NASA NIGHT
Image of a starry vista viewed through a high powered telescope

Free ‘Wonders from Webb’ program hosted by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation on September 30, 2022 at Blue Ridge Music Center

Blue Ridge Parkway

Special Event
  • Sep 30, 2022 at 6:30 PM
  • Free

September 30, 2022 Update: The Blue Ridge Music Center "Wonders from Webb" is canceled due to the imminent Tropical Storm Ian impact in the Carolina/Virginia area. The Peaks of Otter "Wonders from Webb" event scheduled originally for Saturday, has been moved to Sunday and is still scheduled at this time. 

September 25, 2022 Update: The National Park Service is also hosting a complementary "Wonders of the Webb" event at the Peaks of Otter Amphitheatre on Saturday, October 1st, 2022 at 7:00p.m. More information available here.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will host a special free program, “Wonders from Webb,” from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, September 30th, 2022 at the Blue Ridge Music Center, milepost 212.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax.

To start the event, Corrie Ann Delgado, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador, will share images from NASA’s Webb telescope. At 8 p.m., a national park ranger will lead a walk in the dark and share how to navigate the night sky. The Echo Ridge Astronomical Society will provide telescopes for attendees to take a closer look at celestial objects. Visitors can also view a meteor and piece of a moon rock. 

The Webb telescope, sometimes called JWST, is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity. The longer wavelengths enable Webb to look much closer to the beginning of time and to hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies, as well as to look inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a flashlight and dress in layers for the cool mountain weather. All ages are welcome. 

Fees

This event is free to attend.

Location

Blue Ridge Music Center Amphitheatre

Latitude and Longitude 37.000000, -81.000000

Schedule

Date:

Sep 30, 2022

Time:

6:30 PM

Duration:

3 hours

The National Park Service will host a special free program “Wonders from Webb” from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, September 30th, 2022 at the Blue Ridge Music Center, milepost 212.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax.

Contact Information

Blue Ridge Parkway External Affairs

Contact Us

Event Type

  • Children’s Program
  • Exhibition/Show
  • Other
  • Partner Program
  • Talk
Tags: family activities, family fun, night activity, telescope, telescope viewing, science