The stars sparkle in the twilight as Mount Rainier sits in the background in March 2015.
The National Park Service is hosting a star viewing party on Saturday night in Mount Rainier National Park. Starting at 9:45 p.m. at the plaza in front of the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise, volunteer members of the park’s Astro-Volunteer Team will lead a night of stargazing. The volunteers are donating their own personal telescopes for the public to use and will offer educational insights into the night sky. The event will go until 11:45 p.m. or until the sky becomes too cloudy.
As the weather permits, at least one Mount Rainier astronomer will host nightly star viewing parties outside the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center through Labor Day this season. This Saturday, all six of the Park’s Astro-volunteer Team members will be attending with telescopes in tow for the special event.
According to a press release on the event, the National Park Service has come to see the night skies as one of the vistas within the agency’s purview. According to the release, the sky is “essential to keep a park whole and touches on almost every aspect that is important to us — from sustainability to stargazers, and animals to ancient ruins.”
The event is free. However, a $20 per vehicle entrance fee is required. The Park Service recommends anyone interested in attending call the Mount Rainier Astronomy hotline at (360) 569-6230 for updates on sky viewing and cancellations.
For more information about the National Park Service Natural Lightscapes program visit: www.nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes.
General information about Mount Rainier is available at www.nps.gov/mora, or by calling (360) 569-2211.
