Upcoming Programs
The JGAP grounds are open for individual stargazing on non-program nights. Please feel free to drive on in. You may bring chairs, telescopes, cameras if you wish.
We do programs on Friday and Saturday nights from March through November.
Our programs have returned as of March 1, 2024.
March 29-30: Galaxies are back! 7:45 PM
The Rising Big Dipper and the regal Leo bring with them a retinue of springtime galaxies. The great M81 and M82 are on the docket this evening.
April 5-6: Learn about the Eclipse 7:45 PM
The great American Eclipse of April 8, 2024 will not cross over JGAP, but we will be talking about what to expect and where to go (not JGAP) to see it at its best.
April 12-13: The thin crescent moon, and more galaxies 8:00 PM The crescent moon is dramatic and lovely. We will be looking at it before it sets and then turning our sights towards the galactic gems in Leo and Ursa Major.
April 19-20: The Bright Moon Rises/Jupiter Bows Out 8:00 PM The moon is almost full this weekend, so we will again be focusing on it as it rises after dark. This is the last chance to see Jupiter before it dives into the sunset.
April 26-27: The Moon Rises Late: 8:15 PM
With the moon out of the way for a while, we will be able to admire The Galaxies in Leo, the Beehive cluster in Cancer the Crab, and the rich star cluster M35 in Gemini
Weather March 29-30 not ideal, but that could change.
Hi Folks,
The weather this weekend (March 29-30) doesn’t look ideal at this time. Right now Friday looks best. Saturday is more likely to be cancelled in the event of rain.
But, things could change. Stay tuned!
There are ADDITIONAL parking passes left at our registration site for Saturday. Scroll to the bottom of the list for these passes.
Parking passes are needed only for our programs on Friday and Saturday evenings. At all other times you’re free to drive in.
DON’T come to JGAP for the April 8, Eclipse
I love it when folks enjoy the views from JGAP and I encourage people to visit all the time.
However, don’t come to JGAP for the Solar Eclipse.
Seriously.
Why?
Remember, on April 8, 2024, parts of Ohio will be in the path of a total solar eclipse.
But JGAP will be far from the line of totality. And, while the sun will be covered more than 97 percent at JGAP, the view will not look much different than a bright sunny day (with things a bit “off”). Read this article if you need convincing;
https://www.wpr.org/news/for-aprils-eclipse-the-disparity-between-meh-and-omg-may-be-driving-across-town
Instead, if you’re near the path, we recommend that you do all you can to get yourself into the the path of the shadow.
In my view, it would be positively crazy not to take advantage of this wondrous, once-in-a-generation experience a short, one-hour, hop away.
Not making the trip would be like buying tickets for your favorite band who were miraculously appearing at a venue a few miles from your house, and then, for some reason, not showing up!
I promise, if it’s clear that day, you’ll remember the Great American Total Solar Eclipse (of 2024): Part II fondly for the rest of your life! If you don’t travel to totality, the view will be “meh.”
A map of where to go that day is here:
https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ohio-2024-eclipse
Last day to order eclipse glasses is March 29!
At our programs, starting in March, we will be selling eclipse glasses for the upcoming event and for safely viewing the partial phases of the eclipse.
This week only (Through March 29), we are selling eclipse glasses on this website in quantities of 5 or more (Free shipping!)
Follow this link.
Proceeds will benefit the programs at our park.
Thank you!
02. Astrophotography
01. Jewels in Orion
The constellation Orion is one of the most recognizable in the sky. With its four bright stars forming the broad rectangle of Orion the Hunter’s body, and the three diagonal stars his belt, it is one of the first star patterns that new stargazers learn.
Not as obvious as these seven bright stars are the many diffuse nebulae that dot the region. These are parts of the great Orion Molecular Cloud, a mostly invisible (to human eyes) complex of gas (mostly hydrogen) and dust (all kinds of stuff) blocking the light of many of the stars beyond.
In certain parts of the constellation, bright stars have illuminated or caused to glow (via intense UV light) the gas in this nebula, allowing astrophotographers to capture its many swirls and shapes. This image shows the Great Orion Nebula and the nearby IC443, in front of which is the well-known Horsehead nebula.
Image by Jeremy Nickoson, taken at JGAP
On most clear, moonless, evenings, you’ll find folks taking advantage of the dark skies at JGAP to shoot images of the night sky.
This pastime is known as astrophotography.
All are welcome to bring cameras and telescopes to JGAP to try their hand at this.
If you get a good image, why not share it with us by using our Instagram hashtag: #jgastropark
Get up-to-date information and astronomical news on our Facebook page
Predicting the Weather
The Clear Sky Clock
The chart below is an hour by hour prediction of how clear the skies will likely be over the coming two days. Cloud cover and transparency are the critical data points. In general, dark blue is best. If both transparency and Cloud Cover are indicated as dark blue, then skies are likely to be clear and filled with stars. Lighter colors are proportionally worse.
