234 Ranch Road 1050, Concan, TX 78838, US
Night Skies - Did you know?
What’s going on in the night sky this month?
The morning light arrives at beginning of February at 6:06am CST and the skies are totally dark again at 7:38pm. By the end of February, the dark begins to fade 5:46am CST and skies are fully dark at 7:56pm. The full moon is on February 5th and new moon is on the 20th. The week before the 20th would be the best time for stargazing the darkest skies in the early evening and again a great time to be on the lookout for meteors. No meteor showers occur in February or March, but there is always the occasional meteor that delights you. For more information on upcoming meteor showers this April, check this link. Mercury will be visible in the morning sky, and at its highest at the beginning of the month. Venus is in the west at sunset and setting between 7 and 8pm. Mars will be overhead between 7 and 8pm and setting between 2 and 3 am. Jupiter will be setting around 9pm. After sunset on February 22, look for Jupiter to be about 1 degree from the moon as they set together in the western sky. Saturn will likely not be visible in February as it will be setting at sunset in early February and rising at sunrise in late February.
Garner is in the path of TWO solar eclipses.
We have solar viewing glasses for sale at the Visitor Center. The first eclipse is October 24, 2023, a Tuesday and less than a year away! It's an annular solar eclipse that passes over Garner. The second and much more spectacular one is Monday, April 8, 2024. It's a total solar eclipse that will pass over Garner. For about 4 minutes and 30 seconds starting about 1:30 pm CDT, the land will go dark, and the stars will appear. See here (nationaleclipse.com) for more information. If you want to visit or stay at Garner, park reservations will be required so mark your calendar to make reservations when they become available. Many lodging and camping sites in the Frio Canyon are already booked. Make your plans early. Check with https://TheRealEclipse.org/ for local information for residents and visitors alike.
Our skies aren't as dark as they use 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 has their light bubbles. 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 expect darker skies.
We are working on 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. Interested in volunteering? Reach out to the Friends of Garner at 830-232-5999.
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. Do we really need a blinding flood light lighting the heavens at every barn, parked car, business sign, steeple, or flag? Here is a link to the International Dark Sky Association's (IDA's) webpage of outreach materials.
Eighty percent of the world population has never seen the Milky Way.
Seeing the Milky Way requires fairly dark skies, skies that many don't ever see. Often before and after the new moon, while the moon is not shining, you can make out the Milky Way in our Garner skies. The Milky Way galaxy is made up of millions of stars. It is sometimes mistaken as a layer of clouds when first seen. The darker the skies the more magnificent the many stars stand out. Have you seen the stars from Garner State Park?
You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars
Start this February by looking directly overhead at the evening sky while facing south. The Milky Way will stretch from the southeast to northwest with Capella almost directly overhead. Speaking of Capella, have you heard of the Winter Hexagon? It's an asterism containing the winter's brightest stars, each in a different constellation. See if you can find the stars and constellations and you will know your way around our winter sky. The stars are Capella, Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, and Pollux. The constellations are Auriga, Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Gemini. With binoculars, view our moon during its passes by Jupiter on the 22nd and Mars on the 27. Earthshine on the new and quarter moons will illuminate the dark part of the moon with a different light. Look for a "Sky Tour" program given at the park occasionally when the skies are dark, and the weather is good or ask for a current month's sky map, at the Visitor Center. A good place to observe the heavens at the park is from the Excess Vehicle Parking Area just north of the Visitors Center.
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.