Grand Canyon Star Party event less than 2 weeks away: How to best enjoy the 35th annual celestial show
This event, sponsored by the National Park Service (NPS), allows people from all over the country to attend evening telescope viewings and laser-guided constellation talks under the night sky.
NPS officials state that the South Rim of the park will feature a nightly slideshow from a special guest speaker at the Canyon Visitor Plaza, followed by free telescope viewing behind the building.
According to the NPS event page, Park Rangers will offer constellation tours at the South Rim starting at 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time. At least one telescope is wheelchair-accessible for all to enjoy the beautiful views.
"Dozens of telescopes will offer views of planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies," read a statement from the NPS.
On the North Rim, telescopes are set up on the porch of the Grand Canyon Lodge every evening to check out the amazing views. The NPS states that an astronomy-related program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the lodge auditorium, along with constellation talks throughout the evening.
The NPS recommends viewing the sky after 9 p.m. for the best possible experience. A light source is suggested for the walk to the viewing areas, but white lights are not permitted in the telescope lot. The NPS suggests using red lights to avoid viewing complications for others in the area.
Missing Seattle Ski Mountaineer Found Dead After 3,000-Foot Fall From Alaska's Mt. Mckinley
The NPS encourages visitors to bring warm layers of clothing, as temperatures quickly drop after sunset.Original article source: Grand Canyon Star Party event less than 2 weeks away: How to best enjoy the 35th annual celestial show

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cameras deep in Canadian forest capture unusual behavior of apex predators: 'It sort of makes sense'
Cameras deep in Canadian forest capture unusual behavior of apex predators: 'It sort of makes sense' Trail cameras in the woods of the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada, have picked up evidence of a curious behavior by the country's largest residents. According to The Dodo, the cameras set up by volunteer "citizen scientist" Mary Beth Pongrac showed multiple bears all seemingly obsessed with the same tree. Different bears would bite, scratch, and rub up against that favored western red cedar. Bears of all species have been known to exhibit this behavior, and it's generally understood that bears prefer evergreen trees with fewer branches. "When you look at the shape of the tree — with that horizontal part above the base, at just the perfect height for a horizontal back scratch, then notice the vertical part that's also perfect because it's vertical — it sort of makes sense that the bears would love it," Pongrac told The Dodo. The primary force behind the behavior isn't so much about getting a hard-to-reach itch, but rather for communication purposes. Bears have a truly outstanding sense of smell, as the National Park Service notes, a black bear's schnoz is a hundred times more powerful than a human's. The research into "rub trees" suggests they essentially act as community boards for bears, though use varies by season. Black bears are most likely to use rub trees in the spring and early summer for scent communication between competing males during mating season. Females are more likely to use rub trees in mid- to late summer. It's known that grizzly males use the same rub trees, but the research is still relatively new, and further studies are needed to understand the behavior. The footage underlines the importance of trail cameras in conservation efforts. By gaining insights into a species in a non-intrusive way, it's possible to form effective strategies based on a species' particular needs. Some of the rarest creatures on earth have been observed with trail cameras. It's also a helpful reminder that some of the most consequential environmental work occurs at the local level. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Yahoo
Officials announce indefinite ban on popular activity in iconic national park: 'These conditions are extremely stressful'
Officials announce indefinite ban on popular activity in iconic national park: 'These conditions are extremely stressful' The National Park Service has announced fishing is prohibited at several Yellowstone National Park rivers. The ban was put in place, USA Today reported, to protect the park's native trout population at a time when water temperatures are high and river flow is low. "Water temperatures have exceeded 68 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days and flows on many rivers, streams and creeks are low," the NPS said in a July 11 news release. "These conditions are extremely stressful to fish and can be fatal. The closed waterways are Madison River, Firehole River, Gibbon River, and all their associated tributaries. Other rivers, streams, and lakes remain open for fishing, but officials urged caution. They asked anglers to fish only during cooler times of the day, to land fish quickly, handle them gently in the water, and allow them to recover before release. Roughly 50,000 visitors fish each year at Yellowstone, which is home to the world's largest inland population of cutthroat trout. But the introduction of invasive species to Yellowstone has caused the cutthroat trout's population to dwindle. "These nonnative species continue to contribute to the decline in the park's native fish population by competing for food and habitat, preying on native fish, and degrading the genetic integrity of native fish through hybridization," the NPS says. Warming waters aren't just a concern in Yellowstone but also across the world. Last year, scientists recorded the highest ocean temperatures in history. These increases can be catastrophic for marine life. Researchers have found warmer waters have a negative impact on tropical fish's memory as well as the health of coral reefs. And even if you don't live within a day's drive of an ocean, river, or lake, you've likely felt the impact of their warming. Temperature changes in the ocean are one of the driving factors behind increasingly extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and floods. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the the daily Crossword


