Our 15th Annual Astronomy Festival in 2024 is planned for September 5th - 7th. Ever so slightly after the new moon on September 2nd, the festival will have many of the same events as 2023 with new guest speakers, ranger programs, and art projects.
2023 - The 14th Annual Astronomy Festival
2023's Astronomy Festival took place on September 14th - 16th, 2023. Below is the event schedule and descriptions for 2023, though many will show up again in 2024. Check back here for information as we approach 2024's festival. Thank you for making 2023's such a success!
The Astronomy Festival occurs around the new moon in September of every year.
Tom Auchter
Be Prepared
The Astronomy Festival is one of the most exciting and busy events and weekends at Great Basin National Park. Planning ahead of time will ensure you have the best experience during your visit. Check back at this page regularly for updates if event schedules change.
Tips for a successful Astronomy Festival visit:
Make camping and cave tour reservations in advance. Due to the festival, tickets and campgrounds tend to sell out quickly.
Fit into one car if possible. Parking is limited at astronomy events and you may be turned away.
Bring red lights. White flashlights are not allowed at festival events in order to preserve everybody's night vision.
Bring plenty of layers. Telescope viewing can go well into the evening and even summer days get cold after sunset. Check weather forecasts as the festival approaches.
All events are free, but reservations may be required. Check the list below or the park's events calendar for information on specific events and if reservations are required.
Interested in volunteering? Our festival star parties are almost entirely volunteer run and registration is required. Find more information at this link or further below.
Event Schedule
Find times and dates here, plus detailed event information and registration links further down the page.
1:30 - 3:30pm: Solar Telescope and Crafts - Join a park ranger for family & kid friendly activities behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Peer through a solar telescope at our nearest star and make your own constellations. 2:00 - 3:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 3:30 - 4:00pm: Ranger Astronomy Program - Listen to a ranger at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center discuss a night sky related subject. Topics vary. 3:00 - 4:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour (REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 6:30 - 10:30pm: Astrophotography Workshop(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Join an astrophotographer at the Baker Archaeological Site outside the park and learn how to take photos of the night sky. 7:00 - 8:30pm: Art in the Dark - Head to the Astronomy Amphitheater to participate in an art project that will play with how our eyes perceive color. No registration required for the group art project. 8:00 - 11:00pm: Telescope Viewing/Star Party - Outside the Astronomy Amphitheater, park rangers and volunteers will be with telescopes showing views of the night sky and objects within it for all to see. 9:00 - 9:30pm: Constellation talk - A park ranger will guide you through the night sky at the Astronomy Amphitheater, right next to the telescope observing area. This program is accessible and open to all.
1:30 - 3:30pm: Solar Telescope and Crafts - Join a park ranger for family & kid friendly activities behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Peer through a solar telescope at our nearest star and make your own constellations. 2:00 - 3:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 3:30 - 4:00pm: Ranger Astronomy Program - Listen to a ranger at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center discuss a night sky related subject. Topics vary. 3:00 - 4:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 6:30 - 10:30pm: Astrophotography Workshop(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Join an astrophotographer at the Baker Archaeological Site outside the park and learn how to take photos of the night sky. 6:30 - 8:00pm: Guest Speaker Richard Plotkin - Our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Richard Plotkin, is an Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Nevada, Reno and will be speaking on how the Great Basin Observatory (GBO), the only research-grade observatory on a national park, is used by students. Dr. Plotkin will be discussing the ongoing projects performed by undergraduate students at the GBO’s partner institutions, including studies of nebulae, young star forming regions, nearby galaxies, and variable stars over time. Through these projects and others, the GBO is bringing Great Basin National Park’s dark skies into classrooms across the region. 8:00 - 11:00pm: Telescope Viewing/Star Party - Outside the Astronomy Amphitheater, park rangers and volunteers will be with telescopes showing views of the night sky and objects within it for all to see. 9:00 - 9:30pm: Constellation talk - A park ranger will guide you through the night sky at the Astronomy Amphitheater, right next to the telescope observing area. This program is accessible and open to all.
