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With some of the darkest skies in the greater Triangle & Triad area, the Animal Park at the Conservators Center offers superb viewing conditions for astronomical events and phenomena. In the evening of Saturday, April 22, 2023, and into Sunday morning, join us in the Activity Field and Green Space by our Visitors Center to view the Lyrid Meteor Shower! You’ll have an unobstructed view of the sky with opportunities to view the entire event throughout the late night and early morning. This time of year also presents excellent viewing opportunities for the Moon, Venus, and Mars as well as many other Deep-Sky Objects, like other galaxies, nabulæ, and binary star systems, visible with your binoculars or telescope! The Moon this year will be early in its waxing crescent phase, around 10%, with an early moonset on Saturday evening, meaning that the sky will be very dark and meteors should be especially visible under optimal cloud conditions.
What makes this viewing party unique, however, is the company you’ll keep. Our park of over 70 animals features a large population of vocal, social carnivores including lions and wolves, as well as other vocal species like jungle cats, a coyote, and New Guinea singing dogs, who will all keep you enthralled with their chorus of howls, roars, and calls. It’s an experience unlike any other!
The Park gates will open at 5:30 pm, and we invite you to join us at 6:00 pm for a unique Twilight Tour through the park before the viewing party begins at 11 pm, or skip the tour to set up camp with your tent and telescope at 9 pm! Whichever option you choose, you’ll have an excellent viewing opportunity of this event and the other celestial objects available in the night sky. (Please keep in mind that there is no meal provided as part of this event. Guests who come for the Twilight Tour are encouraged to bring a dinner meal or to plan to pick up a dinner meal in Mebane, NC after the tour and return for the Viewing Party.) The best time to view the meteor shower will be just before sunrise on Sunday morning, so make it an evening of star gazing before bed and then get up early to see the shower!
