Keystone Ancient Forest Star Night Friday, Sept 18 6:45pm

Keystone Ancient Forest Astronomy Night

Friday, Sept 18th starting at 6:45 PM   

   See Location and directions below

Come join us for an evening under the stars at Keystone Ancient Forest to view cool objects in the night sky!   Keystone Ancient Forest is located NW of Sand Springs in a 1,380 acre nature preserve featuring old growth cross timber forest.   We have permission to set up our telescopes after the park’s regular hours in the parking area near the park entrance.  Parking is limited so please carpool as much as possible.  We will be leaving the park by 10 PM so come earlier to have time to enjoy the stars.  

You must leave the park when we lock the gates. Hiking in the park trails after hours is not permitted.  

Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather this time of year.  You may also want to bring along a lawn chair and snacks if you plan to stay an extended period of time.  

This time of year the summer constellations are beginning to sink further towards the western horizon, and Ursa Major's asterism "The Big Dipper" will be low in the NW, possibly below the trees. The first quarter moon will also be low in the SW with its sharply defined shadows along the crater rims.  Saturn will be rising in the east and its rings are always an enjoyable sight to see. This year Saturn's rings are beginning to tilt high enough to get a nice view. Last year they were almost edge on and very thin. The planet Neptune will be nearby Saturn and a little bit higher in the sky. Its light blue color can be seen in the larger telescopes. Mars and Jupiter will remain below the horizon and not visible on this night.

The bright stars of the summer triangle along with many star clusters and nebula are still visible high in the sky. The Milky Way should also be visible in the SW.  In the east we see the Autumn constellations.  A favorite sight is the magnificent Andromeda galaxy. Its just a fuzzy spot in the telescope eye pieces but some of the small Seestars should be able to produce some nice images for comparison to what you saw in the big telescopes. 

Location      Keystone Ancient Forest:

160 Ancient Forest Dr.
Sand Springs, OK 74063 

Map 

Take Highway US-412 W/US-64 W from Sand Springs about 5 to 6 miles

Look for Exit sign 209th W Ave  - also known as New Prue Road. There is a tall Conoco station sign at the top of the overpass road.

TURN RIGHT at the exit and follow the road for 2.1 miles, Look for a tall Cell Phone tower on the right, the Park entrance is on the LEFT opposite the tower. The Park Sign is a small green sign on a post. 

Drive SLOWLY into the parking area and watch out for people in the dark.