11:30am - 12:00pm: Ranger Astronomy Program - Listen to a ranger at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center discuss a night sky related subject. Topics vary. 1:30 - 3:30pm: Solar Telescope and Crafts - Join a park ranger for family & kid friendly activities behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Peer through a solar telescope at our nearest star and make your own constellations. 2:00 - 3:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 3:30 - 4:00pm: Ranger Astronomy Program - Listen to a ranger at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center discuss a night sky related subject. Topics vary. 3:00 - 4:00pm: Great Basin Observatory Tour(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Meet at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and follow a ranger to the only research grade observatory inside a national park. 6:30 - 10:30pm: Astrophotography Workshop(REGISTRATION REQUIRED) - Join an astrophotographer at the Baker Archaeological Site outside the park and learn how to take photos of the night sky. 6:30 - 8:00pm: Guest Speaker Blaire Weinberg - Blaire Weinberg is a systems engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) whose work focuses on the NISAR mission and its impact on land-based astronomy observing. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint mission between the Indian Space Research Organization and JPL, and will monitor how land changes over time – critical information for many land-based telescopes that have to deal with flooding, earthquakes, or reduced observing conditions due to wildfire smoke. 8:00 - 11:00pm: Telescope Viewing/Star Party - Outside the Astronomy Amphitheater, park rangers and volunteers will be with telescopes showing views of the night sky and objects within it for all to see. 9:00 - 9:30pm: Constellation talk - A park ranger will guide you through the night sky at the Astronomy Amphitheater, right next to the telescope observing area. This program is accessible and open to all.
Event Descriptions
Find information here on the details of each event during the Astronomy Festival. Check the schedule above for times and dates of each event.
Telescope Viewing & Star Parties
Each night of the festival, amateur astronomers gather with their telescopes near the Astronomy Amphitheater to showcase the night sky and dazzle any interested with the endless number of dark sky objects. Look at star-forming nebulas, star clusters older than our solar system, far off galaxies millions of light years distant, or our closer neighbors in the form of the planets which dot our night sky.
Telescope viewing is driven almost entirely by volunteers donating their time and the use of their delicate equipment to the park. Treat volunteers and their telescopes with the care & respect they deserve.
Interested in being a volunteer at the astronomy festival? All that's required is a telescope and a passion to share with the general public. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact the Astronomy Rangers via email by clicking here. Pre-registration is required, and those who show up without registering ahead of time will be turned away.
The Great Basin Observatory peers into the night sky to help further new astronomical research and allow students as young as middle school to participate in science.
D. Highsmith
Guest Speakers
Each year, we invite speakers from the professional astrophysics and astronomy realms to come speak about their research, projects, or their work. During two nights of the festival, everyone is invited to the Astronomy Amphitheater to listen to their presentations, ask questions, and learn more about the endless possibilities of astronomy.
Each year one of the speakers will discuss their personal connection to the park through ongoing research from the Great Basin Observatory, the only research grade observatory in a national park.
This year we welcome Dr. Richard Plotkin from the Great Basin Observatory (GBO) and Blaire Weinberg, an Uplink Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL), as guest speakers. Find more information on their talks at the Event Schedule above.
Great Basin Observatory Tours
The Great Basin Observatory Tour requires advance registration. Reservations open at 8:00 am Pacific Time on August 14th. Register for GBO Tours at this link. After you sign up for a program you will receive instructions via e-mail. All park program participants must check in at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center the day of the program. Limited to 15 people.
Join a ranger to see the Great Basin Observatory the only research grade observatory in a National Park. Home to a 27-inch telescope, this observatory is used for research and education purposes. This program requires a 1-mile round trip hike on a gravel trail and paved road and standing for an hour. The Great Basin Observatory Tour is not wheelchair accessible.
Recommended equipment
Good walking shoes
Sun protection
Hat
Art in the Dark challenges our perspectives of color under the red light which doesn't hinder our night vision.
NPS / B. Mills
Art in the Dark
Join a Ranger and our Artist-in-Residence in an art project that experiments with how our eyes see color. This accessible and kid-friendly program will challenge artists to create and paint in low light conditions, under the guidance of the Astronomy Rangers. All needed art supplies will be provided.
