Sky Meadows State Park

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.32 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.9 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 Sky Meadows by season

At latitude 39.0°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 Sky Meadows 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 Sky Meadows

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Sky Meadows

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

Never rise from Sky Meadows

• 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 Sky Meadows

The coordinates on this page point to Sky Meadows park area, at 210 m (690 ft): 38.985°N, 77.959°W.

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

Sky Meadows 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 Sky Meadows

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

Birding at Sky Meadows

Birding is the daytime draw at Sky Meadows.

Dark sky places nearest Sky Meadows

Star parties near Sky Meadows

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 Sky Meadows

Observatories within 100 km

• George Mason ObservatoryFairfax, Virginia, 57 km (35 mi), open to the public
• Morgan County ObservatoryBerkeley Springs, West Virginia, 66 km (41 mi), open to the public
• Georgetown University Astronomical Observatory (Heyden Observatory)Washington, District of Columbia, 77 km (48 mi), university observatory
• U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO)Washington, District of Columbia, 82 km (51 mi), research observatory
• Univ. of Maryland ObservatoryCollege Park, Maryland, 88 km (54 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Shenandoah Astronomical SocietyWinchester, Virginia, 32 km (20 mi). Meets Monthly, 4th Monday
• Northern Virginia Astronomy ClubFairfax, Virginia, 57 km (35 mi). Meets Usually 2nd Sunday monthly, 7:30 pm
• National Capital AstronomersBethesda, Maryland, 70 km (43 mi). Meets Monthly Sep-Jun at University of Maryland Observatory, College Park
• Tri-State AstronomersHagerstown, Maryland, 74 km (46 mi). Meets Monthly, Wednesday 7 pm (3rd Wednesday in 2026)
• Southern Maryland Astronomical SocietyMarbury, Maryland, 84 km (52 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.

Sky Meadows record

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