Space Education
Dark Skies Astronomy Tours. S30, 4 April 2025
Space education is more than memorizing planets or knowing which star is which—it’s about understanding our place in a vast, incredible universe. It sparks curiosity, encourages exploration, and invites people of all ages to ask big, beautiful questions: What’s out there? How does it all work? Are we really made of stardust?
At Dark Skies Astronomy Tours, education is at the heart of everything we do. Sure, we love the “wow” moments when someone sees Saturn’s rings for the first time—but we also love when a guest leaves knowing how to find the North Star, explain what a nebula is, or share a constellation’s myth with a friend. We believe everyone should feel empowered to look up and understand what they’re seeing.
Our tours are designed to be as informative as they are inspiring, blending hands-on telescope viewing with storytelling, sky lore, and the science behind the stars. Whether you're a kid with big dreams, an adult reigniting childhood curiosity, or just someone who loves learning new things, we’re here to guide you through the cosmos, one constellation at a time.
eV2, 11 April 2025
eV2, 11 April 2025
Telescopes are our time machines, our magic mirrors, our keys to the cosmos, and we love introducing people to them. On every tour, we bring a variety of scopes to the field: from impressive high-end digital and optical instruments that capture jaw-dropping detail, to more approachable, beginner-friendly options perfect for learning the ropes.
Why the range? Because astronomy isn't just something to witness, it's something to join. We want guests to see the best of what’s possible, but also to get hands-on experience with the kind of gear that could launch their own backyard stargazing journey.
You’ll look through digital scopes that track objects across the sky like they’ve got minds of their own, and through classic optical telescopes where the view feels raw and immediate. Each one has its strengths, and each one helps us tell a different part of the universe’s story. Whether you leave with a head full of stars or a shopping list for your first telescope, we’re here to make space feel a little more like home.
The Tools of the Trade
Telescopes That Teach, Inspire, and Wow
Curious what’s in our cosmic toolkit? Here’s a peek behind the starlit curtain:
We use the Unistellar eVscope 2 and the Equinox 2 for their stunning real-time digital views and effortless sky-tracking, perfect for showcasing galaxies, nebulae, and deep sky objects with vibrant clarity. They’re the showstoppers of the bunch.
Our ZWO Seestar S50 and S30 are compact, beginner-friendly digital scopes that still pack a punch, giving guests a sense of what’s possible with smaller, more affordable tech, ideal if you’re thinking of starting your own astronomy journey.
And for a more traditional view of the heavens, we offer time under the stars with our beloved optical scopes: the Celestron NexStar 8SE, a classic with serious deep-sky reach, and the 5SE, its smaller sibling, perfect for learning the ropes while still showing off the Moon and planets in jaw-dropping detail.
Together, they let us teach not just what we see—but how we see it. And that’s half the fun.
International Dark Skies
Southern Utah is one of the last great strongholds of truly dark skies in the U.S., a place where the Milky Way still stretches overhead like a lantern-lit river, and the constellations come out to tell their stories undimmed by city lights.
Several neighboring towns have embraced dark sky initiatives, and multiple local Southern Utah state parks are currently in the process of earning their International Dark Sky designations. It’s a region that takes its night skies seriously, and the stars thank them for it.
We’re also just a short drive from Zion National Park, an officially designated International Dark Sky Park, where the sandstone cliffs meet some of the darkest skies in the Southwest. The entire region is a haven for stargazers, astronomers, and night sky dreamers alike.
It’s no wonder we chose to set up our telescopes here, this land is made for looking up.