Ranger Charlie did a fantastic program, weaving together stories about the Forgotten Winchester rifle, the amazing dark sky, and what we can do to see into the distant worlds better.
Following the program, the rangers got the telescopes focused on objects. Because it was the first program of the year, this took a little while.
This gave me some time to walk around the amphitheater. It's lit with red lights to preserve your night vision. The lights are dimmable, so they can be brighter before and after the program and dimmer during.
The mountainous backdrop is gorgeous, and the amphitheater is situated so that you shouldn't see car headlights. Parking is at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, and then you walk down the road to the picnic area to the amphitheater. It's best to arrive 15 minutes before the program start time to allow for this. In addition, the capacity is 200, and the programs this past week had over 175 people, so it's possible that some people may have to be turned away in the future.
While we waited, Charlie pointed out some of the first things we were seeing appear in the night sky. It's fun to see the stars start off few and far in between, and then before you know it, they are dancing across the sky in a packed arena.
Two telescopes were being set up that night. It was also the night of a full moon, so the first place to look was the moon. If you've never gotten a close up view of the moon and its lava fields, it is an amazing sight.
With the telescopes situated, it was time to line up.
Everyone was really patient.
After each person got a view, they went to the back of the line. Once everyone saw the moon, it was on to the next night sky object.
The astronomy amphitheater is a great addition to the park, and I highly recommend attending a program. They are on Thursday and Saturday nights throughout summer. In June and July they are at 8:30 pm, and then starting in early August change to 8 pm.
At the Farmer's Market on Saturdays (next to the church in Baker) there's a fundraiser to help with this effort. A local who has made a variety of beautiful glass has his entire collection being sold off.
It's also a bit blinding, as the moon is so bright!
When it's time to go, you follow the red lights back to the parking lot. There are even stars on the road, what a nice touch!
Great Basin National Park is an International Dark Sky Park, and now there's an effort to make the gateway town of Baker into the first Dark Sky Community in Nevada.
The glass takes so many forms, some I had never even seen before.
Hopefully the exceptionally dark skies out in this remote part of the world can be saved. And here's hoping we can restore the dark to many other parts of our world. This is a solvable problem, and better lighting benefits us all.
If you like astronomy, I hope you get a chance to visit the new astronomy amphitheater. For more on Great Basin National Park's Astronomy Program, check out their website.
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