn a regular flashlight in to a red one by putting red cellophane over the lens. There will be a limited amount of that cellophane at the star party.

Grand Canyon National Park achieved International Dark Sky Park status in 2019 through the International Dark-Sky Association. The certification is awarded to parks that have retrofitted at least 67% of their exterior lights to be dark-sky-friendly and maintain outreach programs like star parties throughout the year. Grand Canyon National Park was also awarded International Dark Sky Place of the Year in 2019 for its extraordinary efforts in both dark-sky-friendly lighting and outreach programs.