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Texas Sites: |
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Town: Albany
Observing Site: Fort Griffin State Historic
Site
Address: 1701 North US Highway 283, Albany, TX 76430
Telephone number: (325) 762-3592
URL: http://www.visitfortgriffin.com
or www.facebook.com/visitfortgriffin
Restrictions: A park use permit is required, and is available at the park.
Entrance fee: $4 per adult, $3 per student (6-18),
and 5 and under are free. Nightly
camping fees are $22 for full hook-up, $15 for water/electric, $12 for water
only, and $27 for a shelter. Note that you need to make an
advanced reservation if you want to camp or use a trailer. Call the park
headquarters at the number above for more information.
Directions: Albany is located about 30 miles northeast of Abilene, and about 140 miles west of Dallas-Forth Worth. Fort Griffin Park is another 15 miles north of Albany, on HW 283. The park's web site has directions and a map. Click here to create a map using Google Maps.
Current weather:
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How are the sky conditions?
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 6.7 |
| East: | 6.3 |
| West: | 6.7 |
| North: | 6.7 |
| South: | 6.3 |
Best horizon: West to North
Worst horizon: South East to South West
Comments from contributor: Members of the Dallas and Fort Worth clubs have been using this site since the late 70s. Starting off in contention with the State Park administrator, we are now not only encouraged, but the parks department has constructed an observing area without lights, away from the camping area, with power and parking! The skies are excellent, and often very dry. Situated on the edge of the
'Caprock' it can be windy at times, but usually calm by nightfall. Spring days can be stormy. Although Abilene is some 60 miles S-SW from the site, the skydome has little impact except on humid nights (<15 Degrees). To the East some 40 miles a retirement area surrounding a lake has started to grow and produce a similar light dome. Since the site is quite a bit higher than either Abilene or the lake area there is little protection from these sources. The West, North and overhead are impressive with exceptional sky quality on many nights. Users come from as far away as Houston to use this site. Often there will be 20 or more astronomers on a good night in the summer, winter use drops off even though the skies are clearer. The site is used by the Fort Worth Sidewalk Astronomers on a monthly basis for star parties and they do generate quite a bit of traffic. However, that is done in the camping area and only spill over traffic happens in the observing area.
Errors in this listing? Click here to submit corrections.
Town:
Big Bend National Park
Observing Site: Big Bend National
Park--Persimmon Gap Picnic Area
Address: Main Park Rd (extension of State Route 385), Big Bend, TX 79834
Telephone number: (432) 477-2251
URL: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/pgapvc.htm
and http://www.big.bend.national-park.com
Restrictions: A National Parks Pass is required to enter the park; it costs $15/week.
Directions: From Marathon, Texas, go south on US-385 for 41 miles until you get to the north entrance of Big Bend National Park. At the entrance is the Persimmon Gap Visitors Center. Go 1/4-mile south and turn right. Continue 1/4-mile to the picnic area and turn right. Click here to create a map using Google Maps. Click here for a National Parks Service map.
Current weather:
Click here for current
weather information from Big Bend Park headquarters
How are the sky conditions?
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 7 |
| East: | 7 |
| West: | 7 |
| North: | 7 |
| South: | 7 |
Best horizon: The southern horizon is an astronomer's dream; it is essentially a true horizon. At a latitude of 29.7N, the horizon is low enough to make out 3 stars in the Southern Cross.
Worst horizon: There is a mountain that
takes up about 10 degrees of the north.
Comments from contributor: This site is an unbelievably dark
shrine to the heavens. Zodiacal light in March lasts 3 hours after
twilight ends. Even the Winter Milky Way is overwhelming. Pleiades
nebulosity and the California Nebula show up easily in binoculars. M13 and
M92 are direct-vision objects, and the desert air means much less extinction
than would be expected near the horizons. Omega Centauri is a visual
overload and is easily resolvable if more than a few degrees above the horizon
(it transits at 13 deg.) The sky simply has zero light pollution. A seasoned
observer could easily get down to 8th-magnitude with the naked-eye. The site
itself has a gravel parking lot with pit toilets and two picnic tables with
pavilions. This makes for evening cookouts and a handy table to place your
stuff.
