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Big Bend, Dark Sky
NIGHT SKY SHINES
BRIGHT IN BIG BEND
t
Dana Jones
he Big Bend Region of Texas enjoys
some of the best night sky viewing in
the continental United States. West
of the Pecos River, the night skies have long
been an iconic element of the landscape, a
tradition that dates back centuries to the
people who lived here long before Europeans
arrived.
More recently, the night sky has been the
subject of careful and continuous scrutiny by
professional astronomers at the McDonald
Observatory, located atop 6,800-foot Mount
Locke. Far from the lights of large cities and
the clouds of coastal Texas, the observatory
has numerous research telescopes and stateof-the-art instruments for imaging and
spectroscopy.
According to the National Park Service,
Big Bend National Park has earned the
distinction as the park with the least light
pollution in the lower 48 states. On clear
and moonless nights, over 2,000 stars,
planets and “shooting stars” are visible to the
Dana Jones
The dark skies of the Big Bend at McDonald Observatory
26
unaided eye. As it becomes increasingly
difficult to find areas free of air pollution and
light interference, places with dark, clear
night skies become that much more valuable.
Because of this, the region also hosts one of
the largest annual amateur astronomy
gatherings in the USA, the Texas Star Party.
The City of Alpine, the Alpine
Environmental Advisory Board and the
Alpine Chamber of Commerce are working
with the International Dark-Sky Association
(IDA) to become an International Dark Sky
Community (IDSC). In July 2009, Sierra la
Rana, a residential development adjacent to
Alpine, was designated as a Dark Sky
Friendly Development of Distinction by the
IDA. In addition, Big Bend National Park is
working with the IDA to be designated a
“Dark Sky Park”. aT
alpine TEXAS | alpinetexas.com | alpinetexasguide.com
McDonald Observatory
www.mcdonaldobservatory.org
43 miles north on TX 118
One of the world’s leading centers for
astronomical research, public education and outreach. McDonald Observatory features facility tours, Star
Parties and student programs. The
Observatory enjoys some of the best
dark skies in the U.S. and is rated as
one of the best places to view the
heavens.