Saturday, 9 March 2024, the 9th Anniversary "International Dark Sky Park" Celebration was held at Oracle State Park. Late in the afternoon the sky was pretty with lots of clouds.

Before the star party, live music for the Celebration was provided by the local ensemble Pinto Pony, with musicians Sherry Crownheart, Mark Garris, Scott McMullen, Ferne Rogers, and Cyn-d Turner, to the enjoyment of the visitors.

The Friends of Oracle State Park and the DarkSky Southern Arizona Chapter were on hand to educate visitors.

Very high in the clearing sky was a research balloon (probably from World View Enterprises located in Tucson).

An hour before sunset the sky began clearing and provided an awesome view of the Galiuro Mountains to the east of the park.

By sunset, the sky was mostly clear and the band played on!

After the band finished, Deb Gaines, President of the Friends of Oracle State Park, gave a short talk about the mission of the Friends. Then, to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the park being designated as an "International Dark Sky Park" in 2014, Mike Weasner talked briefly about the support of the community of Oracle and the park in protecting the night sky.

Mike Weasner, local Dark Sky Advocate, and Sam Miller of the the DarkSky Southern Arizona Chapter were interviewed by Pinal County for an upcoming International Dark Sky Week (2-8 April 2024) video. This is Sam being interviewed.

After sunset, park visitors enjoyed views of the planet Jupiter, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, stars, nebulae, and galaxies through several telescopes provided by members of the Tucson Amateur Astromomy Association (TAAA). They also enjoyed just being under a dark sky with the Winter Milky Way overhead. Some people even saw the Zodiacal Light in the western sky.

The last of the 125 visitors left at 9 PM after a wonderful afternoon and night at Oracle State Park. At 9:15 PM the night sky quality was measured at 21.17 and reported to Globe at Night.

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

Photos by Mike Weasner

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