This year in 2023, there will be two components to Art in the Dark
A public art project, which will not require reservations that any visitor may participate in. This large piece will then be displayed for the remainder of the festival for all to see and share in.
Individual canvas creations, which will require advanced registration, and allows visitors to take the piece of art home with them after creating under the red lights of the amphitheater.
The individual component of the Art in the Dark Program requires advance registration. Reservations open at 8:00 am Pacific Time on August 14th. Register to take home a personal canvas at this link. After you sign up for a program you will receive instructions via e-mail, including location, time, and equipment needed. All park program participants must check in at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center the day of the program.
Recommended equipment
Blankets
Warm clothing
Astrophotography can be fun and rewarding if you can handle the cold temperatures and late hours required to get the perfect shot.
NPS
Photo Workshop
The Photo Workshop requires advance registration. Inquire at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center for day of cancellations. Reservations open at 8:00 am Pacific Time on August 14th. Register for the Astrophotography Workshops at this link. After you sign up for a program you will receive instructions via e-mail, including location, time, and equipment needed. All park program participants must check in at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center the day of the program. Limited to 15.
Join a ranger and a photography volunteer to learn the basics of night photography. This workshop is intended for beginner photographers looking to start exploring how to take nighttime pictures. Learn the advantages of various camera formats, exposure times, composition, and much more to enhance your ability to take beautiful night sky images.
Equipment needed
Camera (DSLR or Mirrorless please)
Wide angle lens (stock lenses are ok. f stop lower than 3.2 is preferred)
Tripod
Remote shutter control (recommended)
Red light headlamp
Warm Clothes
Camp Chair (recommended)
Extra Memory Card
Extra camera batteries
Thumb Drive
Constellation talks are brief but full of information about the night sky, including teaching us how to find our way in light polluted skies.
Tom Auchter
Constellation Talk
Join a ranger and volunteers for a night under the stars. This accessible program will guide visitors through the constellations, stars, and possibly galaxies visible to the unaided eye in the Great Basin night skies. Learn how to stargaze on your own for when you head back home.
Recommended equipment
Blankets
Warm clothing
Binoculars (not required)
Rangers will help you build your own constellation using provided supplies and pictures!
NPS / M. Van Wicklin
Solar Telescopes and Crafts
Behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, rangers will have a solar telescope set up, allowing anybody to come and view our planet's closest star safely. View sunspots and prominences, filaments and ejections through our specialized telescope and see the sun as you never have before.
Next to the telescope, join in creating small, take-home crafts. Build a constellation using pipe cleaner and UV sensitive beads which change color under sunlight and glow in the dark. Perfect for all ages! No registration required, just drop by for a spell!
Note: If weather is poor, solar scope will be set up but the sun may not be visible.
Ranger Programs
Join park rangers as they present their astronomy programs in the dark of the Lehman Caves Visitor Center during the day. Topics vary, but our dark sky astronomy rangers will guide you through the night sky, our relationships with the stars, how they affect animals, or perhaps about caves on other planets!
Programs are free and require no advance registration, but the theater is limited in space. Some standing room is available.
Want to see some of these programs beyond the festival? Attend one of our many astronomy programs throughout the summer to see what our rangers have to share in addition to telescope viewing. Learn more here!
Accessibility
Have concerns about mobility or parking? What about bringing a service animal? Many questions about park programs and accessibility can be answered through the accessibility pages on the website.
We strive to make every program just as easy to attend for every member of the public, regardless of ability. However, the nature of some telescopes make them impossible to view through without requiring standing and balancing safely.
The best programs to attend for those with limited ability will be:
The solar crafts table behind the Lehman Caves Visitor Center each day of the festival
The Constellation Talks at the Astronomy Amphitheater each night
Art in the Dark the first night of the festival at the Astronomy Amphitheater.
Anyone may attend the Telescope Viewing/Star Party each night and some volunteers may have devices to allow those unable to stand or balance to view the telescope's focus. Great Basin Observatory tours are not fully accessible due to the stairs and gravel pathways leading to the dome.
Worried about making it down to the Astronomy Amphitheater from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center Parking lot? Speak with a ranger when you arrive and let them know. Limited parking is available for those with mobility issues next to the telescope viewing area and Astronomy Amphitheater.
