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THE NIGHT SKY PROGRAM AT CHACO

The Observatory at Chaco, with Night Sky Revolving Overhead.

Chaco's Night Sky Initiative

Since 1991, Chaco Culture NHP has offered a strong component of astronomy in its public interpretive programs. Public prorams emphasize the practices of the Chacoan people a thousand years ago, as well as modern approaches to viewing the same night sky they viewed - in a remote environment with clear, dark skies, and free from urban light pollution.

Astronomy also provides a framework for helping to protect park resources. All park lighting has been retrofitted to reduce light pollution and enhance night sky viewing. In 1993, the park designated the night sky as a critical natural resource to be protected, and has worked on efforts to reduce the threat of urban light pollution in the Southwest.

The park established an ongoing relationship with The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TAAS) in 1991. Star parties have been offered twice yearly. In January 1997, TAAS member John Sefick brought his astronomy equipment to Chaco. He was so impressed with the skies above Chaco that he offered to donate a domed observatory and equipment to the park.

Photo of the Night Sky Program during a Lecture.

Photo of the Night Sky Program during a Lecture.

The Chaco Night Sky Program

The park began constructing a permanent observatory at the visitor center in 1997. In May 1998, Superintendent C.T. Wilson, John Sefick, staff, volunteers, and hundreds of visitors participated in the dedication and grand opening of the Chaco Observatory. The observatory has added a new dimension to Chaco's interpretation of astronomy, and now serves many different people:

•	The 14,000-plus visitors per year who attend the astronomy programs, slide shows, and solar observations scheduled several times weekly.
•	Serious amateurs with an interest in using the state-of-the-art Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging systems in order to conduct research.
•	Interested amateurs who want to use the several telescopes available to view the very dark skies of northwestern New Mexico.
•	Interested volunteers who wish to sharpen their teaching skills by presenting to the public basic information regarding our scientific understanding of the universe and star lore from a variety of cultures, and provide hands-on use of a telescope.

In 1999, the National Park Foundation awarded Chaco Culture NHP and TAAS an Honorable Mention in the category of education at its Partnership Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Chaco's active concern about preserving its night sky has had a big impact on the park itself. Because of the extremely high quality of the dark sky visible at the park, groups of amateur astronomers have long been drawn to Chaco during the darkest moon phases of the year for what are traditionally known as "star parties." Often large groups of show up bearing a dizzying array of astronomical equipment with which to fulfill their main obsession in life-peering as long as they can into the darkness of the universe to see everything they can. Astronomical non-profit organizations like The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TASS), Rio Ranch Astronomical Society, and International Dark Sky Association also relish opportunities to indulge their night sky passions and to share their observations with park visitors and each other.

"There is some friendly competition involved. You know who can show the 'coolest stuff' in the sky to the most people, or who can tell the best night sky stories. It is great to come to Chaco and share something I love to do with people who have never had the chance to see something like ... planets in a telescope. They are amazed that they can actually count some of the moons that surround the planet Jupiter. The reward of seeing people's eyes widen is reward and payment enough for me."

- Steve M. Johnson, Amateur Astronomer

John Sefick, at the Largest of the Telescopes in Chaco

Interest in Chaco's dark night sky accelerated and expanded well beyond park boundaries in 1995, when the seeds of what would become Chaco's popular dark sky observatory were sown with the arrival in the Southwest of amateur astronomer John Sefick. In search of dark skies under which he could create a facility where he and others could conduct research into astronomical phenomena such as supernova, comets, and asteroids, Sefick envisioned an observatory that was both a source of research and education in astronomy and a place to interest people in preservation issues relating to the rapidly disappearing night skies. In the course of his search, Sefick hooked up with members of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TASS), who introduced him to Chaco Canyon. After spending several years researching at Chaco, and growing more and more impressed by the interpretive night sky programs the park offered to the public, Sefick knew that he had at last found a home for his observatory. Armed with sufficient resources and an impressive generosity, he approached Chaco Superintendent Charles Wilson with a package he wished to donate to the park that contained several telescopes, a CCD (digital) camera, associated computers, and a modest dome housing a 25-inch reflector telescope. Wilson enthusiastically supported Sefick's efforts, and in short order chose a site near the visitor center, allocated funds for construction, and lined up volunteers, mostly from TASS, who were clamoring to use such a facility. In short order, the observatory was a reality - and in May 1998, it was dedicated at a TASS "star party."

