NPS Hosts "Roadmap to the Night Sky"

Date: June 1, 2015
Contact: Jim MacDonald, 925-228-8860 ext. 6431

Join National Park Service rangers for a stargazing adventure, “Road Map to the Night Sky,” on Saturday June 13, 2015 at the John Muir National Historic Site (NHS) in Martinez, CA. This free, hour and thirty minute program begins at 9:15 PM inside the park. The program is designed to increase knowledge of the night sky by progressing through a series of constellations. Using these constellations as a “road map,” we will explore their historical context, the types of stars that comprise them, the positions of various planets, and take a special look at deep-space objects (galaxies, clusters, nebulae) using a high-powered telescope.

Reservations are not required. Please call the John Muir NHS visitor center at [phone] if you have questions. Visitors should meet at John Muir NHS. If it rains heavily, the program will be canceled.

Created in 1964, John Muir NHS preserves the home, landscapes, and gravesite of conservationist and national park advocate John Muir. Muir spent his entire life exploring, studying, and writing about his experiences in the American wilderness, most notably the Sierra Nevada Mountains. His writing set the stage for a conservation movement that would spur protection of nature nationwide and ultimately earn Muir the title “Father of the National Parks”.

The John Muir NHS, located at 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, CA 94553, is open seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission to the site is free of charge. For more information, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/jomu or call [phone].