Astronomy Festival September 9 to 11, 2021
We are happy to welcome park visitors to Great Basin to view the night skies together. Everyone can enjoy the night sky in their own way. This year's festival events will include guest speakers, photo workshops, tours of the Great Basin Observatory (GBO), and other fun programs for families. The park is excited to welcome back amateur astronomer volunteers and their telescopes for an out of this world star party each night of the festival.
Telescope Viewing
Each night the telescope viewing area will be open to the public from 8pm to 11pm. During this time amateur astronomers will have telescopes set up for the public to view the stars. Follow the red lights from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center to walk down to the viewing area. For accessibility needs contact a ranger at a parking lot.
Interested in assisting with telescope viewing as a volunteer? Contact Charles Reed via e-mail at e-mail us. Volunteers MUST be pre-registered for the festival.
Festival Events and Programs
All park events and programs are weather dependent.
The Great Basin Observatory Tour and the Photo Workshop require advance registration via e-mail, space is limited. Please see information below on how to register for these programs. Inquire at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center for day of cancellations.
Other walk-up programs will be offered at or around the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Check with the Front Desk for more information on walk-up programs.
Guest Speakers
This year we welcome Cole Niebuhr from the Great Basin Observatory (GBO) and Dr. Charles Liu from the American Museum of Natural History as guest speakers. Both guest speakers will begin their talks at 6:30pm at the Astronomy Amphitheater on the given night. Parking is at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center about a quarter mile walk away. Talk to a ranger for accessibility needs.
Cole Niebuhr will be speaking on 9/10 discussing some of the high-end GBO instrumentation upgraded in recent years and how the data generated fuels scientific research at all the different partner universities. These instruments, combined with the ideal conditions at the park, allow for projects and levels of accuracy not available to many other institutions and offer truly unique research and educational opportunities for high-school students, college students, and seasoned professionals alike.
Our keynote speaker Dr. Charles Liu will be speaking on 9/11 about how we all are connected to the night sky and the stars within it. Our origins are traced back to stars. Even the atoms and molecules in our bodies were produced in stars over billions of years and are now within us all, making up society as we know it.
Art in the Dark
This program will be held on 9/9 at 7:00pm at the Astronomy Amphitheater. Please walk to the program from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center parking lot.
Join a Ranger and an Astronomy Volunteer in an art project that experiments with how our eyes see color. This accessible and kid friendly program will challenge artist to create and paint in low light conditions, under the guidance of the an Astronomy Volunteer.
All needed art supplies will be provided.
Recommended equipment
Blankets
Warm clothing
Red headlamp (not required)
Constellation Talk
This program will be held on 9/9, 9/10 and 9/11 at 9:00pm at the Astronomy Amphitheater. Please walk to the program from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center parking lot.
Join a ranger and volunteers for a night under the stars. This accessible program will guide visitors through the constellations, stars, and possibly galaxies visible to the unaided eye in the Great Basin night-skies. Learn how to stargaze on your own back home.
Recommended equipment
Blankets
Warm clothing
Binoculars (not required)
Great Basin Observatory Tour
The Great Basin Observatory Tour requires advance registration, space is limited. Inquire at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center for day of cancellations. Reservations open at 8:00 am pacific time on July 9th. E-mail us with the name of each person in the party, date and time of preferred program, a phone number, and an e-mail address to reserve space for a program. Preference is given to the early time stamp on the e-mail after 8:00 am pacific time on July 9th. After you sign up for a program you will receive instructions via e-mail, including location, time, and equipment needed. All park program participants must check in at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center the day of the program.
This program is limited to 15 people and will be held on 9/9, 9/10, and 9/11 at 1:00pm and 3:00pm
Join a ranger to see the Great Basin Observatory the only research grade observatory on a National Park. Home to a 27 inch telescope, this observatory is used for research and education purposes. This program requires a 1 mile round trip hike on a gravel trail and paved road and standing for an hour.
Recommended equipment
Good walking shoes
Sun protection
Hat
Photo Workshop
The Photo Workshop requires advance registration, space is limited. Inquire at Lehman Caves Visitor Center for day of cancellations. Reservations open at 8:00 am pacific time on July 9th. E-mail us with the name of each person in the party, date of preferred program, a phone number, and an e-mail address to reserve a space on a program. Preference is given to the early time stamp on the e-mail after 8:00 am pacific time on July 9th. After you sign up for a program you will receive instructions via e-mail, including location, time, and equipment needed. All park program participants must check in at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center the day of the program.
This program is limited to 15 people per night and will be held on 9/9, 9/10, and 9/11 at 6:30pm.
Join a ranger and a photography volunteer to learn the basics of night photography. This workshop is intended for beginner photographers looking to start exploring how to take nighttime pictures. Learn the advantages of various camera formats, exposure times, composition, and much more to enhance your ability to take beautiful night sky images.
Equipment needed
Camera (DSLR is preferred)
Wide angle lense (stock lenses are ok lower f stop is preferred)
Tripod
Remote shutter control (recommended)
Red light headlamp