Los Angeles Times
06-08-2025
- Los Angeles Times
The true cost of abandoning science
Any trip to the dark night skies of our Southern California deserts reveals a vista full of wonder and mystery — riddles that astrophysicists like myself spend our days unraveling. I am fortunate to study how the first galaxies formed and evolved over the vast span of 13 billion years into the beautiful structures that fill those skies. NASA's crown jewel, the James Webb Space Telescope, has delivered measurements of early galaxies so puzzling that, more than three years after its launch, we are still struggling to understand them. My work on ancient galaxies may seem to have no relevance to the enormous challenges that confront our nation every day. But if we look back over the last 80 years, ever since World War II turned America into the epicenter of global science, curiosity-driven investigation — in astronomy, quantum materials, evolutionary biology and more — has been a pillar of American progress. But science in America is now under dire threat. President Trump's administration is laying waste to both national laboratories and federal support for academic science. Scientific staff is being sharply reduced from the National Park Service to the National Science Foundation and everywhere in between. Looking at the president's science funding proposals across many agencies, the 2026 fiscal year budget calls for a 34% cut to basic research. The plan slashes NASA's budget to the lowest amount since human space flight began more than 60 years ago, canceling or defunding dozens and dozens of NASA missions. Already, the NSF has halved support for the most promising American graduate students. Scientists are speaking up against this destruction, of course. There are strong practical reasons to back science: It is a powerful engine for economic growth, and it is essential for understanding and mitigating the dangers of the natural world — whether they be the Los Angeles wildfires (which my family fled in January) or the tragic floods in Texas last month. As important as these pragmatic arguments are, their focus on quantifiable, short-term benefits undervalues the true worth of the scientific enterprise. Occasionally, curiosity-driven inquiry — basic science — rapidly enables new technology, but more often its first impact is the wonder we experience at novel measurements, whether contemplating ripples in space-time generated by colliding black holes, underwater ecosystems that draw energy from geothermal vents rather than the sun, or the relic microwave radiation of the Big Bang. The practical impacts that follow are unpredictable; if the goal is to explore the unknown, then the benefits are also unknown. (Let us not forget that even Columbus was sorely mistaken about what his journey would uncover!) Only through hard work to understand and unpack new discoveries do their full benefits become clear, and that can take decades, as with how Einstein's theory of relativity (published from 1905 to 1915) eventually enabled GPS technology. Government support is essential in this process. Although Hollywood often portrays scientific discovery as the work of lone geniuses, far more often it is an incremental process, inching ahead through insights from disparate research groups leveraging cutting-edge infrastructure (such as Arctic research facilities and orbiting telescopes), which can only be built through the focused resources of government investment. Every American taxpayer has helped enable innumerable scientific advancements because they are largely due to our nation's investments in the public goods of people and facilities. Of course, these advances have cost money, and we must always ask how best to balance the long-term benefits of science against our country's other urgent needs. (The enormously popular James Webb Space Telescope, for example, was massively over budget, which led to budget-estimation reforms at NASA.) In 2024, the total science budget, outside of medical research (and its obvious practical benefits), was about $28 billion. This is a large number, but it is still just over one-half of 1% of all spending outside of Social Security and Medicare: For every $1,000 in spending, about $6 — one tall Starbucks Caffè Mocha or Big Mac in California — supports fundamental scientific inquiry. Yet the current administration has chosen to hack away at budgets rather than do the hard work of self-examination and improvement. American science, and especially the emerging generation of young scientists, will not survive these cuts. If implemented, the administration's framework will choke off new technologies before they are only half an idea, leave fundamental questions about the universe unanswered and chase a generation of scientists to other countries. By any measure, American science is the envy of the world, and we now face a choice: to remain at the vanguard of scientific inquiry through sound investment, or to cede our leadership and watch others answer the big questions that have confounded humanity for millennia — and reap the rewards and prestige. Only one of those options will make the future America great. Steven R. Furlanetto is a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA.