Visit the Stars

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a star gazing event on Friday, September 7 at one of Haywood County’s clearest views of the sky -Purchase Knob, home to the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Astronomy Club of Asheville will lead an exploration of the night sky at this high elevation site with a 260 degree unobstructed view of the sky. Visitors can expect to see the planets Neptune and Uranus; the wonderful starry glow of our Milky Way Galaxy stretching across Purchase Knob's dark skies; the beautiful spiral disk of the Andromeda Galaxy; the numerous star clusters of late summer and early fall; as well as several binary star systems. The event starts at 7:30 pm with an indoor orientation, which will be held rain or shine. The Learning Center is located at 5,000 feet in elevation so please bring warm layers. The program is limited to 60 people so reservations are required and can be made by calling the park directly at (828) 926-6251. Purchase Knob is located off US 276 near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It is not recommended to use a GPS or an internet map service to find Purchase Knob, but the park staff can provide reliable directions. -NPS-