Saturday, 9 December 2023, was a beautiful day at Oracle State Park.

That evening, the Park, a DarkSky International (formerly known as the International Dark-Sky Association, IDA) "International Dark Sky Park", celebrated the holiday season with an "Ugly Sweater Star Party". Here are Park Rangers in their sweaters.

After sunset, Park visitors began enjoying views of the planets Jupiter and Saturn through telescopes provided by members of the Tucson Amateur Astromomy Association (TAAA).

As the sky became darker and the stars began appearing, views of star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae thrilled everyone. The Milky Way was visible high overhead.

As the temperature began falling, many took advantage of the warmth of the fireplace in the Kannally Ranch House living room or on the patio. The Friends of Oracle State Park provided hot coffee and snacks. Oracle State Park partnered with Aviva Children's Services to collect toys for the 3,000 foster kids living in Southern Arizona.

Hearty souls continued to use the telescopes and enjoyed seeing the constellation of Orion rise in the eastern sky.

As the "Ugly Sweater Star Party" ended, the Ugly Sweater winners were selected. Congratulations to the members of a Tucson Scout Troop who were camping out at Oracle State Park! They received a gift bag full of awesome stargazing gear.

Photo by Ethan Finch, Park Ranger

Total attendance on this cold night, with the temperature at the Park down to 34°F by 8 PM, was 34 adults and children. The Sky Quality reading was 21.11, which was reported to Globe at Night.

Many thanks to TAAA and the Friends of Oracle State Park for supporting the event.

Unless otherwise credited, photos by Mike Weasner.

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