Reveling in Wisconsin's Night Sky

Good mornin' star-crossed lovers readers! This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less.

This week's interstellar itinerary:

• "The birthplace of modern astrophysics" 🔭 

• Wildfire watch 🔥 

• Earth Day at Devil's Lake State Park 🌲 

Reveling in Wisconsin's Night Sky

Somethin' special is happening in Wisconsin tonight.

What? Cribbage tournament? 'Wednesday' night fish fry?! Cleaning out the neighbor's shed?!?! CRIMINY, IS IT POLKA?!?!?!?!

Uh, no. But it's just as thrilling, we swear. Drumroll please...

IT'S THE NIGHT SKY!

And yes, we s'pose it's every night, but hey, we're real jazzed about it.

Being a northern state affords us some of the best views of the night sky around, and our history with Astronomy runs wayyy back.

What is astronomy again? The oldest of the natural sciences, it is the study of the sun, moon, stars, planets and other objects and phenomena in space.

The scoop on sky gazing

• Sky gazing dates back to more than 32,000 years ago, used to track time and travel

• Wisconsin's Yerkes Observatory is known as the "birthplace of modern astrophysics"

• Door County's Newport State Park is a registered International Dark Sky Park, 1 of 48 worldwide

A storied hi-star-y

Back before iPhones and MapQuest (and Uncle Paul's passionate disregard for both), the early civilizations of our world relied on the night sky.

Using the stars, moon, and planets, they developed star calendars to track everything from crop seasons and gestation periods to travel and religious happenings.

Indeed, less than 50 years ago, a calendar dating as far back as 32,500 years ago was discovered in a cave in Germany, signaling the neanderthals' awareness of star constellations.

The Greeks, using the previous works of ancient Babylonian, Egyptian and Assyrians, originated 88 constellations scattered across our night sky.

Though much foundational work was done in those early days, the invention of spectroscopic and photographic telescopes really propelled us into the astronomy of today.

The birthplace of modern astrophysics

In 1895, Wisconsin had yet another attraction bringing people to the state: the Yerkes Telescope.

With a 40-inch refracting lenses, 62-foot focal length, and weighing 500 pounds, it is the largest refracting telescope in the world.

Because of its ability to take high-quality photos, it allowed famous astronomers like Edwin Hubble, who was completing his graduate degree at the Yerkes Observatory, to study the Milky Way Galaxy.

He put Wisconsin's observatory on the map by finding evidence of the Big Bang Theory, and thus the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin was effectively named the "birthplace of modern astrophysics." Atta way! Now if only we could win another Super Bowl...

Wisconsin's dark skies

One of the key components of sky gazing is a dark sky free of artificial light (quit InstaTweeting Jimmy!), so much so that an international band of vigilantes have made it their mission to destroy every 👏 lightbulb 👏 on 👏 earth. 👏

Not really.

But they did create the award-winning International Dark Skies Program, which encourages communities, parks and protected areas around the world to preserve dark sites through responsible lighting policies and public education.

What's even niftier - Newport State Park in Door County has officially been designated a Dark Skies Park, just one of 48 around the globe.

For the past 25 years, the Park has made public education a priority, spreading the word on the importance of natural darkness to local wildlife. (TLDR: it's remarkably dark here, so watch your footing en route to the bathroom).

How to look up

A little tongue-in-cheek, but it's really that simple.

The biggest pointers we can give are:

1. Plan it out: There are tons of resources for celestial events and stargazing forecasts, like apps and calendars for 2022

2. Follow the stars: Some places are better than others to see the stars and Northern Lights. Check out this map of the light pollution in the US (it's kinda shocking).

3. Eliminate artificial lights: If you're using a cell phone, try red-light mode

4. Engage night vision: AKA your eyeballs, Sheryl. Some think it can take up to 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust properly, which astronomers call 'light adaption'

5. Visit Yerkes Observatory or Newport State Park: (see above)

6. Join sky gazing communities: Get out 'der and get involved in sky gazing events

7. Send this email to your crush and invite them star gazing. 😉 You won't.

Hipcamp find of the week ⛺️

Your Driftless area (Byre) cabin get away, just a few minutes down the road from Viroqua. Katie said '"The trout fishing was amazing!!! The outdoor shower made us both say “Holy sh*t, was that not the best shower ever?!"' For criminy-cripe's sake, we're sold.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🌳 Earth Day Devils: Wisco-native Gov. Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day in 1970 to raise awareness about air and water pollution. Celebrate the big day at Devil's Lake State Park, where they'll have service projects, a torch-lit hike, and plenty of trees to hug.

🔥 Burn, baby, burn: 98% of wildfires in Wisconsin are started by people, often burning debris in the spring when vegetation is still dry (looking at you, mom). Spring is wildfire season in Wisconsin, so be smart and get a permit.

🥾 Another Ice Age Trail legend: Substitute teacher Andrew Nowak broke his foot 3 days into his thru-hike of the Ice Age Trail, spent every night in a hammock, and completed the 1,000+ untraditionally in the early fall months to avoid the skeeters. "Hiking is just a lot of fun," he said. Dunno if your foot agrees, but rock on.

Well, how'd we do this week?

• 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 Better than a finely-aged cheese

• 🧀🧀🧀 Still better than Illinois, but could be better

• 🧀 Boo. This made me lactose intolerant