New Mexico Star Gazing

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  • femurphy77

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    S.E. of disorder
    Back in the day I used to take my boat about 10 miles offshore at dusk to enjoy some light pollution-less stargazing. It's amazing how many stars are visible with the naked eye under the right conditions. Having experienced it first hand I'd like for my wife to be able to see it for herself and we are going to head out to New Mexico sooner than later for this purpose. Have any of you ever made the trip to NM for stargazing? Have you used an organized tour while out there or just winged? Looking for some insight as I'm not even sure how to research it effectively at this point. My google fu keeps taking me to a state park site that didn't have much info other than paved pads for telescopes. I want to be able to enhance the naked eye view as much as possible. I've heard that there are organized tours that take you out in the middle of nowhere to enhance the experience.
     

    Gabriel

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    The shore of wonderful Lake Michigan
    Not New Mexico, but I went backpacking in the Rockies in 2018 and the stars were amazing once you got way out into the mountains. It's definitely worth a trip out west or somewhere without light pollution to see what the sky really looks like at night.
     

    BugI02

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    Columbus, OH
    Murph, are you familiar with this?

    https://darksitefinder.com/map/

    When you open the map, go to the menu in the upper right and select 75% density to spot the dark areas you're interested in and then reduce it to 50% in order to be able to see the underlying map

    A quick peek leads me to believe that you could access the dark area in the NE corner of the state by getting out between Springer and Clayton on NM412, or the spot southeast of ABQ going a ways west of Vaughn on NM60. The area SW of ABQ appears to be possibly reservation land and lacks much in the way of good roads

    All of those areas are about as dark as it gets in the US except for dark sky parks. When I drive into northern NY I cross over the Adirondacks on 8 and 28, and in the middle of the high peaks there is a similar place where you can stop the car and get out to see seemingly a billion stars. My wife was entranced the first time I showed her this, and it is better on a sparcely trafficked road so your eyes can fully dark adapt

    This is also a good resource for night photography that I've used for photographing the milky way in the outer banks
     

    edwea

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    New Dolan
    I lived in southern nm for many years and can tell you that the desert sky is bright with stars. We would usually just take a blanket and throw it down next to the Rio grande and lay back and look up. We lived south west of last Cruces in the mesilla/mesquite area. Also spent a lot of time in the gila wilderness area near silver City. More mountainous with forest, but just as many stars. Hopefully you can catch a meteor shower while you're out there. What a show!
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Southside Indy
    I remember being able to see the stars really clearly even here in Indiana, down at Lake Monroe (late 70's), until Bloomington expanded enough to cause light pollution down there. You could literally see the edge of the Milky Way. I'm sure it wasn't comparable to being out west, but it was amazing for here in Indiana. I miss those days.
     

    boogieman

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    under your bed!!!
    Which state parks in NM does it lead you to? I grew up in southern NM and there is definitely some good places to star gaze. Are you wanting to do other things while out there?
     

    utahskies

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    Jan 14, 2020
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    New Mexico near Taos, great star viewing
    Now I'm not saying they where alien spaceships but I did see strange lights in the sky that went straight up, in about a second. Yep three of them.
     
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    Mark-DuCo

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    Ferdinand
    I did a 30 mile hike at Big Bend National Park in Texas, and the stars were amazing there. It was a long way from anything.
     

    Bigtanker

    Cuddles
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    Osceola
    The best view I've ever had was on an exit ramp off I80 in Wyoming. It was about 2:00AM and had to check my load securement. Pulled off and hopped up on my flatbed. Load was secure so I laid down on the deck. It was stars 360° horizon to horizon. Spent almost a half hour just looking. It was probably the darkest I've been in outside of a cave.

    FYI. The cooler the temps, the clearer/sharper the sky will be.
     

    femurphy77

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    Which state parks in NM does it lead you to? I grew up in southern NM and there is definitely some good places to star gaze. Are you wanting to do other things while out there?

    Honestly don't remember which one, I'll have to see if I can find it again. We'd spend 3 or 4 days out there probably. I've seen Carlsbad Cavern on a trip from El Paso to sw Oklahoma many moons ago. I was driving a car back from Phoenix for my dad and noticed that US Highway 62 was a direct although slower route but MAN the scenery was AWESOME!

    I made that trip back in the day of the dreaded 55 mph national speed limit and since you're from out that way you understand that at 55 mph you'll never move. I was tooling along as fast as dads old Grand Prix would go comfortably (IIRC I was tickling 90 with the cruise set most of that trip). I top a hill out in the middle of literally nowhere New Mexico just in time to see a NM state trooper topping the opposite hill coming towards me. I didn't even wait and was pulled over on the shoulder before he'd completed his Starsky and Hutch U turn in anticipation of a major high speed chase.

    He wrote me up and told me to turn it around and BACK TRACK 30 miles to the first structure I came upon which was a little general store. I walked in and an old man was sitting there and I held up the citation and before I could say anything he told me to "step through that curtain over there and wait". Shades of Deliverance! There was a court bench with the Flag, the unfinished painting of George Washington, the whole deal and in walks the old man wearing a black robe and powdered wig!! I remember thinking that since I had altered my planned route at the last minute that nobody would ever find my body. Anyhow the old man asked me how I pleaded and I told him guilty as sin, he banged the gavel and said $10, NEXT! I paid the fine and didn't wait around to figure out who he was hollering next to since I was probably the only other living soul within 30 miles of that place!:laugh:
     

    LeverGunFan

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    Mar 15, 2008
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    Bartholomew County
    The darkest sky (or brightest stars!) I've ever seen were at the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. They have an observatory and ranger led astronomy programs. If you are lucky to be there on a cloudless and moonless night the sky views are amazing. The downside is that Chaco is accessed by a long drive on gravel roads which can be rather rough depending on the time of year. Call the park for current road conditions.

    Another option is the Enchanted Skies Star Party, held every fall near Magdalena NM. It's a well run several day event with interesting programs and the opportunity to visit the Very Large Array and a university observatory.

    Even though New Mexico is in the high desert, not all nights are perfectly clear. On windy days there will be dust in the atmosphere, and high cirrus clouds are not uncommon. But when you hit the clear and calm night, it's outstanding! If you don't make it to Chaco or the ESSP, almost any park will have better views of the skies than you can get in Indiana. A good pair of binoculars will be handy to scan the Milky Way or to view the constellations.
     

    Wstar425

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    Sandia Park, New Mexico
    A couple of years ago during some eclipse I managed to have myself on the top of some pass in the middle of Nevada at 6 or 7000 feet. There was a little pull off and I stopped and shut down there. I could not see a single man made light in any direction. It was pretty cool as well as a little freaky. My first thought was if my truck doesn’t start, I am really screwed. Best light show I’ve ever seen.
     

    femurphy77

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    Mark-DuCo

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    Ferdinand
    I was actually looking at Big Bend but the proximity to Mexico and nothing else makes us a little nervous.

    Just noticed this, It was definitely worth the trip, the views in the area are amazing. It's been over 10 years since my trip, but it was a pretty nice area back then. Hopefully not much has changed as I plan to go back in the next few years with my son.
     

    AtTheMurph

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    I would try to do this trip to coincide with one of the meteor showers. Witnessed the Perseid's in the mountains of AZ years ago. Probably saw 100-150 meteors per hour or more.
     
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