Stargazing Guide

One of the darkest skies in Colorado, right above your campsite.

Table of Contents

  1. Why Eleven Mile
  2. What You’ll See (June–July)
    1. The Milky Way
    2. Summer Triangle
    3. Scorpius and Sagittarius
    4. Planets (Summer 2026)
    5. Satellites and the International Space Station
    6. Meteors
  3. Viewing Conditions
    1. Best Nights
    2. Moon Phase for June/July 2026
  4. Equipment
    1. Essential
    2. Nice to Have
  5. Teaching Kids About the Night Sky
    1. The Basics (Ages 5–8)
    2. Going Deeper (Ages 9–12)
    3. For Teens and Adults
  6. Finding Specific Objects
    1. The Big Dipper → North Star
    2. Locating the Milky Way
    3. Summer Constellations
  7. Photography Tips
    1. Smartphone (Basic)
    2. Camera with Manual Controls
  8. Stargazing Schedule
    1. Suggested Evening Flow
    2. Best Camp Viewing Spots
  9. What to Tell Young Kids Who Are Scared of the Dark
  10. Download Before You Go

Why Eleven Mile

South Park basin sits at 8,600+ feet with minimal light pollution. On a clear night, you’ll see more stars than most people see in their lifetimes. The Milky Way isn’t a faint smudge—it’s a river of light stretching horizon to horizon.

This alone is worth the trip.

What You’ll See (June–July)

The Milky Way

By late June, the galactic core rises in the southeast after sunset. By midnight, it arcs overhead—a dense band of stars, dust lanes, and nebulae visible to the naked eye.

The Milky Way is our galaxy seen edge-on from the inside. Every star you can see individually is part of it. The bright band is where stars are too numerous to distinguish.

Summer Triangle

Three bright stars form this asterism:

  • Vega (bluish, in Lyra)
  • Deneb (in Cygnus the Swan)
  • Altair (in Aquila the Eagle)

Look nearly overhead by 10 PM. This triangle frames some of the richest Milky Way territory.

Scorpius and Sagittarius

Low in the southern sky, these constellations mark the direction of the galactic center. Look for:

  • Antares – Red supergiant, heart of the Scorpion
  • The Teapot – Asterism in Sagittarius (steam rising = Milky Way)
  • Multiple deep-sky objects visible with binoculars

Planets (Summer 2026)

Check current planetary positions before your trip. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus are often visible as bright “stars” that don’t twinkle.

Satellites and the International Space Station

You’ll see satellites every few minutes—steady lights crossing the sky. The ISS is the brightest, sometimes brighter than any star. Check spotthestation.nasa.gov for pass times at your location.

Meteors

Late July brings the Delta Aquariids meteor shower, with 15–20 meteors per hour. Even outside showers, you’ll see sporadic meteors regularly on any clear night.

Viewing Conditions

Best Nights

  • Moon phase: New moon is ideal. Full moon washes out fainter stars.
  • Weather: Clear skies, low humidity
  • Timing: Astronomical darkness (90+ minutes after sunset)
  • Location: Away from camp lights

Moon Phase for June/July 2026

Check timeanddate.com closer to your trip for exact dates, but generally:

  • Plan serious stargazing for nights around the new moon
  • A crescent moon sets early and minimally impacts viewing
  • Full moon is great for nighttime walks but bad for stars

Equipment

Essential

  • Dark-adapted eyes: Stay away from white light for 20+ minutes before viewing. Adaptation is fragile—one phone check ruins it.
  • Red flashlight: Red light preserves night vision. Headlamps with red mode work well.
  • Reclining chairs or blankets: You’ll be looking up for extended periods. Neck strain is real.
  • Warm layers: Temperatures drop into the 40s at night, even in July. Bring more warmth than you think.

Nice to Have

  • Binoculars: 7×50 or 10×50 reveal detail invisible to naked eye. Star clusters, nebulae, and the moons of Jupiter appear.
  • Star chart or app: (Download offline version before leaving cell service)
    • SkyView (point phone at sky to identify)
    • Star Walk
    • Stellarium
  • Camera with manual controls: Long exposures capture what eyes cannot.
  • Telescope: If you have one, bring it. Even a small scope reveals Saturn’s rings.

