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Start your April evenings by looking directly overhead in the evening sky and you will see the Big Dipper. Stars at the end of its cup point north to the North Star and south to the constellation Leo with its bright star Regulus. To the east is Spica, a star in the constellation Virgo. To the west is Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major. Setting in the west is the constellation Orion. As the night matures, look for the Milky Way to take center stage across the sky!
With binoculars, look for comet 12P/Pons/Brooks with a magnitude of 6 to 4, possibly 2. The brightness of this comet is unpredictable. The comet can be seen just after sunset near the constellation Aries in early April. There's a possibility it can be seen during the eclipse, 8 degrees to the west of Jupiter. On April 13th it will be next to Jupiter an hour after sunset, only 8 degrees above the horizon, impossible to see unless you are on top of the hills.
Look for a "Sky Tour" program given at the park occasionally when the skies are dark, and the weather is good or ask for a current month's sky map at the Visitor Center. A good place to observe the heavens at the park is from the Excess Vehicle Parking Area. It's just north of the Visitors Center.
We have solar viewing glasses for sale at the Visitor Center.
Safety First. Appropriate solar filter glasses are absolutely needed if you are looking at the sun. The ONLY time to remove glasses is during the 4 minutes of totality.
The 2024 total solar eclipse will be spectacular on Monday, April 8, 2024, passing over Garner. For about 4 minutes and 30 seconds starting about 1:30 pm CDT, the land will go dark, and the stars will appear. If you want to visit or stay at Garner, park reservations will be required so mark your calendar to make reservations when they become available. Many lodging and camping sites in the Frio Canyon are already booked. Make your plans early. Check https://TheRealEclipse.org/ for local information for residents and visitors alike.
Another website for the eclipse is https://nationaleclipse.com/.
Here is NASA's site: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/.
The Hill Country Alliance also has a great webpage on the Eclipse, Hill Country Eclipse Portal | Welcome to Hill Country Alliance https://hillcountryalliance.org/eclipse/.
See what it like to be in totality with the eclipse simulator at https://eclipse2024.org/.
Seeing the Milky Way requires dark skies, skies that many don't ever see. Often before and after the new moon, while the moon is not shining, you can make out the Milky Way in our Garner skies. The Milky Way galaxy is made up of millions of stars. It is sometimes mistaken as a layer of clouds when first seen. The darker the skies the more magnificent the many stars stand out. Have you seen the stars from Garner State Park?
New neighbors, new businesses install lights to light up their properties and light up the whole Frio Canyon in the process. From the top of Old Baldy, you can see light domes of Uvalde, Hondo, Bandera, Kerrville, and yes, even Concan and Leakey, Texas has their light bubbles. Let them know, "Illuminate only what is needed with only as much warm light as is needed." If you see lights shining upward or too bright, let's do better. If you want to continue to see stars, tell them you expect darker skies.
We want to make Garner an International Dark Skies Park. Unfortunately, it isn't currently dark enough. It takes some work, a real campaign. Educating our visitors, neighbors, students, businesses, and government officials; adding light shields; updating light fixtures; measuring, recording, and reporting light readings and other progress steps; getting the right color LED's; seeing what we can do to make the skies dark again. Interested in volunteering? Use the "Contact us" form at the bottom of the home page or call us at 830-232-5999.
Spread the word, set an example. Shine light only when and where you need it. Only shine as much as you need. Use the warmest color light to minimize light scattering. If light is needed for security or emergency purposes, use video or motion activated lighting.
Do we really need a blinding flood light lighting the heavens at every barn, parked car, business sign, steeple, or flag? Here is a link to the International Dark Sky Association's (IDA's) webpage of outreach materials.
While the scope might not be a large spectacular instrument, it generates oohs and ahs when viewing Jupiter, Saturn, or the moon up in the Garner night skies.
Several astronomy clubs come to view the skies above Garner. Check the park's calendars for other star parties, often held on a warm Saturday night around the occurrence of a new moon when skies are at their darkest.
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