Unforgettable Stargazing in Grand Teton National Park
Join Dr. Sam, Wyoming Stargazing’s Founder and Executive Director, for an unforgettable night of stargazing in Grand Teton National Park.
On select evenings throughout the year, Dr. Sam offers exclusive stargazing programs in remote dark sky locations within Grand Teton National Park for just your group of family and friends. Dr. Sam will tell you all about his experiences with his mentor John Dobson, the inventor of the Dobsonian Telescope and share some mind bending facts about the Universe while he shows you planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and more. He’ll leave you with a new understanding of the Cosmos and a cosmic sized helping of SOUP (Sense of Universal Place).
If you want the best, then stargaze with Dr. Sam. You won’t be disappointed!
Price
$500/person
No dudes en llamarnos al 1-844-WYO-STAR (1-844-996-7827) to book your program and avoid the 6% online booking fee.
Duration
2.5 – 4hrs
Availability
All Year
Maximum Group Size
13 People
Bring the Kids
Ages 6 and younger are FREE!
What’s Included
- Our walking, talking astronomy encyclopedia: Dr. Sam.
- Hotel pick-up from 7:30pm-9:30pm (depending on the season)
- 30-60 min. drive to and from one of the darkest stargazing locations possible in Jackson Hole
- 2 full hours of telescope time
- Camping chairs and blankets
- Use of an iPad with the StarWalk app to explore the sky digitally
- Respuestas a todas sus preguntas candentes sobre el Universo
- Awe-inspiring and educational stargazing program for all ages
- Some Cosmic SOUP (Sense of Universal Place)
Dark Sky Initiatives
Jackson Hole, the valley where the town of Jackson resides, is mostly protected, undeveloped public land. That means there is relatively little light pollution. Combine that with high elevation and arid climate, Dr. Sam will show you a great recipe for seeing thousands of stars on moonless nights, the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy, and so much more.
Wyoming Stargazing is proud to have put in the time and effort to make Teton County the world’s first International Dark Sky Community. Wyoming Stargazing is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The proceeds from our private stargazing programs are used to increase access to STEM education and to promote dark night sky conservation.
Stargazing Tour Tips & Considerations
Meet Dr. Sam Singer
Dr. Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in Astronomy, a master’s degree in Natural Science, and a PhD. in Education. So, yeah he’s qualified. He’s been stargazing even since he was a kid and has been leading groups professionally for over 20 years.
Grandes telescopios
Dr. Sam will have a telescope with a big mirror for your stargazing program. That means you’ll get to have the light from galaxies millions of light years away actually hit your eye! Some newer, fancier telescopes can show you colored pictures of deep space objects, but they don’t allow light to actually hit your eye.
Avoiding “Hubble Envy”
“Hubble Envy” is the expectation of seeing exquisite, colorful images through our telescopes like those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Only with 100s of hours of exposure time with sophisticated cameras can astronomers produce the amazing colorful pictures that you see in magazines. One of our Board Members produces those images with his personal observatory. There are also some new telescopes with build in cameras that project colored pictures. Our telescope DON’T do that.
What our telescopes can do is capture enough light from objects thousands to millions of light years away so that you can see those objects. However, because of the immense distances from those objects, they will appear as little white fuzzy spots through the telescope. We think it’s pretty cool to have photons (light particles) from distant galaxies actually hit your eye through the eyepiece of the telescope. Then, after traveling for millions of years, those photos are converted into electrical signals and become part of your brain!
Queremos brindarte esa experiencia. Hemos tomado una decisión consciente de utilizar telescopios que brindan las mejores vistas para una amplia gama de objetos, incluidos planetas, estrellas, cúmulos de estrellas, nebulosas, galaxias y más. Algunos otros telescopios son mejores para algunos de esos objetos, pero nuestros telescopios siguen la línea de ser buenos para proporcionar vistas de todos ellos. Siempre puede llamarnos al 844-996-7827 y conversar sobre el programa antes de registrarse en línea.
