The solution, of course, is a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, one powerful enough and sharp enough that will turn those specs above Lamar Valley into grizzly bears frolicking in snow. For more than half-a-century, not long after Tom Johnson built a telescope for his sons to marvel at the skies overhead, Celestron has been making “glass” that brings the environment closer to you, whether you’re looking at wildlife, or zooming in on Saturn with a telescope. More and more these days, carrying binoculars on a national park visit is standard for many. Even if you’re just hiking in the front country of a park, not far off the road, binoculars come in handy when you’re looking at birds and other wildlife. Spotting scopes also are great to use from a pullout along a park road. And with the proper adapter, you can turn the scope into a powerful zoom lens for your camera. A great aspect of using binoculars and spotting scopes for wildlife watching is safety, for both you and the wildlife. Each year, bison gore visitors to Yellowstone National Park who get too close to the iconic animals trying to take a photo. Then there are missed photo opportunities when animals take flight while you’re trying to sneak up on them for a closer photo. Celestron offers a number of options, such as the National Park Foundation Travelscope 60, the National Park Foundation ExploraScope 60 AZ, or the National Park Foundation 50mm Spotting Scope, for bringing the wildlife closer without invading their territory or risking your own safety. If you’re not taking photos, but simply want a close-up view of wildlife, you might consider the company’s National Park Foundation 10x50 Binoculars. Exploring the parks doesn’t have to
Celestron has partnered with the National Park Foundation to offer a special centennial-edition lineup of optics for park travelers / Celestron
Star-filled night skies over many units of the National Park System encourage you to explore this aspect of the parks after sundown / Celestron
end at sundown, either. Searching out national parks that offer astronomy festivals is quickly growing in popularity. It’s been said that the night skies are the other half of the National Park System, and that makes sense when you gaze up at the brilliant, starspeckled night sky above one of the parks. Since, 2007, when Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah became the first unit of the park system to gain Dark Sky Park accreditation from the International Dark-Sky Association, more and more parks have been highlighting their wonderfully dark night skies and scheduled astronomy festivals to show off those stellar attractions. Through early May, 11 units of the National Park System had been certified as Dark Sky Parks: Big Bend National Park in Texas, Canyonlands National Park and Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, Death Valley National Park in California/Nevada, Grand CanyonParashant National Monument in Arizona, Great Basin National Park in Nevada, Natural Bridges National Monument, and the Flagstaff Area National Monuments: Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki. Visit any one of these parks during the new moon phase of the month and
the stars can seem close enough to reach up and grab thanks to the lack of light pollution and general absence of moisture in the air that can distort views. Looking at the heavenly bodies through a telescope really brings these brilliant orbs even closer. You’ll marvel at the star clusters, distant galaxies, nebulas, and brown and white dwarfs. If you lack your own telescope to enjoy the star shows, consider scheduling your park trip with one of astronomy festivals in the parks that Celestron plays a role in. This year the company will be involved with the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival (June 1-4); the Badlands Astronomy Festival (July 8-10); the Sequoia Dark Sky Festival (August 5-7); the Acadia Night Sky Festival (September 22-25); the Great Basin Astronomy Festival (September 29-October 1); and the Joshua Tree Dark Sky Festival (October 28-30). Experts at these festivals not only can serve as your guides to the Milky Way, but offer advice on what telescope might be perfect for your backyard. To help mark the National Park Service’s Centennial, Celestron has not only partnered with the National Park Foundation to sell a line of telescopes, spotting scopes, and binoculars, but has supported many non-profit organizations connected with the parks. These relationships can magnify your national park experience.
NationalParksTraveler.com
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