Shenandoah National Park

How dark the sky is at Shenandoah: Bortle Class 3, rural sky

The zenith sky here reads 21.70 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.3 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; see every Bortle Class 3 place.

What's up from Shenandoah by season

At latitude 38.5°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 Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Shenandoah

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

Never rise from Shenandoah

• 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 Shenandoah

The coordinates on this page point to Big Meadows, at 1,059 m (3,470 ft): 38.522°N, 78.437°W.

Stargazing spots at Shenandoah

• Big Meadows

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

Shenandoah among the dark sky places of Virginia

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

Camping and lodging at Shenandoah

The nearest town with motels or inns is Luray, VA. 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 Shenandoah

Star parties near Shenandoah

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Virginia 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 Shenandoah

Observatories within 100 km

• Leander McCormick ObservatoryCharlottesville, Virginia, 55 km (34 mi), open to the public
• Stokesville ObservatoryStokesville, Virginia, 65 km (40 mi), research observatory
• Fan Mountain ObservatoryAlbemarle County, Virginia, 75 km (47 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 55 km (34 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 7-9 pm
• Shenandoah Astronomical SocietyWinchester, Virginia, 71 km (44 mi). Meets Monthly, 4th Monday
• Rappahannock Astronomy ClubFredericksburg, Virginia, 74 km (46 mi). Meets Monthly Wednesday, 7:30 pm
• Northern Virginia Astronomy ClubFairfax, Virginia, 103 km (64 mi). Meets Usually 2nd Sunday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Southern Maryland Astronomical SocietyMarbury, Maryland, 111 km (69 mi). Meets Observing sessions on Saturdays nearest third quarter and new moon at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center

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

Shenandoah record

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