As our galaxy enters its “core season,” national parks, state parks, and more are bringing out the big telescopes to open your eyes to the night sky’s wonders.
Summer’s in full swing, and you’re invited to a party. A star party, that is. All across North America, both astronomy experts and club volunteers set up their telescopes, aim them at other galaxies, nebula, and planets, and invite you to take a look. Using a laser, they might lead you in constellation tours. Most parties are hosted in locations with special designation by DarkSky International, a nonprofit which advocates protecting our night skies as a natural resource that’s essential to human and ecological health.
“We have this inherent need to wander and explore, and one of the last places to do that is space and the cosmos,” says Kat Troche, who operates NASA’s Night Sky Network, a program of over 400 astronomy clubs across the United States. “Having access to a telescope gives us an opportunity to connect with people around us, sharing in that sense of wonder because we’re all looking up, and we’re all amazed at the same thing.”
Troche is also a NASA solar system ambassador and president of the Amateur Astronomers Association. Her love for night skies was first inspired by a star party in NYC’s Central Park. The Night Sky Network offers local astronomy clubs themed toolkits to “train the amateur astronomers good science because the best people to talk to the communities are the people that live in them,” she says.
For stargazers, June begins the Milky Way’s “core season,” according to NASA, when you’re looking at “the bright core of our home galaxy, seen edge-on, from our position within the galaxy’s disk.” It’s also an excellent time to photograph it, and some sites offer astrophotography classes. The only catch is that you may have to stay up late. In locations like Montana and Nebraska, the summer sky doesn’t get dark enough for celestial viewing until 11 p.m. Some locations offer daytime programming, along with early evening events.
(These are the best stargazing sites in North America)
Star parties are “an opportunity to get away from a screen and connect with nature, to make memories with people, your family, your friends, your community under this night sky we all share,” says Amy Sayle, a science education specialist at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Most parties are scheduled during a new moon phase so there’s minimal lunar light.
To take full advantage of a star party, “find space to sit and look up and be mindful about what’s above you,” advises Rader Lane, the dark skies program coordinator at Grand Canyon National Park. Most parties have strict rules about white light and screens that can impair night vision; check the party’s guidelines before you go. Be sure to dress warmly, experts advise, along with bringing binoculars (excellent for dark sky viewing) and chairs. Some remote locations that offer camping nearby can provide meal plans too.
In its 36th year, this Grand Canyon National Park event continues to grow in popularity with about 10,000 people attending last year and 160 volunteer astronomers, mainly from the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association.
Located in the dry desert Southwest, the park averages 300 nights a year of clear skies and offers “a sharpness and clarity of starlight that’s really unparalleled throughout most of the world,” says Lane, a ranger in the division of interpretation and education resources. The park offers guest speakers, including David Eicher, former editor-in-chief of Astronomy Magazine and Autumn Gillard, who will share the Paiute lens on astronomy. During daylight hours, look for solar telescopes to safely observe the sun, sunspots, and solar flares.
Marvel at the sky with members of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society in Starry Meadows, a 35-acre area at 7,600 feet. Tents, campers, trailers, and RVs are welcome, and lodging is available in nearby towns. Some food trucks and vendors will be there, as well.
Join astronomers from the Salt Lake Astronomy Society, University of Utah, and other volunteers to gaze upward and learn. “Be open to asking questions,” says Troche. “Amateur astronomers love answering questions, and we want you to look through our telescopes. We want you to get a real sense of how vast the universe is.” Astrophotographer Don Riddle also leads astrophotography courses.
This image is of the Lagoon Nebula (left) and the Trifid Nebula (right). These are regions of glowing ionized gas that emits its on light source. These type of nebulae are scattered all over our Milky Way and can be visible at various times of the year.
Located in the Sandhills area, this celebration is geared to be family friendly. Most activities take place in the Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area. Daytime recreational options include kayaking on the Niobrara National Scenic River, taking a field trip to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, or animal-watching the 70,000-plus acre native prairies and wetlands of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Want to learn more? Join the beginner’s field school, a progressive, three-evening program covering astronomy basics.
John Johnson, the star party’s outreach and program director and member of the Omaha Astronomical Society hopes they “raise awareness of this area of the country and help us preserve” its rare dark skies. “This is a natural resource that we’re losing,” he says.
Held at an elevated site in Ochoco National Forest, this growing gathering features some of the darkest skies in the west, guest speakers, and camping. We “set up a city in a forest,” says Marianne Ramona, the party’s co-director.