Errors in this listing? Click here to submit corrections.
Town: Fort Davis (sort of...)
Observing site: Davis Mountains State Park
Address: P.O. Box 1707, Fort Davis TX 79734
Contact person: Park ranger
Phone: (432) 426-3337. The Texas State Parks Department can be reached at (800) 792-1112.
URL: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/davis_mountains/
Restrictions: A small extra fee is required by Park Officials, in addition to the regular nominal entrance fee.
Directions: To get to Fort Davis State Park, head south and east down Highway 118 off Interstate 10 East from El Paso. Continue past McDonald Observatory, and a couple of miles past the Prude Ranch. If you find yourself in the town of Fort Davis, back up and try again as you've gone a few miles too far. Click here to create a map using Google Maps.
Current weather:
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How are the sky conditions? Clear, dark, seeing and transparency both seemed great to me as a beginner.
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 7 |
| East: | 6+ |
| West: | 6+ |
| North: | 6+ |
| South: | 6+ |
Best horizon: Can see down to - 60 declination or better to the south. Wow.
Worst horizon: As a beginner who was concentrating mostly on the south that evening, I'm afraid to guess. However we were on top of one of the tallest mountains in the region and could see at least 20 miles in most directions.
Comments from contributor: Note also that Fort Davis is home to the annual Texas Star Party.
Errors
in this listing? Click here
to submit corrections.
Town: Hubbard
Observing site:
Hubbard City Lakes
Address: Highway 31, Hubbard, TX 76648
Contact person: Michael Green
Phone: (254) 576-2838
URL: http://www.centexastronomy.org
Restrictions: Fees: RV sites: $15.00; primitive camping (tent): $10.00 overnight. To register for camping, contact the City of Hubbard at (254) 576-2576. Contact Michael Green for further information and updates.
Directions: From Waco, take I-35 north to Highway 84 east (exit 338A). Continue east for 6 miles until the highway divides into Highway 84 and Highway 31. Stay left on Highway 31 for about 18 miles until you see a picnic/rest area on the right. From Dallas/Ft Worth, take I-35 south to Corsicana Hwy (Highway 22/171, exit 368A). Head east for 1 mile, then stay to the right on Highway 171. Continue for 20 miles to Highway 31 in Hubbard. Turn right for 2.4 miles to Hubbard City Lakes. Lake One is on the south side of the highway, while Lakes Two through Five are on the north. There are 5 RV hookups at Lake Three. Primitive camping everywhere! Click here to create a map using Google Maps.
Current weather:
How are the sky conditions? The conditions in Winter can be spectacular with cold fronts clearing out the sky! The contributor says that he has seen M33, the Triangulum Spiral, with no difficulty. During the Spring, Summer, and Fall, the air gets humid and can cause small light domes to appear in the north, east, and west. After thunderstorms roll through, the sky can reach great transparency like that of cold fronts in Winter!
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 6.5 |
| East: | 6.5 |
| West: | 6.5 |
| North: | 6.5 |
| South: | 6.5 |
Best horizon: South -- no cut-off.
Worst horizon: North -- 25 deg maximum cut-off.
Comments from contributor: For those who live in Dallas/Ft. Worth or Austin, this is a great site to travel to without being hours and hours away! The light dome from Waco in the WEST reaches about a maximum 10 degrees during humid months. DFW light dome shows to below Polaris in the North. Due east, the dome reaches to no more than 10 degrees in humidity. The South view is pristine! I did a public star party at the HUBBARD CITY LAKES (LAKE NUMBER 4) to view COMET LINEAR after the turn of the century and saw it at 6.2 magnitude with the naked eye! There are so many observing spots to choose from. Most are primitive camping areas. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU CHOOSE TO VISIT THIS SITE! I WILL BE GLAD TO GIVE YOU A FREE TOUR! Michael Green-founder of CENTRAL TEXAS ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY-WACO, TEXAS (http://www.centexastronomy.org)
Errors
in this listing? Click here
to submit corrections.
Town: Quanah
Observing Site: Copper Breaks State Park
Address: 777 Park Road 62 Quanah, TX 79252-7679
Contact person: Park rangers
Phone: (940) 839-4331.
