Pickett CCC Memorial State Park

How dark the sky is at Pickett CCC Memorial: Bortle Class 3, rural sky

The zenith sky here reads 21.83 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.2 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 Pickett CCC Memorial by season

At latitude 36.6°N, the north celestial pole stands 37° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -53° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 24° 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 Pickett CCC Memorial 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 Pickett CCC Memorial

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Pickett CCC Memorial

• Centaurus
• Grus
• Horologium
• Norma
• Phoenix
• Telescopium
• Vela

Never rise from Pickett CCC Memorial

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

Where to set up at Pickett CCC Memorial

The coordinates on this page point to Park center (Wikipedia infobox point), at 470 m (1,540 ft): 36.552°N, 84.797°W.

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

Pickett CCC Memorial among the dark sky places of Tennessee

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

Camping and lodging at Pickett CCC Memorial

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

Birding at Pickett CCC Memorial

Birding is the daytime draw at Pickett CCC Memorial.

Dark sky places nearest Pickett CCC Memorial

Star parties near Pickett CCC Memorial

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Tennessee 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 Pickett CCC Memorial

Observatories within 100 km

• Tamke-Allan ObservatoryRoane County, Tennessee, 77 km (48 mi), open to the public

Nearest astronomy clubs

• ORIONOak Ridge, Tennessee, 76 km (48 mi). Meets Monthly Wednesday, 7 pm
• Knoxville Observers Astronomy ClubKnoxville, Tennessee, 100 km (62 mi)
• Cumberland Astronomical SocietyGallatin, Tennessee, 149 km (93 mi). Meets Hendersonville Public Library, Hendersonville TN
• Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy ClubLexington, Kentucky, 167 km (104 mi)
• Barnard Astronomical SocietyChattanooga, Tennessee, 176 km (109 mi). Meets Monthly, 6 pm social

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

Pickett CCC Memorial record

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