Join Calgary’s members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at Eccles Ranch Observing site. The events include a catered pork barbecue on Saturday night and a scavenger hunt for specific stars, galaxies, and globular clusters.
The Big Sky Astronomy Club partners with the Glacier National Park Conservancy for three summer star parties. People are “pretty shocked to see how dark it is,” says Jim Rittenburg, the president of the club. “Light pollution has become a big problem, so we’re educating people on dark skies and responsible lighting.” The event requires pre-registration which can be done only in person the day before at one of the park’s visitor, not online. They usually fill up, and starting at 9:30 pm no cars are allowed to leave the parking lot until midnight to preserve night vision.
The Northern Virginia Astronomy Club and Experience Learning, an outdoor education nonprofit, partner to host this party under some of the East Coast’s darkest skies “in the middle of nowhere,” says co-chair of the event, Chris Lee. Stargazers need to camp in the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Shenandoah Mountains. Daytime activities may include fishing, a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad, hiking, and climbing. Due to its proximity to the Green Bank Observatory for radio astronomy, the park is in the National Radio Quiet Zone, so cell service is limited.
Spruce Knob Tree from Almost Heaven Star Party in August 2025 in West Virginia.
Join volunteers from the North York Astronomical Association for one of Canada’s largest star celebrations. The event coincides with the Perseids Meteor Shower, and organizers suggest attending several nights to ensure clear skies. Attending star parties has been a source of entertainment and community for Diane Ferguson, a member of NYAA and longtime volunteer. “I brought my kids for years. I started going to the party before I even had kids,” says Ferguson. “It’s always nice to be with other enthusiasts and be re-enthused every year.”
Look skyward with the Downeast Amateur Astronomers from the Pembroke Fairgrounds. The event includes a professor of astronomy as guest speaker, solar and night telescopes, along with an astronomy jeopardy game.
Members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will lead stargazing events at Fundy National Park on the Bay of Fundy. Events will include guest speakers, solar viewing, and a telescope and astrophotography clinic.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hoping for a glimpse of the Milky Way? These user-friendly apps help stargazers learn more about objects in the sky, check visibility for prime Milky Way viewing, or even locate the International Space Station.
Where was I when a magenta aurora borealis could be seen as far south as Florida? Indoors and not paying enough attention. Thankfully, there are multiple apps for that.
Many visitors come to Dark Sky Parks for a chance to see the Milky Way, since 80 percent of Americans can’t see it from their hometowns. Apps can help you figure out the best time to view it and help you conceptualize the idea that the stars move throughout the day and night. Some apps allow you to scroll ahead in time to see how the sky will appear that night. That can really help visitors be prepared for what they will see when the sun goes down.
A primary challenge for dark sky program leaders and participants is that the sky “changes all the time, and you have to stay on top of it. That’s where these digital tools have been fantastic. The conservancy runs stargazing, moon-gazing and “wonders of the night sky” experiences at the park.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia Parks Conservancy host an annual dark sky festival.
Should you look at apps while you’re stargazing? Rangers and guides have differing opinions.
If you’ve never seen the dark sky before—like most people—it can be overwhelming. There are so many stars shining above that you might not be able to pick out even the Big Dipper. Having their phone in hand helps to ground some people. You can maintain a connection with the nature around you while using the comfort blanket of your phone.” Dead Horse sometimes partners with nearby Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park for events, like the Southeast Utah AstroFest.
An app might overwhelm new stargazers, so attend a ranger- or expert-led presentation first to “get a strong foundation for viewing the night sky in the future.” Mesa Verde protects nearly 5,000 Ancestral Pueblo archeology sites and includes indigenous night sky stories in many of their guided experiences.
Make an unmediated connection with the night sky without your phone. Most people gasp when first encountering the dark sky in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It’s almost like this hidden part of the world that was always right there is suddenly revealed to you. After that experience, people can learn more from their phones later.
Here are the top apps these park rangers, astrotourism guides, aurora chasers, and astrophotographers recommend. Pro tip: Download them before you go because most dark sky locations don’t have cell service.
Stellarium “works like a camera and tells you exactly what you’re looking at,” says Burch. The app enables you to zoom in on any object and learn more, and the red light option protects delicate night vision. The app also has a cool “sky cultures” feature that lets you to see the sky through different historic and cultural perspectives, from ancient Egyptian to Navajo to three types of Arabic. Several guides mentioned the excellence of its multi-platform desktop version, particularly to help plan your nighttime excursions.