Two volunteers at a telescope, in front of the Chaco Observatory.

Two volunteers at a telescope, in front of the Chaco Observatory.

Ever since that dedication, a cadre of volunteers - generous people dedicated to supporting preservation of Chaco Canyon's night sky resources, and attracted by the Night Sky Program's sense of purpose and opportunities to enhance their amateur astronomical knowledge and skills and forge close connections to their audiences - have hosted park visitors at a Night Sky presentation several times a week. These night sky volunteers come from many countries, backgrounds, and age groups - and include everyone from students seeking to expand their astronomical knowledge or to teach people having diverse levels of understanding to retired people searching for creative outlets.

"... As a volunteer, I have been privileged to help visitors connect themselves to Chaco. People from all over are filled with the raw beauty of the nature they find here. The surroundings hook them into a sense of timelessness; a feeling that they are seeing something uncorrupted by 'progress'. For example, the sandstone mesas, relics of an ancient sea, are striking in the daylight; but in the velvet dark of a Chacoan night, their bold silhouettes frame a sky filled with brilliant stars. It is a sea of ancient starlight, the same sea of stars that would have enthralled the Chacoans of long ago. Visitors are excited as we explain that the night sky here is an official natural resource, and thus protected. The dark they find here is important to them. What they experience here is so deeply moving that it becomes something that they take back home with them. Some may never experience a night sky as dark as they see in Chaco again. Many more say they will return."

- Liz Churchill, Astronomy Volunteer

The success of the Chaco Canyon observatory program is most clearly shown in the visiting public's reactions as they become introduced, perhaps for the first time in their lives, to clear views of the vast universe (always there, but rarely accessible): "Wow!" - "Beautiful!" - "Fantastic!" - "Majorly cool!" "I never knew the night sky could be so bright with stars!" These are only a few of the reactions from visitors of all ages who have never before looked through an amateur telescope - least of all looked up above them to see a truly dark night sky.

Chaco Night Sky Program in progress, crowd reaction.

"The real thrill for most Chaco visitors is sometimes just having constellations pointed out in the dark sky above. And there is nothing like seeing a young child climb up a ladder, peer through a telescope eyepiece at the Andromeda galaxy for the first time, and have his imagination explode, and his jaw hit his chest. This is why places like Chaco are so important to so many people."

- Sandy Martin, South Dakota Amateur Astronomer

Girl looking through the Largest Telescope.

As an educational tool, a small-scale observatory such as Chaco's may actually offer advantages over larger institutional facilities.

"Late one evening, while I was running the 25-inch telescope, the crowd had dwindled down to two people - a young couple. So I decided to take the opportunity to get to know them a little better, and I asked where they came from. They told me they were from Iowa and were on a two-month road trip here in the Southwest. They had just come from Arizona, where they attended the astronomy program at a prominent observatory. They said they waited in a line of fifty people to look through one telescope. The city lights were so bright that they could only see three things in the sky. They were thoroughly impressed with our program - not only did we have many telescopes to look through, but the sky was amazingly dark and pristine - and it was 'free.' They were having a great time, and said they would be back."

- Angie Richman, Park Ranger

Research is another value of Chaco's observatory. Through partnerships with the nearby University of New Mexico and the ever-active TASS, an exciting federally funded project is currently under way to accurately quantify the darkness of Chaco's sky. And about to unfold during the coming winter is a search with a robotic telescope for supernova in distant galaxies.