The Lights Come On

Heritage StarFest starts Wednesday, September 9, which is a pretty good excuse to stay up later than you meant to in Capitol Reef. Not that the night sky needs much help around here.

But a few nights with telescopes, park folks, and people who know the names of things overhead is hard to argue with. Especially after a day of looking at rocks.

The park and the Entrada Institute have put the festival on since 2010, and this year’s events run September 9 through 12. Wednesday through Friday programs take place in Capitol Reef National Park. Saturday moves over to Torrey, about 11 miles west of the Visitor Center.

The dark comes on slowly in Capitol Reef. Then the sky gets busy. Photo by Brett Meliti via Unsplash.

A Few Things On The Calendar

The whole program is free. On Wednesday, the park has a nocturnal animals evening program at 8:00 p.m. Thursday has solar telescope viewing from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. And Friday includes a 2:00 p.m. presentation on astrobiology and the search for life beyond Earth. So you can enjoy a good night sky and find out what all those people are doing with the giant telescopes.

Saturday has daytime talks and astronomy activities in Torrey, followed by an evening program. Some Saturday events at the Entrada Institute require registration to reserve a seat, so have a look at the park’s StarFest page before you point the truck toward town.

It Does Not Take Much

We have written about stargazing in Capitol Reef before, and the useful part has not changed much. Give your eyes a little time. Keep the flashlight low. Bring a layer for later. And do not let the phone do all the looking for you (it has had a good run).

You do not need a festival to have a good evening under this sky. But it is a fine reason to make one. Go check it out.