Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is best known for its permineralized redwood tree stumps, but a lesser-known distinction is the park’s International Dark Sky certification. One of only 80 parks to have this designation, it draws stargazers on select nights for “star parties” hosted in partnership with the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society.

With over 350 members, CS Astro is one of the largest astronomy clubs in the United States, and public outreach is central to its mission. On star party nights, volunteers bring their personal telescopes and begin setting up shortly after the park closes.

“There are a lot of great images out there of interesting space objects,” said Dave Warner, CS Astro’s director of outreach, “but they are no substitute for looking through a telescope and seeing these things with your own eyes. The rarest human emotion is the sense of awe, and looking deep into the night sky is one of the most memorable ways to get that feeling.”

In much of the U.S., when one looks up at night, only the very brightest stars can be seen. Here in Teller County, shielded from urban light noise by the mountains, we can look into the sky and an infinite number of stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies loom overhead.

On July 25, there were 12 astronomers with 14 telescopes on hand to guide amateurs and hobbyists through the night sky. The telescopes were as varied as the astronomers who brought them. From an OG Newtonian telescope to a fully automated Smart Scope. Attendees began arriving well before dark from across Colorado, across the U.S. and around the world.

Jemma and Rhys Morales of Aurora came in matching astronaut costumes and would be staying up well past bedtime to have the opportunity to explore space during a new moon night. Their mother, Marissa explained the new moon to her children by saying,

“It’s when the moon closes its eyes and goes to sleep so the stars are extra bright,” little Rhys said., “I’m gonna see the Milky Way and the planets.”

Cloudy conditions early in the evening gave way to clear skies by dark fall. By 9 p.m., over 300 attendees had arrived.

“On days when there’s no evening cloud cover, we can see over 500 visitors for the star party,” Mark Harter, astronomy lead at Florissant Fossil Beds said.

Following a short safety briefing and orientation presentation, visitors were informed of a special treat as the International Space Station would be crossing directly overhead.

Bruce Bookout, an attending astronomer and professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Pikes Peak State College used a laser pointer to highlight objects of interest in the night sky not featured in the eyepiece of a telescope and tracked the arrival of the ISS so no one missed its flyover.

Designated dark sky parks are important examples of environmental stewardship. By protecting nocturnal ecosystems with natural darkness, these locations nurture wildlife behaviors, provide ideal conditions for astronomical observations and research, and preserve the nightscapes that inspired art and mythology through the centuries and enabled mariners to navigate the oceans before the advent of GPS. For many, a natural night sky is a very emotional — sometimes spiritual — experience.

“We’re incredibly lucky to live in a place where we have access to a truly dark night sky,” Harter said. “People travel long distances to experience what we have, and events like this offer a chance for everyone—young, old, and in between—to be inspired and to learn. There’s nothing quite like it.”