The Texas State Parks Department can be
reached at (800) 792-1112.
URL: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/copper_breaks/
Restrictions: State Park entry fee of $2.00 per person, or free with a Texas State Park pass ($50/yr). Camping fees vary
Directions: The Park is located 12 miles south of Quanah or 9 miles north of Crowell, in Hardeman County off State Highway 6.
Click here
to create a map using Google Maps.
Current weather:
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How are the sky conditions:
Excellent, with Milky Way very dense and visible to naked eye. Slight skyglow to the East and Southeast from the towns of Vernon and more distant (60 miles)
Wichita Falls, which extends upward about 15 degrees. This is not a factor from the sites at the upper end of the park where brush and hillside obscure it. All other horizons are good. It is quite dry (I have never used my dew shield), usually with excellent clarity, although it can be gusty Winter through Spring, with extreme heat in the Summer.
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 6.7 |
| East: | 6.5 |
| West: | 6.2 |
| North: | 6.5 |
| South: | 6.3 |
Best horizon: North and West
Worst Horizon: Southeast, 15 degrees
Comments from contributor: The husband & wife team of Park Rangers are both astronomers, and the Fort Worth Astronomical Society and the Dallas Texas Astronomical Society (TAS) both sponsor monthly "Skywalk" star parties Spring through Fall. The park now has several instruments for use on site, including Obsession truss mounts, some giant binoculars and solar observing instruments. See the park calendar on the park's
web site for dates. A new observing area is being planned at the upper end of the park, where the seeing is best. The star parties are usually well attended, and experienced observers are encouraged to help maneuver the large scopes for participants, who usually trail off by 10:30 to 11:00, when the serious observing begins. Many weekends I have been a lone, undisturbed observer under these beautiful skies.
Errors
in this listing? Click here
to submit corrections.
Town:
Quitaque
Observing site: Caprock Canyons State Park
Address: P.O. Box 204, Quitaque TX 79255
Contact person: Park personnel
Telephone number: Park - (806) 455-1492. The Texas State Parks Department can be reached at (800) 792-1112.
URL: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/caprock_canyons
and
http://members.tripod.com/r_effect/mtnbikingtexas
(contributor's site)
Restrictions: Park entrance fee, nightly camp site fee. Texas Parks and Wildlife Passport owners get into all state parks free, and receive a discount on camp sites. Annual Passport fee is $50.
Directions: The park is 3.5 miles north
of State Highway 86 in Quitaque on FM 1065. First, go to Amarillo,
TX (from Dallas/Ft. Worth, take 287; from El
Paso, take I-27; from Oklahoma, take I-44; from New Mexico take I-40).
From Amarillo, take I-27 south to highway 86. Go east on 86 until you reach
FM 1065. Go north on 1065. There are signs for Quitaque, as well as state
park signs for Caprock Canyons State Park. Dallas/Ft. Worth folk do not
have to go all the way to Amarillo: take the highway 86 south exit from
highway 287. Click here
to create a map using Google Maps.
Current weather:
How are the sky conditions? Fantastic. The Milky Way is extremely visible without aid. Scanning the sky with my scope provided me with the best view I've encountered to date in Texas. The park is 50 miles to the southeast of Amarillo, the nearest city. The nearest town, Quitaque, is 5 miles away, but any lights (town doesn't even have a stop light) are blocked out by the canyon walls.
| Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night: | |
| At the zenith: | 6 |
| East: | 5 |
| West: | 6 |
| North: | 5 |
| South: | 5 |
Best horizon (direction and approximate altitude cut-off): West 10 degrees
Worst horizon (direction and approximate altitude cut-off): East 29 degrees
Comments: The park is beautiful during
the day and full of wildlife, including deer. There is plenty to do during
the day: hiking, mountain biking, nature photography, bird watching, and
horseback riding. At night, the Milky Way is so bright that it reflects
off of the red canyon walls. After the coyotes go silent, the stillness
is calming. The facilities are nice, and the best camp sites are those
along the canyon ridge. See my Mountain Biking Texas web site for photos.
Quitaque does not have an ATM machine.
Errors in this listing? Click here to submit corrections.