"I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night"
-Sarah Williams
2024 - Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival - September 26-28th.
The 2024 Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival will be three days alongside picturesque Bear Creek, just off of Hyw. 65 south of the Buffalo River, an International Dark-Sky Park, and three nights of star party where people can rediscover the night sky as our ancestors knew it not so long ago, complete with guided constellation tours and telescopic views of celestial objects under the Summer Milk Way. During the day, there will be live solar observing, nature hikes, informative presentations, and other activities for children and adults.
Our Features Speaker:
It was a great privilege to have had Dr. Amber Straughn of Bee Branch, a member of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Team, as the featured speaker for the 2023 festival. It was assumed we could not match that for this next event. But what do you know, Arkansas has produced more than one rural-born NASA Astro Physics Wonder Woman!
Dr. Jennifer Wiseman is a senior astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she serves as the senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope. Before that, she headed Goddard’s Laboratory for Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics.
Wiseman’s scientific expertise is centered on the study of star-forming regions in our galaxy. She has a particular interest in dense interstellar gas cloud cores, embedded protostars, and their related outflows as active ingredients of cosmic nurseries where stars and their planetary systems are born.
As an undergraduate, Wiseman discovered the comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff. Dr. Wiseman is also interested in science policy and public science outreach. She has appeared in many science and news venues, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NOVA, and National Public Radio.
There must be something about growing up under natural night skies, as Dr. Wiseman, similar to Dr. Straughn, is the product of rural Arkansas, growing up on a small farm near Mountain Home, where she claims she acquired her love of animals, forests, night skies, and exploring nature.
ANSA is incredibly grateful to have her as our featured speaker at the third annual Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival.
Note: A small registration fee will be required for this event. This is necessary to make registration numbers reliable so we can provide adequate facilities, cover costs, and avoid the unplanned and unnecessary closure of registration last year. Registration will open several months in advance. To get notice of registration opening and other information on this and other dark-sky-related events and activities, subscribe to our Event News!
In addition, consider Joining ANSA to get the earliest information and other event-related benefits and discounts. In the meantime, enjoy the short video below that summarizes the 2023 event in pictures. Hope to see you there.
Stella, the Night Wise Owl.
Psst, don't tell anyone yet, but the Missouri Chapter of the International Dark Sky Association is planning a similar event in October to be held at the National Scenic Riverways Park. Again, join our Event News linked above to learn more as it becomes available.