Please Trust Us with the Weather
The weather in Jackson during the summer time is more predictable than during the winter. During the summer, we typically get afternoon thunderstorms and cloudy afternoon weather. As the sky begins to get dark and the temperature begins to drop the clouds almost always dissipate, leaving incredibly clear skies for stargazing. Even if it’s still cloudy at 9pm there is a very good chance that by 10pm the skies will be perfectly clear. In the winter, the weather is less predictable. We get about 70% of our annual precipitation in the form of snow. The storms will come in when they will.
Despite a certain level of predictability, there is really no way to know what the weather will be more than a few hours before the start time of your program. We make all weather decisions at 7pm. We’ll make the best determination on whether we should run your program or not based on as much data as possible. We want you to have a great time with us so we won’t send you out there unless we think it’s going to be worth your time and money. No permitimos que los huéspedes vuelvan a reservar por clima antes de esa fecha límite. Gracias por su paciencia y comprensión.
How the Phases of the Moon Effect Your Tour
También tenga en cuenta que la fase de la luna changes the overall brightness of the night sky. During the week preceding the Full Moon some of the more distant objects that we look at get washed out by the brightness of the Moon. The Moon is amazing to see through the telescope and it’s an amazing experience stargazing under the Full Moon, but you won’t get to see the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy or much detail in deep space objects if your stargazing program occurs five days before the Full Moon and two days after it.
Prepare for Your Program
The heat of the summer days we have here in Jackson can be deceiving – the temperature can drop down to below 40°F at night. ¡Recuerda vestirte abrigado! En el verano debes usar pantalones largos, una chaqueta abrigada, zapatos cerrados con calcetines gruesos y un sombrero. In the winter you should dress like you’re going skiing.
Nuestros grandes telescopios requieren el uso de una escalera para observar. Comuníquese con nosotros si usted o alguien de su grupo no puede usar una escalera para que podamos adaptarnos a sus necesidades específicas.
Si tiene alguna necesidad especial, como finalizar el programa antes de tiempo, le recomendamos encarecidamente que reserve un programa privado de observación de estrellas para que podamos acomodarlo lo mejor que podamos.
When to Schedule Your Tour
We encourage you to book your stargazing program at the beginning of your trip. That way, if we need to reschedule because of bad weather, we have a better opportunity to do so.
Política de cancelación y cambio de reserva
The satisfaction of our customers is Wyoming Stargazing’s primary concern. We strive to offer engaging, inspiring, and educational stargazing programs. Wyoming Stargazing will use our telescopes to help our customers see the Cosmos whenever possible. However, sometimes the weather only allows us to engage our customers with the stories about the night sky without getting to see much through the telescopes.
In the event of inclement weather, we do our best to re-book stargazing programs for another night. Please consider booking programs early during a trip so that in the event of a weather issue we have the chance to stargaze another night.
At the time of booking we collect payment in full which includes a 10% nonrefundable deposit for any program that we run regardless of the outcome of the weather on the night of the program. There is no charge if Wyoming Stargazing cancels the program because of weather before the program begins. In the event that the weather prevents us from showing you some or all of the typical objects we show during a program a partial refund of up to 90% of the total cost of the program will be issued. No refunds are issued for the 6% nonrefundable online booking fee if customers booked themselves online. You can avoid this 6% booking fee by booking the program over the phone by calling us at 1-844-WYO-STAR (1-844-996-7827).
If the program is canceled by the customer within 48 hours of the scheduled start time of the program there is no refund. However, we understand that life happens so we’ll always do our best to be reasonable and work with each customer on an individual basis to try to make things right.
If the program is rebooked at the request of the customer Wyoming Stargazing will charge a 5% administration fee in addition to the 10% nonrefundable deposit.
The Astronomy Experts in Jackson Hole
Ready to see Jackson Hole after dark? Join a guided stargazing tour with Dr. Sam and experience Wyoming’s legendary night sky with expert insight, powerful telescopes, and carefully chosen viewing locations. Perfect for visitors who want more than just a quick glance upward.
Spanish 
English