Polaris Andromeda Aries Auriga Cassiopeia Cepheus Cetus Cygnus Draco Eridanus Gemini Lepus Lyra Orion Pegasus Perseus Piscis Austrinus Taurus Ursa Major Ursa Minor N E S W
The whole sky from Cherokee at about 10 pm local time in mid-November (11 pm on daylight saving time). Overhead is the center, north is at the top and east at the left, as seen lying on your back. The pale band is the Milky Way; the dashed line is the celestial equator. Select a constellation name for its page.

Dark sky place · Tennessee

Cherokee National Forest

Cherokee National Forest is a national forest in Tennessee. Its sky rates Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition, with a zenith sky brightness of 21.27 mag/arcsec².

Cherokee in brief

Bortle class
4
Sky brightness
21.27 mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit
magnitude 6.1-6.5
Latitude
36.5°N
Elevation
600 m (1,970 ft)
Managed by
USDA Forest Service
Nearest lodging
Elizabethton, TN

Official site

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.27 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 2.0 times the brightness of a pristine natural sky (22.0), the extra coming from artificial light scattered in the air.

Milky Way

The Milky Way is impressive well above the horizon but loses its fine detail

Zodiacal light

Zodiacal light is visible but faint

Faintest naked-eye stars

Magnitude 6.1 to 6.5 overhead

Naked eye

Light domes from towns show in several directions; M33 is hard even with averted vision

At the eyepiece

Clusters, planetary nebulae and bright galaxies are fine; faint nebulae need a filter

1 mag 8.0 21.99+ 2 mag 7.5 21.89+ 3 mag 7.0 21.69+ 4 mag 6.5 20.49+ 5 mag 6.0 19.50+ 6 mag 5.5 18.94+ 7 mag 5.0 18.38+ 8 mag 4.5 18.00+ 9 mag 4.0
The Bortle scale. Each panel shows the class number, the faintest star the naked eye reaches at the zenith, and the darkest-edge sky brightness reading of that class in mag/arcsec².

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 Cherokee by season

At latitude 36.5°N, the north celestial pole stands 36° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -54° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 25° 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.

January evenings (winter): Auriga, Orion, and Canis Minor

  • AurigaOverhead, brightest star Capella
  • OrionHigh in the south, brightest star Rigel
  • Canis MinorIn the southeast, brightest star Procyon
  • TaurusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Aldebaran
  • GeminiHigh in the southeast, brightest star Pollux
  • Ursa MajorIn the northeast, brightest star Alioth
  • PerseusHigh in the northwest, brightest star Mirfak
  • AriesIn the west, brightest star Hamal

Also well placed: Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Lynx, Cancer, Monoceros, Camelopardalis.

April evenings (spring): Bootes, Virgo, and Leo

  • BootesHigh in the east, brightest star Arcturus
  • VirgoIn the southeast, brightest star Spica
  • LeoHigh in the southwest, brightest star Regulus
  • Ursa MajorHigh in the northwest, brightest star Alioth
  • Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
  • Corona BorealisIn the east, brightest star Alphecca
  • Canes VenaticiOverhead, brightest star Cor Caroli
  • LynxIn the northwest, brightest star Alpha Lyncis

Also well placed: Cancer, Crater, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis, Coma Berenices, Sextans.

July evenings (summer): Bootes, Lyra, and Aquila

  • BootesHigh in the west, brightest star Arcturus
  • LyraOverhead, brightest star Vega
  • AquilaIn the southeast, brightest star Altair
  • CygnusHigh in the northeast, brightest star Deneb
  • Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
  • OphiuchusIn the south, brightest star Rasalhague
  • Corona BorealisHigh in the west, brightest star Alphecca
  • DracoHigh in the north, brightest star Eltanin

Also well placed: Cepheus, Serpens, Hercules, Canes Venatici, Sagitta, Delphinus, Scutum, Vulpecula.

October evenings (fall): Cygnus, Perseus, and Aries

  • CygnusHigh in the northwest, brightest star Deneb
  • PerseusIn the northeast, brightest star Mirfak
  • AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
  • CetusIn the southeast, brightest star Diphda
  • AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
  • CassiopeiaHigh in the north, brightest star Schedar
  • PegasusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Enif
  • CepheusHigh in the north, brightest star Alderamin

Also well placed: Aquarius, Triangulum, Sagitta, Pisces, Delphinus, Lacerta, Equuleus, Vulpecula.

