Date: July 21, 2014
Contact: Curt Jacquot, West Area Interpreter, 360-569-6577
Families and individuals of all ages are invited to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park for a special "star viewing party" on Saturday July 26th.
The event starts at 8:45 PM in the Paradise Inn lobby. There will be a thirty-minute indoor presentation about the "Wilderness of a Dark Sky" and the National Park Service Natural Lightscapes program. The star party will then move outside next to the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise for star viewing that will begin at 10:00 PM. If the sky remains clear, the event will last until at least midnight. If weather makes star-gazing impossible, the party will move inside the lobby of the Paradise Inn for a question and answer session with astronomers. The outdoor star gazing will be facilitated by the 2014 Mount Rainier Astro-Volunteer team. Multiple telescopes and astronomers will be available to help the public enjoy views of the dark skies above the park.
The National Park Service has come to embrace night skies as one of the many scenic vistas the agency is a steward of. It is essential to keeping a park whole and touches on almost every aspect that is important to us - from sustainability to stargazers, and animals to ancient ruins.
If you have questions about the event, please contact Park Ranger Curt Jacquot at (360) 569-6577.
Information about the National Park Service Natural Lightscapes program is available at: https://www.nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes/
General Mount Rainier National park information is available at www.nps.gov/mora or by calling 360-569-2211.
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