The National Park Service’s Southwest Astronomy Festival kicked off on Friday, Sept. 8, with an astrophotography workshop taught at Cedar Breaks National Monument. The festival continues this weekend, September 15-17. It consists of events across southwest Utah that aim to educate the public about astronomy and celebrate the beauty of the night sky.
Don Riddle, a night sky photographer and retired Marine Corps colonel, led the workshop. The two-night event taught participants the advantages of various camera settings, exposure times and angles to better help them understand how to take images of the night sky.
Riddle’s relationship with the NPS began by chance six years ago when he was taking photos at Great Basin National Park. “A ranger walked up to me and asked what I was doing; I told him I was taking pictures,” explained Riddle. “He recognized one of my photos and asked me if I would volunteer next year to give their [astrophotography] course.”
After that, other parks and monuments reached out to Riddle to ask him to host their astrophotography courses. Astronomy festivals in Southwest Utah began in 2001, when Bryce Canyon National Park hosted its first ever astronomy festival in response to growing public interest in the park’s dark skies.
The astrophotography workshop is only one of many opportunities to engage with the night sky throughout the state this weekend. The festival’s lineup of events are as follows:
Friday, Sept. 15
— “How to Take Amazing Photos of the Night Sky with Your Smartphone” at Cedar Breaks National Monument
— Star Party with rangers and volunteers from the St. George Astronomy Group at Cedar Breaks National Monument
— Stargazing with heliophysicist Madhulika Guhathakurta at Zion National Park
— Southern Utah University Star Party at Ashcroft Observatory in Cedar City
— Star Party at Jackson Flat Reservoir in Kanab
— Scorpion Night Hike with arachnid specialist Zach Valois at Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in St. George
Saturday, Sept. 16
— Solar Viewing with the St. George Astronomy Group at Red Hills Desert Garden in St. George
— Solar Viewing at Cedar Breaks National Monument
— Family Day at Cedar City Library
— Family Day at Southern Utah Museum of Art
— Star Party with Guhathakurta at Cedar Breaks National Monument
— Star Party with Trailblazers Astronomy Club of Utah Tech University at Vernon Worthen Park in St. George
Sunday, Sept. 17
— Star Party with rangers and volunteers from the St. George Astronomy Group at Cedar Breaks National Monument
— Star Party with the St. George Astronomy Club at Gunlock Rd in Gunlock
— “The Fantastic Life of Stars” with Guhathakurta at the Springdale Community Center in Springdale
Story by: Jacob Horne
outdoors@suunews.net
Photos by: Jacob Horne
