Hoosier National Forest

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

The zenith sky here reads 21.37 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.8 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.

What's up from Hoosier 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.

Showpieces from Hoosier 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 Hoosier

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

Only skim the southern horizon from Hoosier

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

Never rise from Hoosier

• 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 Hoosier

The coordinates on this page point to Hardin Ridge Recreation Area, at 240 m (790 ft): 39.010°N, 86.429°W.

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

Hoosier among the dark sky places of Indiana

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

Camping and lodging at Hoosier

The nearest town with motels or inns is Bloomington, IN. 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 Hoosier

Star parties near Hoosier

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Indiana 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 Hoosier

Observatories within 100 km

• Kirkwood ObservatoryBloomington, Indiana, 16 km (10 mi), open to the public
• Morgan-Monroe ObservatoryMartinsville, Indiana, 52 km (32 mi), research observatory
• Goethe Link ObservatoryMartinsville, Indiana, 52 km (32 mi), open to the public
• McKim ObservatoryGreencastle, Indiana, 81 km (50 mi), open to the public
• Holcomb Observatory and PlanetariumIndianapolis, Indiana, 94 km (58 mi), open to the public
• Oakley ObservatoryTerre Haute, Indiana, 94 km (59 mi), open to the public

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Indiana Astronomical SocietyMooresville, Indiana, 65 km (40 mi). Meets Saturday nights at Goethe Link Observatory or Mooresville Public Library
• Rose-Hulman Astronomical SocietyTerre Haute, Indiana, 94 km (59 mi)
• Louisville Astronomical SocietyLouisville, Kentucky, 107 km (66 mi). Meets General meetings Friday, 8 pm
• Evansville Astronomical SocietyLynnville, Indiana, 118 km (73 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly (except Jun)
• Cincinnati Astronomical SocietyCleves, Ohio, 148 km (92 mi)

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

Hoosier record

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