Grand Canyon Star Party 2023, June 10-17

The white Milky Way over a red lit parking lot with people and telescopes.
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the best places in the world to enjoy pristine night skies.
 
 

Things to Know about the 2023 Star Party

  • Attend this free, open to the general public, event. The park entrance fee, is good on both South and North rims for 7 days. No additional tickets or sign-up is required.

  • The event begins at sunset, although the best viewing is after 9 pm and many telescopes come down after 11 pm; however, on nights with clear, calm skies, some astronomers continue sharing their telescopes into the night.

  • Campground or lodging reservations are recommended.
  • Dress warmly. Temperatures drop quickly after sunset—even during summer months.
  • View an assortment of planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies by night, and perhaps the Sun or Venus by day.
  • Skies will be starry and dark until the moon rises the first night. It rises progressively later throughout the week of the Star Party.

Bring a Red Flashlight

Make your way safely: use a red flashlight; white flashlights and cell phone lights are discouraged on the telescope lot. Make a red flashlight by:

  • Covering any flashlight with red cellophane, a limited supply of cellophane and rubber bands are available prior to the evening presentations at the Grand Canyon Visitor center)

  • Painting the flashlight lens with red nail polish or a red magic marker.
  • For more on why red flashlights are helpful, and how the human eye works after dark, click here.
 
a starry night. a family is gathered around a large telescope as an astronomer is talking. Everyone is bathed in red light.

South Rim Star Party 2023


Events include an outdoor evening program nightly, just outside Grand Canyon Visitor Center — at 8 pm, followed by telescope viewing in the large lot behind the Visitor Center.

To attend the evening programs, arrive before 8 pm to be sure of getting a good view of the screen, or arrive after dark and head straight to the telescope lot.

Park rangers offer constellation tours at 9, 9:30, and 10 pm. The slide show, constellation tours, and at least one telescope are wheelchair accessible.

The closest accessible parking is in lot 4. Lots 1 through 3 offer additional parking.

During the Star Party, the Village Route (blue) shuttle bus runs every half-hour until 11 pm sharp.

The South Rim Star Party is sponsored by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association.

Amateur astronomers from across the country volunteer their expertise and offer free nightly astronomy programs and telescope viewing.

 

Star Party Evening Programs (South Rim)

South Rim Visitor Center. Doors open at 7:40 pm. Presentations start at 8 pm. (Limited-capacity seating)

Schedule Coming Soon

 

Night Sky Photography Workshops (South Rim)

Night Sky Photography Workshops meet at Grand Canyon Visitor Center at 9:30 pm, then take place out under the stars. Workshops are free and open to the public.
Schedule Coming soon

Constellation Talks (South Rim)

Constellation talks happen every night of the event: 9, 9:30 and 10 pm

 
Twilight; lluminated by red light, a group of people are looking through telescopes on the veranda of a rustic lodge.
Telescope viewing on the veranda of Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim

Photo courtesy of Christian Schroll

North Rim Star Party 2023


Telescopes are set up on the porch of the Grand Canyon Lodge every evening. An astronomy related evening program will be presented at 8 pm in the auditorium of Grand Canyon Lodge. Check park bulletin boards for the evening program schedule.

Constellation talks are also given, throughout the evening.

By day, solar telescopes are set up at the lodge, the Visitor Center and the general store (by campground.)

The North Rim Star Party is sponsored by the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Become a Volunteer in 2023

All amateur astronomers interested in sharing the skies with visitors are invited to participate. Whether you can volunteer for a few days or the whole event, you can help to enrich the lives of people from all over the world.

Find volunteer opportunities for day and night telescopic outreach, visual and imaging, laser guided constellation tours, demonstration toolkits and auditorium presentations. Register through the astronomy clubs sponsoring the event, links provided.

 

Questions? E-mail

Rader Lane, Night Sky Park Ranger
Grand Canyon National Park
(928) 638-7641

 

Future Star Party Dates

2023: June 10–17
2024: June 1–08
2025: June 21–28
2026: June 6–13

 
 
Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details
Duration:
4 minutes, 33 seconds

The 2022 Star Party will take place June 18-25 on both North and South Rims of the park. Here is some basic information about this event.

 
Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details
Duration:
1 minute, 40 seconds

Amateur astronomers from across the country volunteer their expertise and offer free nightly astronomy programs and telescope viewing.

 
Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details
Duration:
10 minutes, 4 seconds

Experience the mystery and wonder of Grand Canyon National Park's night sky with Astronomer Tyler Nordgren and Park Ranger Rader Lane. Explore the beauty of the night sky and learn what you can do to help preserve it.

 

Last updated: November 21, 2022

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

PO Box 129
Grand Canyon , AZ 86023

Phone:

928-638-7888

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