What’s going on in our night sky this OCTOBER?

🌠 Meteor Showers: The Draconids and the Orionids are happening in October. The Draconids peak the night of October 8-9, but can be seen October 6th through the 10th. They are best viewed prior to 2am but only produce 4-8 meteors an hour. The Orionids, a medium strength shower peak the night of October 21-22nd, but can be seen from October 2nd to November 7th. They are best seen prior to 3 am and produce about 20 meteors per hour. Get some reclining chairs, and an open view of the sky, and relax and enjoy the wonders of the Hill Country dark night skies.

🌅 Sunrise and Sunset Times:

On October 1st, the sunrise will be at 7:32 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 6:13 am, the sunset will be about 7:24 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 8:43 pm. On October 31st, the sunrise will be at 7:51 am, the start of astronomical twilight at 6:31 am, the sunset will be about 6:53 pm, and end of astronomical twilight at 8:13 pm. For more dates and times you can visit TimeAndDate.com .

🌑 Full and New Moons:

The full moon is on October 25th. The October full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon. The new moon is on October 10th and from a few days before to a few days afterwards will be the best time for looking at the stars and falling star (meteors).

🪐 Planet Visibility:

Mercury is seen at sunset, less that a fist’s width (10 degrees) above the western horizon, something you won’t see unless you are on a higher hill on the eastern side of the canyon. Venus will be transitioning from an evening planet to a morning planet about mid-month. Mars rises about midnight. On October 11th, Mars will be seen at the edge of the Beehive Cluster. Jupiter is rising at midnight to 1am. Saturn is at opposition on October 3rd, so it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Opposition is the best time to view a planet!

You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars this October.

The Milky Way is still prominent in early October evenings, stretching across the sky from the southwest, starting with Sagittarius, to the northeast, Aquila, Cygnus, and to Cassiopeia. You should still see a bright star, Deneb, in the constellation Cygnus, the swan. It’s one of three bright stars of the Summer Triangle which is making its way to the western horizon a bit earlier each night. The Great Square of Pegasus will be just a bit to the southeast of Deneb.

🔍 Binocular Highlights:

Use a pair of binoculars (7×50 or similar) to look for The Double Cluster (Caldwell 14) in the constellation Perseus. You will find this cluster about half way between the star Mirfak in Perseus and the center star, Navi, in Cassiopeia’s “W”. Another popular open cluster is Pleiades, M45, named the “Seven Sisters” after the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. See how many stars you can see. Most people see six or eight stars. Some can see as many as 14.

ENJOY SKY GAZING THIS MONTH AND REMEMBER TO KEEP IT REAL BEAUTIFUL
BY MAINTAINING RESPONSIBLE LIGHTING!

Friends of the Night Sky

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.

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
Frio Canon Community
Arrowhead on the Nueces
Hill Country Adventures and Indian Blanket Ranch

please support these night sky FRIENDLY businessEs and thank them for helping to protect our
hill country night skies!

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