Winter stargazing: Where to go and what to see

With the onset of winter bringing long, dark nights, there’s hardly a better time of year to go outside and look up.

While no special equipment is needed to enjoy gazing up at the cosmos, there are places to go for a better experience and to learn more about what you will see.

Why winter?

Aside from the obvious fact winter nights are longer, the cooler temperatures and lower humidity also tend to make skies clearer, according to Maggie Connelly, planetarium specialist at Roper Mountain Science Center.

She added the higher humidity in warmer months also tends to increase atmospheric turbulence which can make stars seem to move or twinkle.

Connelly said winter also affords a different view of our celestial neighborhood where the sky is oriented away from the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The view is facing the galaxy’s edge and features some very bright stars, among them:

Iconic constellations including Orion, the hunter; Taurus, the bull; and Gemini, the twins
The dazzling Pleiades star cluster
Sirius in Canis Major, one of the sky’s brightest stars

Connelly said while meteors or shooting stars can be seen any time of year, winter affords some of the best viewing opportunities to see a meteor shower. The annual Quadrantids meteor shower occurs in early to mid-January, with its peak on the night of Jan. 3-4. With luck a skywatcher can see up to 40 meteors per hour.

Where to go

A good rule of thumb to obtain the best view is to find a place with little to no light pollution. The less built up, mountainous areas of northern South Carolina and western North Carolina offer a number of options.

Many of the overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway offer both elevation and low light pollution, according to Tim DeLisle with the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute near Brevard, North Carolina.

PARI began life in 1962 as one of NASA’s first satellite-tracking stations and is home to both optical and radio telescopes. It is also one of only two Dark Sky Parks in North Carolina as defined by the International Dark Sky Association.

As an astronomical research facility, PARI’s 200-acre campus offers opportunities for both amateur and professional stargazers. Overnight lodging in cabins or space for tent camping is available, and the institute has year-round programming for both casual and dedicated astronomers.

Another option is Roper Mountain Science Center’s Friday Starry Nights program in the Hooper Planetarium, where guests experience a guided tour of the night sky, a feature movie or discussion on a specific topic, and a thrilling virtual 360-degree roller coaster experience.

Following each show and weather permitting, guests can visit RMSC’s Charles E. Daniel Observatory, home to a historic 23-inch refractor telescope — the eighth largest of its kind in the country.

One of the newest options for anyone wanting to learn more about the cosmos is the Spartanburg County Public Libraries Planetarium and Maker Lab, which opened in October.

While the facility is new and still in the process of developing informative displays and educational programming, planetarium Director Andy Flynt said tickets for the three daily shows have been selling out fast.

Shows in the 135-seat planetarium with its 50-foot dome and five projectors take place at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; and at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.