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 Trail of Tears 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 · Illinois

Trail of Tears State Forest

Trail of Tears State Forest is a state forest in Illinois. Its sky rates Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition, with a zenith sky brightness of 21.53 mag/arcsec².

Trail of Tears in brief

Bortle class
4
Sky brightness
21.53 mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit
magnitude 6.1-6.5
Latitude
37.5°N
Elevation
200 m (660 ft)
Managed by
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Nearest lodging
Anna, IL

Official site

How dark the sky is at Trail of Tears: Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition

The zenith sky here reads 21.53 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.5 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 Trail of Tears by season

At latitude 37.5°N, the north celestial pole stands 38° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -52° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 23° 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, Lacerta, 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
  • 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 Trail of Tears 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 Trail of Tears

Only skim the southern horizon from Trail of Tears

Never rise from Trail of Tears

Where to set up at Trail of Tears

The coordinates on this page point to Forest center, at 200 m (660 ft): 37.515°N, 89.340°W.

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

Trail of Tears among the dark sky places of Illinois

Anderson Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Bortle 3 Apple River Canyon State Park, Bortle 3 Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, Bortle 3 Middle Fork River Forest Preserve (International Dark Sky Park), Bortle 4 Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Bortle 3 Shawnee National Forest, Bortle 3 Siloam Springs State Park, Bortle 3 Weinberg-King State Fish and Wildlife Area, Bortle 3 Eagle Creek Park City park, Bortle 6 Indiana Dunes National Park, Bortle 4 Shades State Park, Bortle 4 Tippecanoe River State Park, Bortle 4 Turkey Run State Park, Bortle 4 Eden Valley County Park, Bortle 4 Lake Darling State Park, Bortle 3 Lake Sugema, Bortle 3 Lake Wapello State Park, Bortle 3 Moore-Gosch Memorial Park, Bortle 3 Palisades-Kepler State Park, Bortle 4 Rock Creek State Park, Bortle 4 Stephens State Forest, Bortle 3 Beckley Creek Park Urban park, Bortle 5 Blackacre State Nature Preserve, Bortle 6 Mammoth Cave National Park, Bortle 4 Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park, Bortle 4 Broemmelsiek Park County Park, Bortle 5 Current River State Park, Bortle 2 Mark Twain National Forest, Bortle 3 Sam Baker State Park, Bortle 2 Clark State Forest, Bortle 4 Ferdinand State Forest, Bortle 4 Hoosier National Forest, Bortle 4 Martin State Forest, Bortle 4 Ravinia State Forest, Bortle 4 Big River State Forest, Bortle 3 Green River State Forest, Bortle 4 Greene-Sullivan State Forest, Bortle 4 Harrison-Crawford State Forest, Bortle 4 Hidden Springs State Forest, Bortle 4 Jackson-Washington State Forest, Bortle 4 Lowden-Miller State Forest, Bortle 4 Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Bortle 4 Mountain Tea State Forest, Bortle 4 Owen-Putnam State Forest, Bortle 4 Pennyrile State Forest, Bortle 4 Pike State Forest, Bortle 4 Rolleigh Peterson State Forest, Bortle 5 Salamonie River State Forest, Bortle 4 Sand Ridge State Forest, Bortle 4 Selmier State Forest, Bortle 4 Yellowwood State Forest, Bortle 4 Deam Lake State Recreation Area, Bortle 4 Starve Hollow State Recreation Area, Bortle 4 Palos Preserves Forest Preserve (Urban Night Sky Place), Bortle 7 Stacy Park City Park, Bortle 7 Beverly Shores Dark Sky Community, Bortle 4 Hawthorn Woods Dark Sky Community, Bortle 6 Homer Glen Dark Sky Community, Bortle 7 Thousand Hills State Park Urban Night Sky Place, Bortle 4 Bootleg Fall Star Party (star party) Bootleg Spring Star Party (star party) Trail of Tears Illinois Trail of Tears Illinois
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 Illinois dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.

Camping and lodging at Trail of Tears

The nearest town with motels or inns is Anna, IL. 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 Trail of Tears

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Shawnee National ForestIllinois384 km (52 mi)
Sam Baker State ParkMissouri2109 km (68 mi)
Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife AreaIllinois3132 km (82 mi)
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation AreaKentucky3142 km (88 mi)
Mark Twain National ForestMissouri3155 km (96 mi)
Pennyrile State ForestKentucky4156 km (97 mi)
Stacy Park City ParkMissouri7158 km (98 mi)
Green River State ForestKentucky4169 km (105 mi)

Star parties near Trail of Tears

Star partyNearDistanceUsual timing
Bootleg Fall Star PartyHarmon, Illinois459 km (285 mi)Autumn new moon
Bootleg Spring Star PartyHarmon, Illinois459 km (285 mi)Spring new moon
Midsouth StargazeFrench Camp, Mississippi469 km (291 mi)Spring

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Illinois 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 Trail of Tears

Nearest astronomy clubs

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

Trail of Tears record

Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Trail of Tears
Park886
NameTrail of Tears
TypeLongState Forest
Type1SF
Bortle4
StatelongIllinois
StateIL
Webhttps://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.trailoftears.html
Lat37.51528
Lon-89.34028
LatLonSpotForest center
Elevation_m200
LandManagerIllinois Department of Natural Resources
StatusOpen
LodgingAnna, IL
Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears_State_Forest
SQM21.53

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