Cosmic Wonders: An Astronomy Experience in Joshua Tree

Join us under a blanket of stars in Joshua Tree National Park — an International Dark Sky Park — for an astronomy experience unlike any other. Learn about what makes these skies so special and how you can help protect them from threats like light pollution. Then, view these wonders up close and personal through the telescopes in the park. The sun will set at 4:30 PM!

• This outdoor experience takes place at Cap Rock, in Joshua Tree National Park. You will caravan from Joshua Tree Visitor Center into JTNP through the West Entrance.

• Anyone may attend! No astronomy expertise or experience is required.

• Park Pass included.

• In this class we will start with a short introduction of objects we will look at in the sky accompanied with pictures on a tv screen in the parking lot (about 20 min).

• Then we will do a constellation tour to see how we find our way around the night sky (about 15 min).

• Finally, we will walk to the telescopes and view some of the objects we talked about. The instructor will have two telescopes, one taking pictures for display on a tablet screen and the other will be for viewing through an eyepiece.

Activity level: This class is leisurely. It requires less than 2 miles of walking with shade, seating, consistent terrain, and little to no elevation gain.

Required items for participants: 

• Warm clothing attire

• Binoculars

• Folding chair

• Closed-toe shoes

• Water

• Red headlamp (if you don't have one, the instructor will provide one)

Any other pertinent information: We will have a telescope to view the stars and the planets!

Meet your instructor: John Watkins is a Physics PhD who, upon graduating, joined NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on Voyager 1 and 2. That was the beginning of 30+ years working in aerospace. Some of the exciting things he has done include flying on the NASA Zero-Gravity plane, working on the world’s largest fusion research laser (NIF—Google it!), and conducting experiments on materials cooled to near absolute zero. He is currently a happy resident of Joshua Tree, where he teaches physics and astronomy at Copper Mountain College and enjoys observing the beautiful night sky from his backyard.

Photo credit: NPS/Brad Sutton