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April 25-27, Pie Town’s Jackson Park will be home to the first Dark Sky Gathering. Hosted by Dark Sky Land and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC), this three-day event is free to the public and will include astronomer led telescope viewings, presentations on the spiritual significance of the night sky to different cultures, talks from a solar astronomer, an interdisciplinary art installation produced by Magnetic Laboratorium, and a community meal catered by Tumbleweeds Diner.
The Dark Sky Gathering will coincide with the Trail Days event, hosted by CDTC in Silver City April 21-23 that kicks off the Continental Divide Trail hiking season. The walk from Silver City to Pie Town takes roughly three to four days, so hikers will be arriving in time for the Dark Sky Gathering. All are welcome and encouraged to camp out and pre-register at https://cdtcoalition.org/dark-skies/.
Dark Sky Land is a nonprofit organization based in New Mexico with a mission to preserve the night sky from extinction, said the group’s president Marisela LaGrave. The organization is currently focused on preserving a 600 mile corridor of the state’s “night ecology” that encompasses the Magdalena Ridge Observatory and Catron County, south towards Animas and north to the Colorado border.
“People are sort of waking up to the value of the dark sky, to be able to see with the naked eye our galaxy, the Milky Way. If you can’t see your own home from home, who are you?” La Grave said. “The Continental Divide coalition is the land, is the trail. So we’re above. We are the stars. That’s our partnership.”
Sitting at an elevation of nearly 8,000 ft. and with dry weather and minimal light pollution, LaGrave said Pie Town is an ideal spot for astronomical observation.
“So I hope that soon Pie Town, Magdalena and this whole region will be a sanctuary, if not a reserve for the dark sky,” LaGrave said.
LaGrave said you don’t have to be an astronomer to appreciate the stars and enjoy the Dark Sky Gathering. Her hope is that people will attend who can bring in different perspectives on the night sky, such as Native American astronomy practices.
“When you look at a constellation that has a Greek name, that’s a Greek story. Always beautiful, great stories. But I want to hear all the versions, you know. Let’s bring in all the versions, because ultimately, what we’re looking at has been there forever. It belongs to everyone, and it will be there forever, while we change, we disappear like dust,” she said.
