Day Tripper Goes Star Gazing

Ask folks about Cherry Springs State Park and they'll probably tell you they've never heard of it – unless, of course, they are astronomers.

One of the best places to star gaze in the country is within a few short hours from the Pittsburgh area at the park in Galeton, PA.

Cherry Springs State Park recently received national recognition for its incredibly dark skies. According to Chip Harrison, park manager, the honor has brought out the crowds to the park on warm summer nights for star gazing.

“The general public is finding out what astronomers have known for years," he said. "This is listed as the best place to study the stars on the eastern seaboard.”

Cherry Springs State Park has unusually dark skies for several reasons, including its relatively remote location on top of a 2,300 foot high mountain. Undeveloped state forest lands surround the park, and nearby communities (and thus their lights) are in the valleys below.

Harrison said the park's coordinates at 41.6501 degrees north and 77.8164 degrees west provide a great view of the Milky Way Galaxy.

“In the summer months on a clear night it looks like the Milky Way is right in your lap,” he said. “People just can’t believe it.”

Astronomers discovered Cherry Springs State Park when they started to study light pollution maps. There, in the middle of the forest, a dark circle showed the park had the lowest light pollution not only in the region but in the state.

Astronomers began flocking to the park, Harrison said. Park officials decided that, like other natural resources, the dark skies needed protection. In 2000, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources declared Cherry Springs State Park the first Dark Sky Park.

After this designation, Harrison began to monitor the use of the park  with the help of a Dark Sky Fund. His wife, Maxine Harrison, is the director of the fund.

A public use area and the astronomy fields at the park are two areas perfect for star gazing. Both are open to the public, but regulations differ for the two areas.

“We keep lights off here and everyone has to have a red filter on their flashlights,” Maxine Harrison said of the astronomy field.

Open fires and other forms of lights, including headlights, are prohibited. There is a fee for overnight usage of the field.

There also are astronomy observatories for rent. Four small domes with electricity and concrete floors can be reserved for nightly rentals.

“These are very popular in the winter months,” Harrison said.

The public viewing area – across the road from the astronomy field -- also bans lights, but it has rows of benches for seating, and it's close to the nearby camp ground where open fires are permitted.

There often are public programs about the night skies on the weekends during the summer months. Dark Sky Fund volunteers, who are amateur astronomers and extremely knowledgeable lead many of the programs.

“The best advice that I can give people is to study the moon phases before you come up," Harrison said. "The best time for star gazing is when there is no moon. While a full moon is beautiful to look at, it lights up the sky too much to do any real star watching.

The drive to Cherry Springs State Park takes about three hours depending on where you start in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Maxine Harrison suggests bringing lawn chairs, warm clothes, blankets (it gets cold on top of the mountain, even in the summer), binoculars or a telescope.

There are plenty of great star-gazing nights year round, according to the Harrisons, and some of the best Milky Way Galaxy nights are found through the end of September.