Teaching Kids About the Night Sky

The Basics (Ages 5–8)

Start with what they can see:

  • The Moon (craters, maria, “rabbit in the moon”)
  • Bright planets (that bright “star” is actually Jupiter!)
  • The Big Dipper (everyone finds it eventually)
  • The Milky Way (that’s OUR galaxy)

Stories and mythology:

  • Why we call it the Milky Way (Greek: Hera’s breast milk)
  • Constellation stories (Orion the Hunter, Ursa Major the Bear)
  • Cultures have different stories for the same patterns

Hands-on:

  • Count shooting stars together (who sees one first?)
  • Make up their own constellation and name it
  • Compare binocular view to naked eye

Going Deeper (Ages 9–12)

Scale of the universe:

  • Light from distant stars left thousands of years ago
  • Our Sun is a star; other stars have planets too
  • The Milky Way has 100+ billion stars

Science basics:

  • Why stars twinkle (atmosphere turbulence)
  • Why planets don’t twinkle (they’re closer, appear as disks)
  • Star colors = star temperatures (red = cooler, blue = hotter)

Activities:

  • Find specific constellations using star app
  • Identify planets vs. stars
  • Calculate: “If you could drive to the Moon at 60 mph, how long?” (~165 days)

For Teens and Adults

Deep time:

  • The light from Andromeda Galaxy left 2.5 million years ago
  • We see the universe’s past, not its present
  • Some stars we see tonight are already dead

Cosmic perspective:

  • The scale of the universe vs. human concerns
  • Rarity of dark skies in modern world
  • What earlier humans saw every night

Technical interests:

  • Astrophotography basics
  • Telescope astronomy
  • Current space missions and discoveries

Finding Specific Objects

The Big Dipper → North Star

  1. Find the Big Dipper (looks like a ladle, northern sky)
  2. Locate the two stars at the end of the “bowl”
  3. Extend a line from these stars about 5× their distance
  4. That bright star is Polaris, the North Star
  5. Polaris marks true north and the end of the Little Dipper’s handle

Locating the Milky Way

  1. Face south
  2. Look for a faint cloudy band running north-south
  3. In summer, it rises from southeast, arcs overhead, sets in northwest
  4. The brightest section (galactic center) is low in the south, near Sagittarius

Summer Constellations

Scorpius (look south, low):

  • Long curved tail of stars
  • Bright red Antares at the “heart”
  • One of the easiest to identify

Cygnus the Swan (look overhead):

  • Cross-shaped, flying along the Milky Way
  • Bright star Deneb at the tail
  • Also called “Northern Cross”

Lyra (near Cygnus):

  • Small parallelogram of stars
  • Brilliant blue-white Vega is unmistakable
  • Contains the Ring Nebula (telescope needed)

Sagittarius (look south, above horizon):

  • The Teapot asterism
  • Contains galactic center
  • Dense star fields through binoculars

Photography Tips

Smartphone (Basic)

Most phones now have night modes capable of capturing stars:

  1. Stabilize phone (tripod, leaning against object)
  2. Enable Night Mode or long exposure setting
  3. Use timer to avoid shake when pressing shutter
  4. Point at Milky Way, hold still for exposure (30 sec+)

Results vary but can be impressive.

Camera with Manual Controls

Settings for wide-field Milky Way:

  • ISO: 3200–6400 (adjust based on noise)
  • Aperture: Widest available (f/2.8 or lower ideal)
  • Shutter: 15–25 seconds (longer = star trails)
  • Focus: Manual, set to infinity (test and confirm on live view)
  • Lens: Wide angle (14–24mm ideal)

The 500 Rule: To avoid star trails, divide 500 by your focal length. That’s your maximum shutter speed in seconds. (e.g., 20mm lens → 25 sec max)

Post-processing:

  • Increase contrast
  • Adjust white balance (usually cooler/bluer looks natural)
  • Reduce noise
  • Enhance details carefully

Stargazing Schedule

Suggested Evening Flow

Time Activity
Sunset Note where sun sets, predict dark sky timing
Dusk Watch stars emerge, start with brightest
30 min after sunset Planets become visible
60 min after sunset Major constellations appear
90 min after sunset Full darkness, Milky Way visible
Late evening Best viewing (Moon down if waning)

Best Camp Viewing Spots

  • Away from camp lights and fires
  • Open views to south (for galactic center)
  • Higher ground if accessible safely
  • The reservoir shoreline offers unobstructed horizons

What to Tell Young Kids Who Are Scared of the Dark

The darkness isn’t empty—it’s full of light too far away to touch you. Every point of light is a sun like ours, most of them bigger and brighter. Some of that light started traveling before dinosaurs existed. The dark is just the space between all that light.

You’re looking at the universe, and the universe, in all its enormity, is looking back at a small campsite where a family sat together, and that matters too.

Download Before You Go

With no cell service, prepare these offline:

  • SkyView or Star Walk app (enable offline mode)
  • Stellarium (free, excellent detail)
  • NASA’s Daily Planet Guide (screenshot current planet positions)
  • ISS pass times for your dates/location
  • This guide as PDF

Don’t Rush This: Stargazing rewards patience. Your eyes take 20 minutes to fully adapt. The longer you look, the more you see. Let conversations fade. Let the silence settle. Let the scale of what you’re seeing sink in.

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Family Adventure Guide © 2026. Created with love for wilderness exploration.