Blackbird State Forest

How dark the sky is at Blackbird: Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition

The zenith sky here reads 20.71 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 3.3 times the brightness of a pristine natural sky (22.0), the extra coming from artificial light scattered in the air.

Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added. On the night, haze, smoke, humidity and the Moon set the real limit.

What's up from Blackbird by season

At latitude 39.3°N, the north celestial pole stands 39° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -51° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 22° above the southern horizon. These are the constellations well placed, 35° or more above the horizon, at about 10 pm in the middle of each season, brightest first.

Showpieces from Blackbird through the year

At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.

Never set from Blackbird

• Camelopardalis
• Cassiopeia
• Cepheus
• Draco
• Ursa Major
• Ursa Minor

Only skim the southern horizon from Blackbird

• Centaurus
• Grus
• Lupus
• Phoenix
• Telescopium
• Vela

Never rise from Blackbird

• Apus
• Ara
• Carina
• Chamaeleon
• Circinus
• Crux
• Dorado
• Horologium
• Hydrus
• Indus
• Mensa
• Musca
• Norma
• Octans
• Pavo
• Pictor
• Reticulum
• Triangulum Australe
• Tucana
• Volans

Where to set up at Blackbird

The coordinates on this page point to Blackbird State Forest campground area, at 9 m (30 ft): 39.346°N, 75.676°W.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.

Blackbird among the dark sky places of Delaware

Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. See Delaware dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.

Camping and lodging at Blackbird

The nearest town with motels or inns is Smyrna, DE. Check the official site for campgrounds and overnight rules; many parks close their gates at night, so ask about after-dark access.

Dark sky places nearest Blackbird

Star parties near Blackbird

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Delaware puts the dark sky places, observatories, clubs, star parties, planetariums and science centers of the state on one map, with the best night out worked out.

Observatories and astronomy clubs near Blackbird

Observatories within 100 km

• Mt. Cuba Astronomical ObservatoryWilmington, Delaware, 50 km (31 mi), open to the public
• Widener University ObservatoryChester, Pennsylvania, 64 km (39 mi), open to the public
• Univ. of Pennsylvania ObservatoryPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 79 km (49 mi), open to the public
• Holt and Miller Observatory (Franklin Institute)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 80 km (50 mi), open to the public
• Maryland Space Grant ObservatoryBaltimore, Maryland, 80 km (50 mi), open to the public
• Crosby Ramsey Memorial ObservatoryBaltimore, Maryland, 82 km (51 mi), open to the public

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Delaware Astronomical SocietyWilmington, Delaware, 49 km (30 mi). Meets 3rd Tuesday monthly (Sep-Jun), 7 pm board
• South Jersey Astronomy ClubPort Elizabeth, New Jersey, 60 km (37 mi). Meets 2nd Thursday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Harford County Astronomical SocietyBel Air, Maryland, 62 km (39 mi)
• Chester County Astronomical SocietyWest Chester, Pennsylvania, 68 km (42 mi). Meets 2nd Tuesday monthly (Jan-May, Sep-Nov)
• Rittenhouse Astronomical SocietyHaverford, Pennsylvania, 80 km (50 mi). Meets Monthly public speaker meeting, on Zoom (normally in a planetarium)

See observatories and astronomy clubs in Delaware. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.

Blackbird record

From the site's dark sky places dataset (parks_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.