Mark your calendars. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is thrilled to announce the return of the popular Star Party and Solar Viewing events. Join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society at the Dune Climb parking lot Saturday, July 13, from 9-11 pm. Rangers will provide information on preserving dark skies, and GTAS will have telescopes set up for visitors to enjoy.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the “star” of another autumn night sky event; October 21 marks the 49th anniversary of the establishment of the National Lakeshore.
Take advantage of the very young moon to relax under the stars, view distant celestial objects, observe Jupiter, Saturn and the summer Milky Way at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) on Saturday, Aug. 31 (Labor Day weekend), at the Dune Climb.
The sky is the limit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore). Join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) on Saturday, June 24, at the Dune Climb parking lot. On this date, two events offer you opportunities to focus on the sky. The first event is from 4- 6 p.m., and will allow visitors to safely view our closest star, the Sun, using a solar telescope. The second event will be from 9-11 p.m., and is a great chance to view distant galaxies and star clusters, as well as the evening planets of Jupiter and Saturn. Please park in the row furthest from the dunes with your headlights facing M-109.
In 2017, the National Lakeshore will be hosting a series of monthly astronomy programs that run from April through October. Park rangers and members of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will help you unravel some of the mysteries of the night sky as well as discover more about the daytime sky.
An argument can be made that the stars stayed closer to the earth because people did move, because their homes and farms and land legacies were purchased by the feds to become the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.