Adult Field Course: Grandfather’s Starry Skies

October is one of the best times of year to stargaze at Grandfather Mountain. The air is cool and clear, and the summer constellations are still very prominent, with some early winter sights making their appearance later in the evening.

Our goal for this class is to create a familiarity with the night sky and learn the basics of stargazing that can be applied on your own on any clear night throughout the year. We’ll start in the classroom by exploring some of the best print and digital resources for exploring the night sky and cover some of the basics of stargazing and how to orient to the night sky. We’ll also discuss the use of planispheres, star maps and star charts to find some of the most beautiful deep sky wonders that can be seen through binoculars or small telescopes. During the evening hours, we’ll be out at various viewing locations on the mountain, practicing our stargazing skills while looking for meteors and learning about some of the most prominent stars, constellations and other objects visible this time of year.

Amanda K Pastore has had a love for the night sky most of her life. You could even say stargazing and astronomy run blood-deep, because her grandfather was the director of quality control for the Apollo 11 Lunar Mission and her extended family have been working for NASA for decades. She is the director of Mayland Earth to Sky Park, as well as the educational coordinator, leading field trips for all K-12 groups, as well as hosting Bare Dark Sky Observatory events and planetarium programs year-round. As an educator, she has dedicated her life to nurturing the interest of all things science and astronomy by using education and enthusiasm to ignite compassion and conservation in people of all ages. She is also a Dark Sky Liaison for the International Dark Sky Association and is continually working to bring awareness to the dangers our dark skies face and how to preserve the night sky for future generations.

Program Itinerary
5 p.m. – Meet at the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery and Introductions
5:30 – 7 p.m. – Classroom learning about the night sky and the use of astronomy resources
7 – 11 p.m. – Evening observing, with program concluding at the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery

Tickets
This event costs $60 for general admission and $51 for members of Grandfather Mountain’s Bridge Club – plus tax. Registration opens on this page on Aug. 11, at 10 a.m. Limited to 15 participants.

Rain Date – Please Read and Make Sure You Understand This Important Info
This event has a rain date of Oct. 18, if needed, meaning that the event could happen Oct. 11 or Oct. 18. There will be no refunds given if the event is moved to the rain date. Participants will be notified by noon the day of the event regarding if the decision has been made to move Starry Skies to the rain date.

Refunds will be issued if the event is canceled for both Oct. 11 and the rain date of Oct. 18.

What’s included?
Your program cost includes admission into the park, field instruction and transportation during your program (you may drive your own vehicle to visit sites on the mountain if you would prefer). It does not include meals or lodging.

Tips are not accepted for field courses. However, donations to the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation are accepted if you would like to recognize a program.

General Clothing List
Much of your time will be spent outdoors. You should be prepared for a variety of mountain weather conditions and temperatures. Appropriate clothing, equipment and footwear are very important.

Equipment:

• Daypack with enough room to carry extra clothing, water, dinner, camera, binoculars, etc.
• Water Bottle
• Layers of warm clothing, including warm hats, gloves and shoes
• Binoculars (we will have a few pairs for participants if they do not have their own)
• Notebook & Pencil

Equipment Specific to this Course:

• A planisphere, while not required, can be helpful in learning the night sky and how it moves throughout the year. There are many good options available on Amazon and elsewhere, but please be sure to purchase one appropriate for our latitude of 35 degrees north (planispheres for 30 or 40 degrees latitude will be fine).
• A Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets is recommended by the instructor but not required. The latest copy on Amazon (4th edition, updated) is less than $20.
• A red flashlight for navigating paths at night and viewing star charts. These can be purchased through local or online retailers, or you can make your own by covering the lens of a standard flashlight with red cellophane or fingernail polish. The idea is to create a light source that’s not too bright that it will affect your dark-adapted night vision, so beware of using very bright led flashlights as they will need a lot of layers of red filtering to make them usable for our purposes.

Refunds/Cancellations
Adult Field Courses generally sell out and have a waiting list associated with the event. If you cannot attend the field course that you are registered for, please let us know. Full refunds will be given to individuals who reach out to us at least five days before the event. This allows time for individuals on the waiting list to make accommodations to attend the event. To cancel your registration, please call 828-833-6332 or email judi@grandfather.com.

We ask that individuals who are sick with any illness to stay home to ensure the health and safety of other participants, our staff, and the field course instructors – refunds will be granted to these individuals.