By John T. Meader of Northern Stars Planetarium
M
aine may not be famous for its night sky, but it should be. A visit to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument makes that crystal clear.
The skies over Maine’s newest national monument have been acknowledged as the darkest skies east of the Mississippi. This isn’t just local bluster. The International Dark Sky Association has designated Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument as a dark sky sanctuary, one of only 14 such locations worldwide.
“I’m always amazed by how limitless the night sky looks as seen from Katahdin Woods and Waters,” said Kelly Beatty, International Dark Sky Association board member and former senior editor of Sky and Telescope. “Words like ‘breathtaking’ come to mind whenever I find myself steeped in the deep dark of this truly rare place.”
What can you see? Stars and constellations—a hunter, a bull, two bears, and a lion. The Milky Way and often planets. Satellites, for sure. Occasional meteors or the rarer northern lights. The good part is you don’t need a telescope to witness these celestial wonders. Simply look up.
There are several good observing locations in Katahdin Woods and Waters. The classic viewing spot is the Overlook at mile 6.4 on the Loop Road. Start the evening watching the sun set behind Mount Katahdin, then settle back as the stars unfold over distant Millinocket Lake. This is the location of the Stars Over Katahdin star party, held each fall with knowledgeable astronomers who share their telescopes.
Other good observing locations include Sandbank Stream Campsite or the Lunksoos Boat Launch in the park’s southern region. In the northern end, try the junction of Messer Pond and Old River roads, or perhaps the Oxbow Picnic Area. Backcountry explorers can view from the Wassataquoik or Lunksoos lean-tos.
Can’t get to the park? Amazing skies are visible from almost anywhere in the area. Get away from streetlights, shut off your own lights, and look skyward.
To further understand what you’re seeing, numerous resources are available. Great phone apps include Stellarium, Heavens-Above, and Star Walk. For site-specific information, visit the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters website and check out their Dark Sky Guide.
In Maine’s north woods, mobile service is sometimes problematic. There are Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines as well as guidebooks such as the Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets by Jay Pasachoff or NightWatch by Terence Dickinson. Remember to bring a flashlight with a red filter; red light has the least negative affect on your night vision.
Once you’ve perused your books, magazines, and apps, put them away and just spend time under the stars. You’ll need about 20 minutes for your eyes to fully dark adapt. Once they are, you’ll be amazed how well you can see in the dark.
Start off by looking westward. Just like the sun sets, the stars set too. So start there before they disappear. High in the southwest you’ll find the hourglass shape of Orion the Hunter. Three stars in a row mark his belt; two bright stars above the belt represent his shoulders, while two bright stars below are his legs. Orion’s easterly shoulder is the red star Betelgeuse. West of Orion are two other ruddy-colored objects: the lower one is Aldebaran, the angry eye of Taurus the Bull with its v-shaped face. The upper one isn’t actually a star—it’s Mars, which will slowly move from Taurus into Gemini through the spring months.
Turning away from Orion, high in the northeastern sky, is the familiar Big Dipper, on its side. Three stars in a gentle arc mark the handle and four stars form a rectangular bowl. The Big Dipper is actually part of the constellation Ursa Major, the great bear.
The two stars of the bowl opposite the Big Dipper’s handle are called the pointer stars. A line drawn from those stars, from the bottom of the dipper to the top, point you toward Polaris, the North Star. Although not the brightest star in the sky, it’s famous for being directly above the North Pole. Polaris marks the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, which hangs back toward the Big Dipper with a fainter and smaller square for its pot. Like its larger sibling, it’s officially a bear: Ursa Minor.
Returning to the Big Dipper, imagine grabbing its handle and banging it down! About half way to the ground you’ll hit a group of stars that resembles a backward question mark. The curve of the question mark is the head and mane of Leo the Lion. The dot is the star Regulus, the lion’s heart. His body is found to the left, or east, of Regulus, as a large rectangle with Regulus marking a corner. A single star, Denebola, just beyond the rectangle is Leo’s tail.
While sky hunting, watch for shooting stars or meteors. These are tiny rocks falling to Earth and burning due to friction. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower on May 5-6 will provide up to 60 meteors per hour.
For hardy sky watchers, spring is when the Milky Way makes its stunning debut— just before dawn. Set your alarm for 90 minutes before sunrise to see, what many feel to be, the most spectacular part of the heavens. Our home galaxy rises in the predawn hours in the southeast, arching along the eastern horizon to the northeast.
With binoculars, the Milky Way resolves into thousands of stars and deep-sky objects. Birding binoculars are good for stargazing too. Binoculars are denoted by two numbers, such as 7 x 50 or 8 x 35. The first number is the magnification, which aids with moon and planet gazing; the second is the diameter of the primary lenses—larger lenses brighten faint stars and nebulae.
In three years, on April 8, 2024, Katahdin Woods and Waters will be directly in the path of a total solar eclipse. Totality will last more than three minutes—a celestial event not to be missed!
Maine skies hold many charms not visible to most people living on the East Coast. A visit to the Katahdin region will introduce the wonders of a truly dark sky, a sky that the Wabanaki people have observed and revered for centuries.
See this Section as it appeared in print here