Arizona's Night Sky

I'm a fan of stargazing and things space related. Unfortunately, I'm also a fan of falling asleep at nine every night! 😂

Here in Arizona though, the sun sets early-ish this time of year—Google says six thirty, but with mountains to our west here in Cottonwood, it's more like six. By seven thirty, you can find some pretty dark skies—dark enough to see the milky way. It helps that Cottonwood and its nearby cities like Sedona and Camp Verde, are Designated Dark Sky Communities.

After a nice sunset hike at Doe Mountain, we headed to our viewing area with a blanket, some cheese and crackers, my trusty new tripod, and my phone. That’s right, just my phone. As much as I love taking pictures, I just can’t bring myself to travel with the added weight of our fancy Nikon. (Yet, somehow, the sourdough starter makes the cut every time!)

Some might wonder, how did the star gazing compare to New Hampshire? No added layers of water vaper to look through makes the desert sky so much better, but even with the night sky designation, the light pollution was noticeable coming from Sedona. I'd still say my favorite night sky gazing was either Telluride or the time I ran through Glenwood Canyon at two AM during the Perseid Meteor Shower (why would one run through a canyon at 2AM you ask? Ragnar.).

But, the Arizona night sky was still pretty fantastic!