Bays Mountain StarWatch

Bays Mountain Park announces annual StarWatch program

Bays Mountain Park’s night sky observing sessions – StarWatch – has returned for the spring season.

StarWatch sessions allow the public to enjoy the splendor of the night sky at Bays Mountain Park’s observatories. If the weather is good, attendees can typically see star clusters, nebulous gas clouds, colorful multiple-star systems, distant galaxies and the Moon and planets.

If the weather is poor, the park will have an alternate activity in the planetarium theater.

StarWatch sessions will be held on the following dates:

• March 1 and 8 at 7 p.m.
• March 15, 22, and 29 at 8 p.m.
• April 5, 12, 19, and 26 at 8:30 p.m.

Note – please arrive at the beginning of the program so you can find your way to the observatories.

Be sure to dress for temperatures at least 20 degrees cooler than expected and do not use white light flashlights at the observing grounds. This is a free event and does not require registration.

StarWatch is hosted by the Bays Mountain Astronomy Club & Bays Mountain Planetarium. For more information, visit www.baysmountain.com or call 423-229-9447.

About Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium

Annually, more than 200,000 visitors pass through Bays Mountain Park making it one of the State of Tennessee’s Top 50 Most Visited Attractions, according to the State of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. One of the nation’s largest city-owned parks with 3,750 acres, Bays Mountain Park features roughly 44 miles of hiking trails, a state-of-the-art planetarium, wildlife habitats, fun exhibits, a 44-acre lake, trails for mountain biking and much, much more. For more information, please visit www.baysmountain.com.

About the City of Kingsport

Founded in 1917, the City of Kingsport (pop. 55,400) is located on the Tennessee-Virginia border at the crossroads of I-81 and I-26 near the geographic center of the eastern United States. The city is widely known as a planned community, designed by renowned city planner John Nolen and wrapping around the foot of Bays Mountain – a 3,750-acre park, nature preserve, planetarium and observatory. Kingsport is recognized as an International Safe Community by the National Safety Council, a Healthier Tennessee community, and won the 2009 Harvard Innovations in American Government Award for its higher education initiatives. While many city names are duplicated throughout the U.S., there’s only one Kingsport – a fact that invokes community pride, known locally as the “Kingsport Spirit.” For more information, please visit www.kingsporttn.gov.