Kumbrabow State Forest

How dark the sky is at Kumbrabow: Bortle Class 2, typical truly dark site

The zenith sky here reads 21.92 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is as dark as a natural sky gets: almost all the glow comes from airglow and starlight, not lamps.

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 2 place.

What's up from Kumbrabow by season

At latitude 38.6°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 Kumbrabow 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 Kumbrabow

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Kumbrabow

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

Never rise from Kumbrabow

• 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 Kumbrabow

The coordinates on this page point to Kumbrabow park area, at 1,069 m (3,510 ft): 38.639°N, 80.098°W.

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

Kumbrabow 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 Kumbrabow

The nearest town with motels or inns is Elkins, 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 Kumbrabow

Star parties near Kumbrabow

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 Kumbrabow

Observatories within 100 km

• Green Bank 140 Foot TelescopeGreen Bank, West Virginia, 32 km (20 mi), research observatory
• Green Bank Telescope (GBT)Green Bank, West Virginia, 36 km (23 mi), open to the public
• Good Hope ObservatoryClarksburg, West Virginia, 66 km (41 mi), open to the public
• Stokesville ObservatoryStokesville, Virginia, 88 km (55 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Central Appalachian Astronomy ClubGrafton, West Virginia, 78 km (49 mi)
• WVU Astronomy ClubMorgantown, West Virginia, 113 km (70 mi)
• Kanawha Valley Astronomical SocietyCross Lanes, West Virginia, 141 km (88 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 6 pm winter or 7 pm summer
• Cumberland Astronomy ClubGrantsville, Maryland, 151 km (94 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 153 km (95 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.

Kumbrabow record

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