Polaris Andromeda Aries Auriga Cassiopeia Cepheus Cetus Cygnus Draco Eridanus Gemini Lepus Lyra Orion Pegasus Perseus Taurus Ursa Major Ursa Minor N E S W
The whole sky from George Washington and Jefferson 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 · West Virginia

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest is a national forest in West Virginia. Its sky rates Bortle Class 3, rural sky, with a zenith sky brightness of 21.81 mag/arcsec².

George Washington and Jefferson in brief

Bortle class
3
Sky brightness
21.81 mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit
magnitude 6.6-7.0
Latitude
39.0°N
Elevation
617 m (2,020 ft)
Managed by
USDA Forest Service
Nearest lodging
Moorefield, WV

Official site

How dark the sky is at George Washington and Jefferson: Bortle Class 3, rural sky

The zenith sky here reads 21.81 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.

Milky Way

The Milky Way still looks complex overhead, with some light pollution near the horizon

Zodiacal light

Zodiacal light is striking after dusk or before dawn but does not reach far up the sky

Faintest naked-eye stars

Magnitude 6.6 to 7.0 overhead

Naked eye

M33 needs averted vision; globulars M4, M5, M15 and M22 are naked-eye objects

At the eyepiece

Bright galaxies and nebulae show well; the faintest objects lose contrast low in the sky

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; see every Bortle Class 3 place.

What's up from George Washington and Jefferson 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.

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 west, 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 MajorOverhead, 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 east, 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, Lacerta, Scutum, Vulpecula.

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

  • LyraIn the west, brightest star Vega
  • CygnusHigh in the west, brightest star Deneb
  • PerseusIn the northeast, brightest star Mirfak
  • AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
  • AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
  • DracoIn the northwest, brightest star Eltanin
  • CassiopeiaHigh in the north, brightest star Schedar
  • PegasusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Enif

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

Showpieces from George Washington and Jefferson through the year

SightConstellationJanuaryAprilJulyOctober
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)AndromedaIn the northwest--Overhead
Orion Nebula (M42)OrionIn the south---
Pleiades (M45)TaurusHigh in the southwest--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 George Washington and Jefferson

Only skim the southern horizon from George Washington and Jefferson

Never rise from George Washington and Jefferson

Where to set up at George Washington and Jefferson

The coordinates on this page point to Trout Pond Campground, at 617 m (2,020 ft): 38.952°N, 78.733°W.

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

George Washington and Jefferson among the dark sky places of West Virginia

Green Ridge State Forest, Bortle 4 Shenandoah National Park, Bortle 3 Wolf Den Run State Park, Bortle 3 Burr Oak State Park, Bortle 4 Jackson Lake State Park, Bortle 4 Jesse Owens State Park, Bortle 3 Lake Hope State Park, Bortle 3 Wayne National Forest, Bortle 4 Laurel Hill State Park, Bortle 4 Trough Creek State Park, Bortle 4 Douthat State Park, Bortle 3 Highland County, Bortle 3 Holliday Lake State Park, Bortle 3 James River State Park, Bortle 3 Natural Bridge State Park, Bortle 4 Rappahannock County Park, Bortle 4 Shenandoah National Park, Bortle 3 Sky Meadows State Park, Bortle 4 Beartown State Park, Bortle 2 Blackwater Falls State Park, Bortle 3 Calhoun County Park, Bortle 3 Calvin Price State Forest, Bortle 2 Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, Bortle 2 Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park, Bortle 2 Green Bank Observatory, Bortle 3 Holly River State Park, Bortle 2 Kumbrabow State Forest, Bortle 2 New River Gorge National Park, Bortle 4 Seneca State Forest, Bortle 2 Spruce Knob, Bortle 2 Watoga State Park, Bortle 2 George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Bortle 3 George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Bortle 3 Monongahela National Forest, Bortle 3 Fry Family Park County Park, Bortle 5 Almost Heaven Star Party (star party) Green Bank Star Quest (star party) Shenandoah Night Sky Festival (star party) George Washington and Jefferson West Virginia George Washington and Jefferson West Virginia
Bortle 1 Bortle 2 Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5 or brighter Class not yet rated Star party

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 George Washington and Jefferson

The nearest town with motels or inns is Moorefield, 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 George Washington and Jefferson

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Monongahela National ForestWest Virginia351 km (32 mi)
Shenandoah National ParkVirginia354 km (34 mi)
Shenandoah National ParkVirginia354 km (34 mi)
Rappahannock County ParkVirginia457 km (35 mi)
Sky Meadows State ParkVirginia467 km (42 mi)
Blackwater Falls State ParkWest Virginia368 km (42 mi)
Wolf Den Run State ParkMaryland368 km (43 mi)
George Washington and Jefferson National ForestVirginia370 km (44 mi)

Star parties near George Washington and Jefferson

Star partyNearDistanceUsual timing
Shenandoah Night Sky FestivalLuray, Virginia55 km (34 mi)Late summer
Almost Heaven Star PartyRiverton, West Virginia75 km (46 mi)New-moon weekend in August
Green Bank Star QuestGreen Bank, West Virginia111 km (69 mi)Summer
Black Forest Star PartyCoudersport, Pennsylvania311 km (193 mi)September

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 George Washington and Jefferson

Observatories within 100 km

Nearest astronomy clubs

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

George Washington and Jefferson record

Every value in the dark sky places dataset for George Washington and Jefferson
Park771
NameGeorge Washington and Jefferson
TypeLongNational Forest
Type1NF
Bortle3
StatelongWest Virginia
StateWV
Webhttps://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/gwj
Lat38.95205
Lon-78.73252
LatLonSpotTrout Pond Campground
Elevation_m617
LandManagerUSDA Forest Service
StatusOpen
LodgingMoorefield, WV
Sourceshttps://www.topoquest.com/place-detail.php?id=1553628; https://fs.usda.gov/r08/gwj/recreation/trout-pond-recreation-area
SQM21.81

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