ENP 28: Look Up! National Parks After Dark

“Half the Park is After Dark.” Think your park day is over once the sun sets? Think again! Tyler Nordgren, PhD (https://www.tylernordgren.com/), joins Bryan for an illuminating look at the Night Skies (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nightskies/index.htm) program. As a Night Sky ambassador, Dr. Nordgren supports The National Park Service’s (https://www.nps.gov/) efforts to ensure that the celestial landscape remains visible to future generations. And speaking of young park-goers, stick around after the Carl Sagan story and travel tips as Everybody’s National Parks special junior ranger correspondents ask a few hard-hitting astronomical questions of their own.

Discussion Includes the Following:

[00:54] - Introduction: Night Skies program, Big Bend National Park (https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm)

[01:17] - Dr. Tyler Nordgren: Cornell University and Carl Sagan (http://carlsagan.com/)

[02:46] - International Dark Sky Association and Dark Skies sites, the Milky Way, Natural Bridges National Monument (https://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm)

[03:51] - Ancient skies, ancient stories: Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, John Muir (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx)

[06:02] - Evening Ranger programs: Around the galaxy, through the seasons

[08:41] - Astronomical math

[10:22] - The Drake equation (https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1350/are-we-alone-in-the-universe-revisiting-the-drake-equation/)

[11:06] - Teaching insignificance via a grapefruit and sundae sprinkles; Big Bend National Park, Kuiper Belt; Alpha Centauri (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/alpha-centauri-a-triple-star-system-about-4-light-years-from-earth.html)

[14:29] - Native American oral traditions and the story of Ursa Majoris; Corona Borealis (https://www.universetoday.com/20510/corona-borealis-constellation/)

[17:18] - Dr. Nordgren’s seasonal tips for travelers: Grand Canyon National Park, Acadia National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park (https://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm)

[20:41] - Eclipse events: Mapping out the five years; Crater Lake National Park, Great Basin National Park,