Natural Bridge State Park

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.64 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.4 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 Natural Bridge by season

At latitude 37.6°N, the north celestial pole stands 38° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -52° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 23° 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 Natural Bridge 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 Natural Bridge

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Natural Bridge

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

Never rise from Natural Bridge

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

Where to set up at Natural Bridge

The coordinates on this page point to Natural Bridge, at 300 m (980 ft): 37.628°N, 79.545°W.

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

Natural Bridge 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 Natural Bridge

The nearest town with motels or inns is Natural Bridge, 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 Natural Bridge

Star parties near Natural Bridge

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 Natural Bridge

Observatories within 100 km

• Winfree ObservatoryLynchburg, Virginia, 39 km (24 mi), open to the public
• Fan Mountain ObservatoryAlbemarle County, Virginia, 80 km (50 mi), research observatory
• Stokesville ObservatoryStokesville, Virginia, 88 km (54 mi), research observatory
• Green Bank Telescope (GBT)Green Bank, West Virginia, 90 km (56 mi), open to the public
• Green Bank 140 Foot TelescopeGreen Bank, West Virginia, 94 km (58 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Blue Ridge Astronomy ClubForest, Virginia, 40 km (25 mi). Meets Usually 4th Tuesday monthly, local public library community room in Bedford/Forest/Lynchburg area (varies)
• Roanoke Valley Astronomical SocietyRoanoke, Virginia, 56 km (35 mi)
• Star City Astronomy NetworkRoanoke, Virginia, 63 km (39 mi). Meets No regular meetings; members meet at observing sessions
• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 100 km (62 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 7-9 pm
• Greensboro Astronomy ClubGreensboro, North Carolina, 168 km (105 mi). Meets Monthly Friday, 7:30-9 pm

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

Natural Bridge record

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