Showpieces from Cherokee through the year

SightConstellationJanuaryAprilJulyOctober
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)AndromedaIn the northwest--Overhead
Orion Nebula (M42)OrionIn the south---
Pleiades (M45)TaurusHigh in the west--In the east
Double ClusterPerseusHigh in the northwest--High in the northeast
Hercules Cluster (M13)Hercules-In the northeastOverhead-
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)Canes Venatici-High in the northeastIn the northwest-
Ring Nebula (M57)Lyra--OverheadIn the west
Lagoon Nebula (M8)Sagittarius--In the south-

At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.

Never set from Cherokee

Only skim the southern horizon from Cherokee

Never rise from Cherokee

Where to set up at Cherokee

The coordinates on this page point to North Zone forest point (Wikipedia infobox point), at 600 m (1,970 ft): 36.483°N, 82.083°W.

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

Cherokee among the dark sky places of Tennessee

Monte Sano State Park, Bortle 5 Brasstown Bald Recreation Area, Bortle 4 Cohutta Wilderness, Bortle 4 Cooper Creek, Bortle 4 Fort Mountain State Park, Bortle 4 Moccasin Creek State Park, Bortle 4 Popcorn Overlook, Bortle 3 Shawnee National Forest, Bortle 3 Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park, Bortle 3 Mammoth Cave National Park, Bortle 4 Tishomingo State Park, Bortle 4 Sam Baker State Park, Bortle 2 Graveyard Fields, Bortle 4 Hominy Valley County Park, Bortle 4 Linville Gorge Wilderness, Bortle 4 Mayland Earth to Sky Dark Sky Park, Bortle 4 Nantahala National Forest, Bortle 3 Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute Observatory, Bortle 4 Jones Gap State Park, Bortle 4 Big Hill Pond State Park, Bortle 3 Bledsoe Creek State Park, Bortle 4 Fall Creek Falls State Park, Bortle 3 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bortle 4 Harrison Bay State Park, Bortle 5 Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, Bortle 4 Mousetail Landing State Park, Bortle 4 Obed Wild & Scenic River National Wild and Scenic River, Bortle 4 Pickett CCC Memorial State Park, Bortle 3 Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park, Bortle 3 Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Bortle 4 Cherokee National Forest, Bortle 4 Holly Springs National Forest, Bortle 4 Tombigbee National Forest, Bortle 3 William B. Bankhead National Forest, Bortle 3 Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Bortle 3 Kentenia State Forest, Bortle 4 Kentucky Ridge State Forest, Bortle 4 Pennyrile State Forest, Bortle 4 Trail of Tears State Forest, Bortle 4 Cherokee Tennessee Cherokee Tennessee
Bortle 1 Bortle 2 Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5 or brighter Class not yet rated

Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. See Tennessee dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.

Camping and lodging at Cherokee

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

Off-highway vehicles

Trails and camping are open to ATVs and other off-highway vehicles, with a permit.

Dark sky places nearest Cherokee

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Cherokee National ForestTennessee40 km (0 mi)
Grayson Highlands State ParkVirginia353 km (33 mi)
Mayland Earth to Sky Dark Sky ParkNorth Carolina462 km (39 mi)
Linville Gorge WildernessNorth Carolina466 km (41 mi)
New River State ParkNorth Carolina366 km (41 mi)
Kentenia State ForestKentucky4113 km (70 mi)
Hominy Valley County ParkNorth Carolina4118 km (74 mi)
Graveyard FieldsNorth Carolina4146 km (91 mi)

Star parties near Cherokee

Star partyNearDistanceUsual timing
Green Bank Star QuestGreen Bank, West Virginia295 km (183 mi)Summer
Almost Heaven Star PartyRiverton, West Virginia334 km (207 mi)New-moon weekend in August
Shenandoah Night Sky FestivalLuray, Virginia394 km (245 mi)Late summer
Cherry Springs Star PartyCoudersport, Pennsylvania683 km (425 mi)June, near new moon

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Tennessee 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 Cherokee

Observatories within 100 km

Nearest astronomy clubs

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

Cherokee record

Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Cherokee
Park748
NameCherokee
TypeLongNational Forest
Type1NF
Bortle4
StatelongTennessee
StateTN
Webhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/cherokee/
ATVy
Lat36.48300
Lon-82.08300
LatLonSpotNorth Zone forest point (Wikipedia infobox point)
Elevation_m600
LandManagerUSDA Forest Service
StatusOpen
LodgingElizabethton, TN
Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_National_Forest
SQM21.27

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