This app may take a minute to decipher, but it provides essential information before any excursion. “I use it the day of when planning star parties to gauge sky quality,” says Burch. The cloud and radar animations allow you to see overcast skies or precipitation on the way and adjust your viewing accordingly. Tap on features to access cloud cover, transparency, temperature, and jet stream (wind) overlays on your map from multiple forecast models. It also shares moon phases, and both sun and moon rise and set times.
Too often, visitors show up wanting to see the Milky Way during a full moon phase. Visibility is always better between last quarter and first quarter, so one week before and one week after new moon. Ten miles from the Maine border, this park was the world’s first International Dark Sky Reserve. All programs are presented in French, but they can answer questions in English. This summer, the park opens a new observatory which will include sky viewing through a glass section and powerful new telescopes.
For observing, it’s always good to go as far as you can from larger urban areas, advises Poulin. Astrospheric includes a color-coded map showing light pollution across North America, and its transparency function that lets you know if wildfire smoke might impair your vision or if humidity might obscure fainter objects.
The Milky Way Galaxy over the historic chapel of Mont Saint-Joseph in Parc National du Mont-Mégantic in Québec, Canada.
This app is northern lights-chaser Chris Ratzlaff’s “go-to for active aurora conditions.” A NASA citizen scientist, he oversees the nearly 300,000-member Facebook group Alberta Aurora Chasers that Travel Alberta recommends to star and aurora-gazers. “SpaceWeatherLive offers an easy-to-consume summary while allowing you to dig into the details if you want and helps educate you about the details,” says Ratzlaff. Best of all, you can set it to notify you when conditions are prime for aurora viewing.
There are live images of sun spots and flares the app offers. You can be alerted if there’s a solar flare, if there’s a coronal mass ejection, or when you reach a certain level of geomagnetic activity. Last November 11, Poulin’s phone was vibrating hourly, due to the sun’s high geomagnetic activity. As we’re on the downslope of the recent, 11-year solar maximum cycle (cycle 25), downloading this app may be your best chance to catch the aurora before the sun’s activity declines during its solar minimum cycle. The next solar maximum cycle (26) is expected to begin between January 2029 and December 2032.
Even though I’ve seen the aurora hundreds and thousands of times, it’s different every time. Each one has its own personality and its own presentation. The only thing better than seeing it yourself for the first time is to be with someone who is seeing it for the first time.
Use your phone for aurora photos because sensitivity to colors varies from person to person, and your phone may pick up shades your eyes don’t.
If you want to capture stunning dark sky images with a real camera, the app is particularly helpful in planning ahead for your photos, according to sun, moon, and Milky Way positions. It gives you field of view, your exposure times, the phases of the moon, where the sun is and what it’s doing, Get that much-desired Milky Way shot.
Learning to focus a camera in the dark, which must be done manually, is one of the most challenging parts, along with using a long exposure. The app can help guide you in photographing star trails, eclipses, meteor showers and other astral events. The augmented reality mode enables you to overlay the Milky Way into a composition you want to capture, such as the moon reflected in water, and even suggests what your camera settings should be.
Bryce Canyon National Park has been a designated International Dark Sky Park since 2019.
If you set out to explore without a ranger or guide, these experts also recommend these apps:
SkyGuide and StarWalk 2‘s free versions are other star-gazing apps recommended by experts. NASA also offers additional apps about Earth and space, including Spot the Station, which locates the International Space Station (ISS), so you can predict when to see it overhead.
To stay on the trail at night, use the AllTrails-plus version; it gives you offline access to downloaded maps and then alerts you if you’ve taken a wrong turn off the path, essential information in the dark. Also use Gaia GPS to find the location of specific shots and return safely to parking.
Take your binoculars along on any sky-gazing excursion. Binoculars will show the Pleiades better than I can with a telescope. It will show the Andromeda galaxy better. Nearby is the Galisteo Basin on Santa Fe’s Sky Railway StarGazer excursion.
(12 spectacular night sky events to see in 2026—from a total eclipse to impressive auroras)
CAVE PAINTING REMOVAL May 2008 Location: Leake street tunnel, London, England This mural was created at the…
WARS - EASIER TO START, HARDER TO WIN Our defence editor assesses how wars have…
The Great Salt Lake is in crisis This year's record low snowpack has revived concerns…
For many years, my plan to see Alaska from the water and the Aleutians was…
A greener way to bury the dead is gaining ground — and sparking backlash An…
Eating less food can actually make weight loss harder—here’s why Scientists are uncovering how the…