Nearby Death Valley is one of the first three national parks in the U.S. to be rated as a Dark Sky Park, meaning it meets strict criteria for low light pollution and dark skies.
The park’s large size and relative lack of trees allow for unobstructed views of the night sky, including the full arch of the Milky Way.
David Blacker, executive director of the Death Valley Natural History Association, said the park is again hosting its popular Dark Sky Festival event beginning Friday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 23 this year.
The festival, Blacker told the Pahrump Valley Times, is timed for weekends with minimal moonlight to maximize the visibility of celestial objects such as nebulae and countless galaxies.
Partner agencies
“Death Valley’s remote location, with one more mountain range between it and Las Vegas, results in even darker skies compared to nearby areas like Pahrump,” he said. “The Dark Sky Festival actually goes back more than a decade, and it was originally started as a partnership with the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and the park when it was called ‘Mars Fest’.”
Blacker also spoke about how the event has expanded tremendously over the years.
“It has morphed to what we have now, which is our event that has expanded tremendously over the years.” he noted. “The park has a great partnership with the Las Vegas Astronomical Society who come out here with their big telescopes for this event. You’ll be able to go out and probably see things in space that you’d never be able to see with your naked eye because it’s just absolutely amazing equipment.”
Full schedule of various topics
Blacker said the three-day event will have more than 30 interpretive programs that are led by park rangers or by subject matter experts from the aforementioned agencies.
Question-and-answer sessions are also included in the programs.
“It’s not just at the visitor center, although there’ll be a lot of stuff here at the visitor center, but they’ll have talks at Badwater, as well as the Ubehebe Crater and the sand dunes,” he said. “There’s talks going on all through the day, all over the park. It has probably become the single largest event that happens in the park each year. We calculated last year, even with the windstorm, that we had 5,000 people come and visit the park for it, which is very significant.”
Out of this world
Further, Blacker spoke about his own unique night sky experiences at the park.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out walking after dark, and I was just paying attention to where I was walking, so I didn’t fall down,” he said. “I happened to look up and just stopped because it was just so amazing.”
Regarding proper attire when in the park after dark this weekend, Blacker said those who wear a light jacket with proper footwear will be just fine.
“Because we’re never quite sure how the weather is going to be, just bring windproof layers because they go a long way,” he suggested. “Death Valley tends to be a fairly breezy place, but if you bring a light windproof jacket, you can usually get by almost any night during this time of year.”
Last-minute items available
Blacker also noted that the visitor center is an option for those who may need certain provisions and equipment while at the park.
Though the event is free, he said tickets will be available for visitors.
“Although it’s free, it is a ticketed event, so you’ll want to go to the front desk at the visitors center and request a ticket. “Even after we’ve given out all the tickets, we actually set up a screen outside so people can still experience the talks while sitting in the courtyard, so it’s become a very popular event.”
On Saturday and Sunday, the program runs from 9 a.m. through 9:30 p.m.
Death Valley National Park is located approximately 68 miles northwest of Pahrump.
The weekend weather forecast calls for mild temperatures with mostly clear skies.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com.