Paul Grist State Park

How dark the sky is at Paul Grist: Bortle Class 3, rural sky

The zenith sky here reads 21.70 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 1.3 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; see every Bortle Class 3 place.

What's up from Paul Grist by season

At latitude 32.6°N, the north celestial pole stands 33° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -57° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 28° 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 Paul Grist 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 Paul Grist

• Camelopardalis
• Cassiopeia
• Cepheus
• Draco
• Ursa Minor

Only skim the southern horizon from Paul Grist

• Ara
• Horologium
• Norma
• Pictor
• Telescopium

Never rise from Paul Grist

• Apus
• Carina
• Chamaeleon
• Circinus
• Crux
• Dorado
• Hydrus
• Indus
• Mensa
• Musca
• Octans
• Pavo
• Reticulum
• Triangulum Australe
• Tucana
• Volans

Where to set up at Paul Grist

The coordinates on this page point to Paul M. Grist State Park, at 79 m (260 ft): 32.601°N, 86.989°W.

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

Paul Grist among the dark sky places of Alabama

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

Camping and lodging at Paul Grist

The nearest town with motels or inns is Selma, AL. 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 Paul Grist

Star parties near Paul Grist

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Alabama 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 Paul Grist

Observatories within 100 km

• James Wylie Shepherd ObservatoryMontevallo, Alabama, 59 km (37 mi), open to the public
• University of Alabama ObservatoryTuscaloosa, Alabama, 85 km (53 mi), open to the public

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Univ of Montevallo Astronomy ClubMontevallo, Alabama, 59 km (37 mi)
• Mississippi State University Astronomy ClubMississippi State, Mississippi, 193 km (120 mi)

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

Paul Grist record

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