Attend a Night Sky Tour
The Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge has installed a permanent astronomical telescope on the south lawn of the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center to offer night sky tours. The telescope serves as a sensitive digital camera and will be used to view available planets, their satellites, star clusters, colorful multiple star systems, gaseous nebulae, and distant galaxies in real time. Friends of Blackwater board member and retired astrophysicist Harry Heckathorn leads the tour while astrophotographer Bob Quinn operates the instrumentation.
Night Sky Tours are planned to occur monthly during the period around new moon, when the views of deep space objects are at their best. When the nation is on Eastern Standard Time, the tours will start at 7:30 PM. During Daylight Savings Time, the tours will start roughly 60-75 minutes after sunset. Typically, tours will last 2-1/2 hours during EST and 2 hours during EDT. Contact BlackwaterSkyTour@gmail.com for invitations and additional information. Please mention "Tour Inquiry" in the e-mail subject line.
This event depends critically on the weather. We require a clear sky, low wind velocity, and low dew formation. We hope to schedule each month’s tour about two days in advance during an 11-day period centered a few days before new moon. Forecasts from the National Weather Service will be our guide. Once a favorable date has been selected, the Friends of Blackwater will send invitations to all who have registered. If this date is convenient and you wish to participate, please respond promptly since attendance at each tour is limited 50 individuals. Invitations will contain information on when you should plan to arrive and what you should bring and not bring to the event. Should the predicted weather turn unfavorable, cancellation is possible up to and including the morning of the event.
Telescope Gallery
Acknowledgements: Your memberships and donations to the Friends of Blackwater support the Night Sky Tours. The telescope facility was installed in early Spring 2022 with funds provided by the Friends of Blackwater, Maryland Heritage Area Authority, and the Heart of the Chesapeake Country Heritage Area.
