PO Box 36 Concan, TX 78838, US
Night Skies - Did you know?
What’s going on in our night sky this October?
🌠 Meteor Showers: The Draconids and the Orionids are happening in October. The Draconids peak the night of October 8-9, but can be seen October 6th through the 10th. They are best viewed prior to 2am but only produce 4-8 meteors an hour. The Orionids, a medium strength shower peak the night of October 21-22nd, but can be seen from October 2nd to November 7th. They are best seen prior to 3 am and produce about 20 meteors per hour. Get some reclining chairs, and an open view of the sky, and relax and enjoy the wonders of Garner's night sky.
🌅 Sunrise and Sunset Times:
On October 1st, the sunrise will be at 7:32 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 6:13 am, the sunset will be about 7:24 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 8:43 pm. On October 31st, the sunrise will be at 7:51 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 6:31 am, the sunset will be about 6:53 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 8:13 pm. For more dates and times, visit the Garner State Park sun tables at TimeAndDate.com .
🌑 Full and New Moons:
The full moon is on October 25th. The October full moon is called the Hunter's Moon. The new moon is on October 10th and from a few days before to a few days afterwards will be the best time for looking at the stars and falling star (meteors). For more dates and times, visit the moon tables for Garner State Park at TimeAndDate.com .
🪐 Planet Visibility:
Mercury is seen at sunset, less that a fist's width above the western horizon, something you won't see unless you are on a higher hill on the eastern side of the canyon. Venus will be transitioning from an evening planet to a morning planet about mid-month. Mars rises about midnight. On October 11th, Mars will be seen at the edge of the Beehive Cluster. Jupiter is rising at midnight to 1am. Saturn is at opposition on October 3rd, so it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise.
You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars this October.
The Milky Way is still prominent in early October evenings, stretching across the sky from the southwest, starting with Sagittarius, to the northeast, Aquila, Cygnus, and to Cassiopeia. You should still see a bright star, Deneb, in the constellation Cygnus, the swan. It's one of three bright stars of the Summer Triangle which is making its way to the western horizon a bit earlier each night. The Great Square of Pegasus will be just a bit to the southeast of Deneb.
🔍 Binocular Highlights:
Use a pair of binoculars (7×50 or similar) to look for The Double Cluster (Caldwell 14) in the constellation Perseus. You will find this cluster about half way between the star Mirfak in Perseus and the center star, Navi, in Cassiopeia's "W". Another popular open cluster is Pleiades, M45, named after the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. See how many stars you can see. Most people see six or eight stars. Some can see as many as 14.
For more celestial objects to see, check out the back of a the current month's sky map at the Visitor Center.
Look for a "Sky Tour" program given at the park occasionally when the skies are dark, and the weather is good. A good place to observe the heavens at the park is from the west side of the Excess Vehicle Parking Area that's just north of the Visitors Center. Stay clear of the construction work area on the southeast side .
You can help educate others to keep our skies dark.
Spread the word, set an example. Shine light only when and where you need it. Only shine as much as you need. Use the warmest color light to minimize light scattering. If light is needed for security or emergency purposes, use video or motion activated lighting.
Do we really need a blinding flood light lighting the heavens at every barn, parked car, business sign, steeple, or flag?
Here are a few links to answer this question:
The International Dark Sky Association's (IDA's) webpage of outreach materials.
https://darksky.org/resources/
DarkSky Texas (IDA's Texas chapter)
https://darkskytexas.org/common-sense-solutions-resources/
Hill Country Alliance webpage on preserving the night skies
https://hillcountryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021_THC_NightSkies_Paper_FYI.pdf
Come help FOG do "dark sky" outreach in the park and in the canyon!
Night Sky Month
October is Night Sky Month! Check out the canyon's new 2026 Night Sky poster. Add it to a yearly collection beginning in 2019. Write to info@friendsofgarner.org for poster information.
Garner has a planisphere!
Look for it on the southside of the Visitor Center on the outside of the wall that hides the bathrooms. A planisphere is a rotating star chart that helps you identify stars and constellations visible in the night sky at any given time and date. It’s a classic tool for stargazers, especially useful in places like Garner State Park where dark skies make celestial navigation a joy. Dial in your date and time and have it tell you what stars are in the sky and which constellations are rising, setting, or overhead.
🧭 How It Works: A planisphere consists of two discs: the top disc has a window showing part of the sky, and the bottom disc has a star map. You rotate the discs to align the date and time, and the window reveals the stars and constellations visible overhead. It’s calibrated for a specific latitude range, so make sure yours matches your location (Garner State Park is around 29.7°N).
Leakey Highway Maintenance Center sets an example! Way to go TXDOT!!!
If you ever drove into Leakey from the north on US 83 at night, you were greeted by the blinding lights of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TXDOT's) maintenance facility. NOT ANY MORE! THANK YOU to Ms. Ginger Lux, a past supervisor there, and others helping her in San Angelo, Austin, and elsewhere, TXDOT is now much more welcoming to visitors in the Frio Canyon. THEY HAVE INSTALLED DOWNLIGHTING on their facility. This makes the light bubble over Leakey and the Frio Canyon north of Garner State Park a bit less intrusive. Leakey TXDOT has more work to do, maybe add downlighting to their flagpole. They can be an example to all the TEXAS TXDOT facilities! The towns of Leakey and Concan both still have plenty of lighting challenges to overcome and now... TXDOT is showing the way!
Our skies aren't as dark as they used to be.
New neighbors, new businesses install lights to light up their properties and light up the whole Frio Canyon in the process. From the top of Old Baldy, you can see light domes of Uvalde, Hondo, Bandera, Kerrville, and yes, even Concan and Leakey. Texas towns have their light bubbles. Do us all a favor, let them know, "Illuminate only what is needed with only as much warm light as is needed." If you see lights shining upward or too bright, let's do better. If you want to continue to see stars, tell them you want and expect darker skies. We can make our skies darker.
Count the number of stars in the Little Dipper. If you can see all seven, you have a dark sky. If you can only see the end of the little Dipper's handle, the North Star (Polaris), you have a lit-up city sky.
Help work to making our skies darker.
We want to make Garner an International Dark Skies Park. Unfortunately, it isn't currently dark enough. It takes some work, a real campaign. Educating our visitors, neighbors, students, businesses, and government officials; adding light shields; updating light fixtures; measuring, recording, and reporting light readings and other progress steps; getting the right color LED's; seeing what we can do to make the skies dark again. Want to get involved in Dark Skies? Use the "Contact us" form at the bottom of the home page or Garner's Interpreter Ranger 830-232-6132 or Terry Berkstresser 713-492-1563.
Here is a YouTube link to an interesting presentation on keeping our skies dark in west Texas given by Steven Hummel to the Houston Astronomical Society members. It shows how the National Park Service is mapping our dark skies and measuring not just the darkness overhead but the intensity and spectrum of light all around that is being added to that of the stars, moon, planets, and weather amounts. Also note that the oil and gas industry has reduced its foot print in the Pecos area. Some installations reduced their sky glow 98%. Can we do this in the Frio Canyon as well?
Friends of Garner has a telescope
While the scope might not be a large spectacular instrument, it generates oohs and ahs when viewing Jupiter, Saturn, or the moon up in the Garner night skies.
Several astronomy clubs come to view the skies above Garner. Check the park's calendars for other star parties, often held on a warm Saturday night around the occurrence of a new moon when skies are at their darkest.
We can offer sessions to let members get familiar with this and other telescopes. After a checkout, take the scope home or to a campsite, host a park star party, or to outreach events outside the park.
Friends of Garner
Coming events:
October's night sky
Next meeting: January 15th, 5:pm