234 Ranch Road 1050, Concan, TX 78838, US
Night Skies - Did you know?
What’s going on in our night sky this August?
🌠 Meteor Showers: The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 12–13, with activity spanning July 17 to August 23. Expect up to 100 meteors per hour under dark skies, especially between midnight and 4:30 AM. A waning crescent moon during peak nights means minimal interference from moonlight—ideal for viewing.
🌕 Moon & Celestial Pairings: On August 9, the Sturgeon Moon reaches full illumination at 2:55 AM CT, named for the abundance of sturgeon fish during late summer. The New Moon occurs on August 23, offering prime conditions for deep-sky viewing. Watch for stunning conjunctions: August 10: A six-planet alignment—Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—visible in the early morning sky. August 20: Venus and Jupiter form a triangle with the crescent Moon around 5:00 AM, low in the eastern sky. August 26: Mars appears near the crescent Moon around 8:15 PM, visible in the western sky.
🌅 Sunrise & Sunset Times: August 1: Sunrise at 6:59 AM, sunset at 8:31 PM, giving 13 hours and 32 minutes of daylight. August 31: Sunrise at 7:16 AM, sunset at 8:01 PM, with 12 hours and 45 minutes of daylight. The gradual shift means earlier sunsets and slightly later sunrises as the month progresses.
🪐 Planet Visibility: Venus: Brilliant in the eastern sky before sunrise, especially vivid around August 10–20. Jupiter: Visible after sunset in the western sky, pairing with Venus and the Moon mid-month. Saturn: Rises earlier each night, best seen in the southeastern sky before dawn. Mars: Appears in the evening sky, especially around August 26near the Moon. Mercury: Very low on the horizon, maybe visible briefly before sunrise on clear mornings from the highest points in the park. Uranus & Neptune: Faint and best viewed with binoculars or a telescope in the early morning hours. Use a phone app, Star Walk II, to see where to look.
You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars.
The August sky over Garner State Park (29.6° N) offers pristine darkness ideal for revisiting distant celestial landmarks beyond our solar system. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) climbs northeast after dusk, manifesting as a subtle oval patch near Cassiopeia. From late evening into the early morning, the Milky Way’s dense star clouds stretch overhead through Cygnus and Sagittarius, revealing intricate dust lanes known as the Great Rift. In Hercules, the Great Globular Cluster M13 glimmers at magnitude 5.8 as a soft, hazy point in the Northern Crown. Closer to the southern horizon, the globular cluster M22 in Sagittarius appears as a glowing knot at magnitude 5.1 just above the Teapot asterism.
With a modest pair of binoculars (7×50 or similar), two additional deep-sky treasures emerge. The Lagoon Nebula (M8), high in Sagittarius, resolves into a faint smoke-like glow against the rich starfield, especially around midnight. In Vulpecula, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) appears as a delicate, oval mist near the star Sheliak, rewarding steady eyes and averted vision. These sights complement the naked-eye wonders, inviting observers to trace the Milky Way’s intricate tapestry from clusters to nebulae during August’s warm nights.
For more celestial objects to see, check out the back of a 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. You might also listen the Sky and Telescope's monthly Sky Tour podcast. 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.
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.
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. Want to get involved in Dark Skies? Use the "Contact us" form at the bottom of the home page or call 830-232-5999.
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?
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
Are you interested in astronomy as a hobby?
Check out this on-line article in The Buzz Magazines was published recently about amateur astronomy and features interviews with many Houston Astronomical Society (HAS) members. Joe Khalaf of HAS shared this.
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 Notices & Updates
Come check out the updates in the Visitor Center!
Coming events:
FOG Board Meeting 8/13/25, 5pm
Summer Hayrides