Blackwater Falls State Park

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.82 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 Blackwater Falls by season

At latitude 39.1°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 Blackwater Falls 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 Blackwater Falls

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Blackwater Falls

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

Never rise from Blackwater Falls

• 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 Blackwater Falls

The coordinates on this page point to Blackwater Falls park area, at 883 m (2,900 ft): 39.109°N, 79.496°W.

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

Blackwater Falls among the dark sky places of West Virginia

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

Camping and lodging at Blackwater Falls

The nearest town with motels or inns is Davis, WV. 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 Blackwater Falls

Star parties near Blackwater Falls

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in West 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 Blackwater Falls

Observatories within 100 km

• WVU Planetarium and Observatory (Tomchin Observatory)Morgantown, West Virginia, 70 km (44 mi), open to the public
• Green Bank 140 Foot TelescopeGreen Bank, West Virginia, 80 km (50 mi), research observatory
• Good Hope ObservatoryClarksburg, West Virginia, 82 km (51 mi), open to the public
• Green Bank Telescope (GBT)Green Bank, West Virginia, 82 km (51 mi), open to the public
• Stokesville ObservatoryStokesville, Virginia, 89 km (55 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Central Appalachian Astronomy ClubGrafton, West Virginia, 53 km (33 mi)
• WVU Astronomy ClubMorgantown, West Virginia, 72 km (45 mi)
• Cumberland Astronomy ClubGrantsville, Maryland, 77 km (48 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Shenandoah Astronomical SocietyWinchester, Virginia, 106 km (66 mi). Meets Monthly, 4th Monday
• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 146 km (91 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 7-9 pm

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

Blackwater Falls record

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