The goal of the KIRB Night Sky initiative is to provide education, guidance, and programming regarding the importance of dark Night Skies to Real County and the Frio and Nueces Canyons.
Real County is well known for its beauty and natural resources, including the Frio River, Nueces River, rolling hills and stunning vistas—day and night. KIRB works to educate landowners and visitors about the benefits of dark skies for wildlife, humans, and for the promotion of astrotourism. Programs are designed to inform homeowners, businesses, and tourists about ways you can help protect the scenic nightime beauty we sometimes take for granted.
What’s going on in our night sky this August?
🌠 Meteor Showers:
The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 12–13, with activity spanning July 17 to August 24. Expect up to 100 meteors per hour under dark skies, especially between midnight and 4:30 AM. A new moon during peak nights means minimal interference from moonlight—ideal for viewing. Get some zero-gravity chairs, and an open view of the sky, and relax and enjoy the wonders of your night sky.
🌅 Sunrise and Sunset Times:
On August 1st, the sunrise will be at 6:58 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 5:29am, the sunset will be about 8:31 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 10:00 pm. On August 31, the sunrise will be at 7:15 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 5:53 am, the sunset will be about 8:02 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 9:24 pm. For more dates and times, visit the Garner State Park sun tables at TimeAndDate.Com .
🌑 Full and New Moons
The end of August, the full moon is on 8/27. The August full moon is called the Sturgeon Moon. A near total eclipse of the moon takes place August 27th at 11:27pm. The new moon is about August 12th and around then will be the best time for looking at the stars and Perseid meteors (falling stars). For more dates and times, visit the moon tables for your location at TimeAndDate.Com .
🪐 Planet Visibility:
Mercury is rising with the sun. Venus is in the western sky at sunset. Mars rises about 1 to 2 am in the morning. At the end of July, Jupiter is rising at sunrise. Saturn is rising between 10 and 11pm.
You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars this August.
Look for summer signposts to help you navigate the summer’s evening sky. The Big Dipper and Summer Triangle asterisms are such signposts. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) climbs from the northeast after dusk. It’s found by star hopping using the Great square of Pegasus. The Milky Way’s dense star clouds stretch overhead through Cygnus and Sagittarius, revealing intricate dust lanes known as the Great Rift.
🔍 Binocular Highlights:
With a modest pair of binoculars (7×50 or similar), two additional deep-sky treasures emerge. The Lagoon Nebula (M8), high in Sagittarius, resolves into a faint smoke-like glow against the rich starfield, especially around midnight. In Vulpecula, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) appears as a delicate, oval mist near the star Sheliak, rewarding steady eyes and averted vision.
NIGHT SKY FRIENDLY BUSINESS RECOGnition program
WHAT IS IT?
- It is a program sponsored by Keep It Real Beautiful and Friends of the Night Sky, endorsed by the Hill Country Alliance, and supported by the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to recognize businesses and organizations that have Night Sky Friendly outdoor lighting and to encourage others to follow suit.
WHY IS IT?
- The goal is to protect and preserve the treasured natural resource that is the Hill Country’s starry nighttime skies. The program encourages the practice of responsible outdoor lighting. Such lighting will prevent light from escaping above the horizon into the nighttime sky, causing sky glow and glare, forms of light pollution.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR MY BUSINESS?
- The starry nighttime sky is a natural wonder to be enjoyed by all who live in or visit Real County and all our river canyons.
- There are almost 4 million people who live in light polluted urban and suburban areas, within short driving distances, where it is almost impossible to view pristine nighttime skies. For many of these people, an overnight trip to our area to see the stars would be a treat. “Heads in beds” means more business for our motels, B&Bs, restaurants, service stations, and other commercial entities as well as for our state park. Protecting our night sky from light pollution ensures this valuable resource will endure.
- You can advertise as “Night Sky Friendly,” attracting even long distance and international travelers who are seeking the natural beauty of dark night skies.
HOW CAN MY BUSINESS PARTICIPATE?
- All outdoor lighting on your premises is shielded and aimed downward so that no light trespasses beyond the business property boundary or above the horizontal plane into the sky. Lighting is directed only when and where it is needed for the task at hand. Motion detector lighting and extinguished lighting after hours is preferred.
- Lighting is not so bright as to cause glare or to reduce visibility in unlit areas.
- The color of outdoor lighting is amber or warm white versus bright white or blue. Lighting with a color temperature of less than or equal to 3000 Kelvin is ideal.
- Any business or organization in the area can request that the Friends of the Night Sky team conduct an evaluation of its outdoor lighting to determine if it qualifies for recognition and/or to recommend lighting solutions for problematic fixtures.
HOW WILL MY BUSINESS BE RECOGNIZED?
A business or organization that meets the criteria listed above receives recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business with:
- A Certificate of Merit presented by Keep It Real Beautiful (KIRB) and Friends of the Night Sky for display inside your business.
- A window decal display to announce to customers your recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business
- The right to use the Night Sky Friendly Business logo in your advertising, including on your website
- A listing as a night sky friendly business with a link to your business’s website on the websites of the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce, Keep it Real Beautiful, and the Hill Country Alliance
- Special recognition at any Night Sky events held by the Keep It Real Beautiful/Friends of the Night Sky
- Publicity in local media outlets
KIRB RECOGNIZED night sky FRIENDLY businessES
TxDot-Leakey Office
The Springs Retreat
Crider’s East Cabins
Camp Riverview
Frio Canyon Vineyard and Leakey Drug Tasting Room
Dora’s Nursery
Historic Leakey Inn/The Back Porch
please support these night sky FRIENDLY businessEs and thank them for helping to protect our hill country night skies!
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Annual October night sky month posters set of all 6 years now available FOR $50 DONATION
MORE INFORMATION:
Why should we decrease light pollution/improve Night Skies?
Hill Country Dark Night Skies Initiatives Gain Momentum in Real and Surrounding Counties
