Tonopah Star Trails - Tonopah, Nevada

Home

How Dark Is It?

SEE 7,000 STARS IN TONOPAH'S SKIES.

Experienced observers with good eyes can see stars as faint as visual magnitude +7.0 at an extraordinarily dark site. About 14,000 stars are brighter than magnitude +7.0. Since observers can see about half the sky, they see about 7,000 stars. Observers in Tonopah can see stars of magnitude +6.5 or +7.0.

Compare this to other areas. Because of light pollution, city dwellers usually can see only 25 to 50 stars. The Milky Way is not visible. Where light pollution shows only stars of magnitude +5.0 or brighter, about 800 stars are visible; the Milky Way is barely visible, if at all.

Outside of large cities, light pollution is still a serious problem. The Milky Way is never seen when fewer than 250 stars are visible. These are magnitude +4.0 and brighter.

Travel the star trails around Tonopah after the moon sets. Let your eyes adjust for 20 minutes. Look up and see what we have to offer.

How Dark Is It?

TONOPAH IS SURROUNDED BY SOME OF THE DARKEST SKIES IN THE WORLD!

While dark skies around the world are increasingly scarce, Tonopah has some of the darkest skies in the world. Observing the night sky has become increasingly difficult over the past several decades. Many of our younger generation have not witnessed the beauty of the Milky Way. Tonopah is in a position to take advantage of this scarce resource. Sky glow from Las Vegas is visible from Beatty. Reno's sky glow is visible as far as Hawthorne. Between the two is one of the darkest areas in the United States.

People travel long distances to see stars that are invisible from urban areas. Photographs from satellites show that most of the United States is too bright for star viewing. Surprisingly, many parts of the world are even brighter than the U.S.World Light Pollution Map - National Light Pollution Map

Observatories that were once in remote, dark areas now campaign to reduce development. Light from growing communities makes observatory work difficult. Obviously, most people live where there are many lights. If they want to see stars, they have to come to a place like Tonopah.

People around the world are searching for dark skies. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) organizes groups around the world to stop light pollution of the sky. Find out more about this effort at their web site www.darksky.org.

Observers travel to premier sky-viewing areas whenever viewing conditions are good and especially when unusual sky events occur. Sky parties are one way people can enjoy dark skies. Many families like to just get out of the city and take the family to see the Milky Way. It is very bright from Tonopah on clear moonless nights. How many stars can you see with the
unaided eye? This depends on the experience of the observer, how dilated the eyes are, the amount of sky light from electric lights and the moon, and the clarity of the sky.