Night Sky & Stargazing at Wyoming Stargazing in Grand Teton

PRICE:

$175/person (Gratuity not included: 10-20% recommended)

DURATION:

3-5 hours door-to-door (depending on location)

ABOUT:

Wyoming Stargazing offers Group Stargazing Programs from June - September in dark sky locations within Grand Teton National Park. We’ll set up one of our telescopes and entertain you and your friends by showing you all that the fantastic night skies of Jackson Hole have to offer! Throughout the night we’ll show you planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and more. We’ll also have plenty of iPads ready with the Star Walk application on them so you can continue exploring the heavens while your friends and family are entranced through the telescopes. Compared to the often well-attended public stargazing programs, Group Stargazing programs give you more individualized attention from our enthusiastic Stargazing Leaders. There will be less wait time to look through our telescopes compared to our public programs, which means that during the evening we’ll be able to show you even more of the extraordinary objects in the sparkling night sky! You'll also have more time to get answers to all of the questions you’ve ever had about the Universe.

MOON PHASE TIPS:

Please keep in mind that the current phase of the Moon changes the overall brightness of the night sky. During the week preceding the Full Moon some of the more distant objects that we look at get washed out by the brightness of the Moon. The Moon is amazing to see through the telescope and it’s an amazing experience stargazing under the Full Moon, but you won’t get to see the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy or much detail in deep space objects if your stargazing program occurs five days before the Full Moon and two days after it.

ITINERARY:

Generally, Group Stargazing Programs last 3-5 hours from pickup to drop off. Below is a typical program itinerary:

• Hotel pick-ups take place from 7:00pm-9:30pm (depending on the season and the number of pick ups that evening). We'll contact you with specific times the day of your program.
• 30 minute drive to a dark location inside Grand Teton National Park
• Explore the sky with the StarWalk app on an iPads while we set up the telescope
• View incredible deep space objects through the telescope for about 2 hours
• Relax in the van while we pack everything up
• 30 minute drive back to your hotel

GROUP STARGAZING PROGRAMS INCLUDE:

• Hotel pick-up and drop-off (within the town of Jackson only--see notes below)
• Lots of time looking through our telescopes
• Individualized attention from your Stargazing Leader
• Use of the Star Walk app on an iPad
• Camping chairs to sit back and enjoy the night sky
• Blankets to keep you warm

AVOIDING "HUBBLE ENVY":

“Hubble Envy” is the expectation of seeing exquisite, colorful images through our telescopes like those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Only with 100s of hours of exposure time with sophisticated cameras can astronomers produce the amazing colorful pictures that you see in magazines. One of our Board Members produces those images with his personal observatory. Our telescope DON’T do that.

What our telescopes can do is capture enough light from objects thousands to millions of light years away so that you can see those objects. However, because of the immense distances from those objects, they will appear as little white fuzzy spots through the telescope. We think it’s pretty cool to have photons (light particles) from distant galaxies actually hit your eye through the eyepiece of the telescope. Then, after traveling for millions of years, those photos are converted into electrical signals and become part of your brain!

We want to give you that experience. We have made a conscious choice to use telescopes that provide the best views for a wide array of objects including planets, stars, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and more. Some other telescopes are better for some of those objects, but our telescopes toe the line on being good at providing views of all of them. You are always welcome to call us 844-996-7827 and chat about the program before signing up online.

NOTES ON PRICING, PICK-UPS, AND AND GROUP SIZES:

At this time we only offer hotel pick-ups for multi-group stargazing programs to guests staying within the city limits of the town of Jackson. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are staying outside of Jackson and would like to join a Multiple Group stargazing program, you are welcome to drive to either the Home Ranch Welcome Center in the town of Jackson or to the Village Road Transit Center at the corner of Teton Village Road and Highway 22.

While Private Stargazing Programs are for you and your family and friends, Multiple Group Stargazing Programs combine multiple families together for the same stargazing program. The maximum size for a party wanting to do a Group Stargazing Program is 9 people. For parties of 10 people or more please book a Private Stargazing Program. Please do not split up your group of 10 or more into two groups and book two Group Stargazing Programs. Parties of 10 or more that know each other prior to the start of the program will be charged the Private Stargazing Program rate. The total number of people (all parties included) we take on Group Programs is 13.

If you have any special needs, such as ending the program early, we strongly recommend that you book a private program so that we can accommodate you to the best of our ability.

We charge $175/person for adults and children of all ages for Group Stargazing Programs. However, we only run these programs if at least 4 people are signed up.

We don't want you to miss out on this amazing opportunity so we're always happy to run the program for fewer than 4 people if you are willing to pay the base price of $625.

But don't worry! If you book spots for a Group Stargazing Program that doesn't get the 4 person minimum and you don't want to pay the base price of $625 and you don't have availability to switch to another night we'll refund 100% of the charges, except for the online booking fee if you made your reservation online.

To avoid the online booking fee just give us a call at 1-844-996-7827 (1-844-WYO-STAR).

In the event of inclement weather, we do our best to re-book your program. Please consider booking your program early in your trip so that in the event of a weather issue you have the chance to stargaze another night! In the event that we do have to cancel your program because of bad weather there is no charge except for the online booking fee if you made your reservation online.

WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS AND CANELLATIONS:

In the event of cloudy, rainy, or snowy weather Wyoming Stargazing will decide by 7 p.m. on the day of the tour to either cancel the stargazing tour or to rebook it if possible. Please consider booking your tour early in your trip so that in the event of a weather issue you have the chance to stargaze another night! In the event that we do have to cancel your tour becasue of bad weather there is no charge, except for the 6% online booking fee if you made your reservation online. Wyoming Stargazing WILL NOT charge anything if we decide to cancel because of bad weather (except for the 6% nonrefundable online booking fee if you booked yourself online). Wyoming Stargazing WILL charge the full amount of the program if the customer decides to cancel or rebook for any reason, except for emergencies, within 48 hours of the scheduled start time of the program. Wyoming Stargazing WILL charge a 5% administration fee if the customer decides to cancel or rebook for any reason, except for emergencies, after booking the program.