Saturday, 4 April 2026, a Star Party was held at Oracle State Park, a DarkSky International "International Dark Sky Park" since 2014. (Click or tap on the photo at the right to see a larger version.)

After being mostly cloudy during the day, the clouds began going away in the late afternoon.

The Galiuro Mountains, located far east of the Park, provided a scenic view from the Park.

A Harris's Hawk checked out Park visitors as they arrived.

The Friends of Oracle State Park and the DarkSky Southern Arizona Chapter were at the Park to provide information.

Delicious food and drinks were available for purchase from the La Bufadora Food Truck as some members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) began setting up their telescopes.

On display and used for observing later that night was a Unitron telescope from the 1950s. That was a unique experience for many of the Park visitors.

In the packed historic Kannally Ranch House living room Park Ranger Michael Bain welcomed everyone to the Park for this special event. He then introduced Oracle State Park Volunteer and Dark Sky Advocate Mike Weasner, who gave a very brief talk about the Park's "International Dark Sky Park" designation in 2014.

Mike then introduced Isabelle Petersen, Dark Sky Advocate from Gold Canyon Community, Inc., who read the Pinal County Board of Supervisors Proclamation for "International Dark Sky Week", 13-20 April 2026.

Mike then introduced David Eicher, Editor Emeritus at Astronomy Magazine, who talked about Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, its Mars investigations in the early 1900s, and the discovery and the discoverer of the planet Pluto. He showed several amazing historical books from those years.

Next, Mike introduced Dr. John Barentine, with Dark Sky Consulting. In 2014 when Oracle State Park was applying to become an "International Dark Sky Park", Dr. Barentine was the Dark Sky Places Program Director at the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) and was heavily involved with the Park's application approval process. Dr. Barentine talked about archaeoastronomy that provides fascinating information about the culture of people living in the desert southwest thousands of years ago.

Lastly, Mike introduced Dr. Tim Hunter, co-founder of International Dark-Sky Association in 1988 (now known as DarkSky International). Dr. Hunter talked about Light Pollution and the importance of protecting the Night Sky for the benefit of all life on Planet Earth.

Following these excellent talks, stargazing began on the Ranch House patio. During the stargazing, musician Jamie Miller (Hypnopad) played ambient, immersive, and meditative music on the patio. His electronic, rhythmic music provided a special experience under some of Arizona's darkest skies.

Over 100 visitors took advantage of the partly clear night to observe some objects in the night sky through several telescopes that were set up by TAAA.

The last of the visitors left the Park about 9:45 PM as the bright Moon began rising in the southeastern sky. Seeing the Moon rise was a perfect end to this special night at Oracle State Park as the four astronauts onboard the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft were approaching the Moon.

Many thanks to members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, the DarkSky Southern Arizona Chapter, the Friends of Oracle State Park, and our special speakers for supporting Oracle State Park.

Photos by Mike Weasner.

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On Saturday, 28 March, Oracle State Park Ranger Michael Bain and Park Volunteer Mike Weasner represented Oracle State Park at the Fountain Hills Dark Sky Festival. Click the link to see some photos.

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