In recent months, the predictions of the Clear Sky Clock have been somewhat unreliable, so use at your own risk.
Astrospherics
Another great site for predicting conditions on an hour by hour basis is Astropherics, whose model of late is better than that of the Clear Sky Clock. Access JGAP’s location with this link:
Weather.Gov
Finally, the best site for predicting the weather is the site from which all the data comes from in the first place, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast page. The best forecast for JGAP is the Logan, Ohio hourly pinpoint forecast. Find it here.
The most critical part of the forecast is the blue line which represents the predicted cloud cover for that hour. Generally 50% or higher is not good.
Support the Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park
Do you love the Hocking Hills State Park? Would you like to help projects that make HHSP an even better place? Do you love JGAP?
Then consider joining The Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park, an organization that supports projects like JGAP and other enhancements to the most beautiful park in Ohio.
http://www.friendsofhockinghills.org/
Mission
The John Glenn Astronomy Park is dedicated to sparking an interest in science, learning, and exploration by sharing with visitors the wonders of the sky, both day and night.
The Inspiration
Throughout most of history, humans have been inspired by the wondrous sight of a night sky filled with stars. Our stories and mythologies have been mapped upon the patterns of the stars. Our calendars, festivals, and agriculture have been linked to the movement of the heavens. In recent times, a view of the night sky has been the inspiration in many young people for lifelong passion for science in general.
Sadly, however, the lights of our modern world have, in recent decades, put our view of the heavens behind a veil of artificial light. Most of us live under a sky that gives only a pale, washed out hint of its former beauty.
An astronomy park in the Hocking Hills State park was inspired by our vanishing night sky. The Hocking Hills, in rural southeastern Ohio, is one of the few areas left in the state of Ohio where the night sky can be seen in its near pristine state. The observatory provides a venue for visitors to the Hocking Hills State park to experience the night sky through a large telescope and with their eyes.
The observatory also draws on the countless generations of humans who marked the important changes of the seasons through the motion of the sun and who built great structures, like Stonehenge in England, the Chaco Canyon Kiva in New Mexico or many Hopewell and Fort Ancient Earthworks in Ohio, that commemorated these days. The plaza has been designed to allow the rays of the sun to fall upon a special central point on the first day of each of the four seasons.
Join our Facebook and Instagram Communities
We have a Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/JohnGlennAstronomyPark/?ref=bookmarks
… and an Instagram Page
https://www.instagram.com/jgastropark/
On both we are regularly featuring items of astronomical interest.
If you have questions that you’d like addressed in these feeds, feel free to Facebook Messenger them to us!
“The greatest thing we can do is inspire young minds...”
- John Glenn
About John Glenn
John Glenn was a decorated Military Pilot, a US Senator, and, most famously, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth.
John Glenn was born in 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio and was raised in the small town of New Concord, home of Muskingum University where he attended college. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps soon after the US entered World War II. He was a highly decorated pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War, as well, and few over 90 missions.
After the war, he became a test pilot and developed a reputation as an outstanding aviator. On July 16, 1957, in a mission dubbed “Project Bullet”, Glenn set the nation’s transcontinental flight speed record. It was this experience that the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration cited when choosing him as one of the Mercury 7, the first American Astronauts. During the Korean War, Glenn would fly combat missions with Red Sox great Ted Williams.
On February 20, 1962, Glenn was launched into space atop a Mercury Atlas rocket, a vehicle that had experienced several catastrophic failures prior to this mission, and orbited the earth three times during a mission that lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes. Towards the end of the flight, a failure in the automatic-control system of his Mercury Capsule, Friendship 7, required him to take the controls and fly manually. This was the first time this had been done. The landing was successful, and Glenn returned a national hero. On March 1, 1962, Glenn was welcomed home by millions at a ticker tape parade in his honor in New York City.
After retiring from NASA, Glenn entered and made three attempts to run for the US Senate- succeeding on his third try. During his senate career he was considered an expert in science and technology and on military matters. Glenn’s advocacy for the reduction of nuclear weapons culminated in the passage of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, which was signed into law by President Carter. In 1984, Glenn sought the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nomination.
Glenn served in the Senate until his retirement in December 1998. That same year, it was announced that he would be returning to space on board the space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-95 crew. Serving as Payload Specialist, Glenn began his second flight on October 29, 1998, making him the oldest person to fly in space.
In 2015 John Glenn gave his permission to use his name on the Observatory Park project being planned by the Friends of the Hocking Hills.
Glenn died on December 8, 2016 at the OSU Wexner Medical Center.
We hope to see his legacy of exploration and inspiration continue!