Spruce Knob

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.94 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 Spruce Knob by season

At latitude 38.7°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 Spruce Knob 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 Spruce Knob

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Spruce Knob

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

Never rise from Spruce Knob

• 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 Spruce Knob

The coordinates on this page point to Spruce Knob summit observation tower, at 1,482 m (4,860 ft): 38.700°N, 79.533°W.

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

Spruce Knob 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 Spruce Knob

The nearest town with motels or inns is Seneca Rocks, 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 Spruce Knob

Star parties near Spruce Knob

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 Spruce Knob

Observatories within 100 km

• Green Bank 140 Foot TelescopeGreen Bank, West Virginia, 39 km (24 mi), research observatory
• Green Bank Telescope (GBT)Green Bank, West Virginia, 40 km (25 mi), open to the public
• Stokesville ObservatoryStokesville, Virginia, 51 km (32 mi), research observatory
• Good Hope ObservatoryClarksburg, West Virginia, 94 km (59 mi), open to the public

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Central Appalachian Astronomy ClubGrafton, West Virginia, 83 km (52 mi)
• WVU Astronomy ClubMorgantown, West Virginia, 111 km (69 mi)
• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 115 km (71 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 7-9 pm
• Cumberland Astronomy ClubGrantsville, Maryland, 118 km (73 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Shenandoah Astronomical SocietyWinchester, Virginia, 120 km (75 mi). Meets Monthly, 4th Monday

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

Spruce Knob record

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