Our December 2025 post discusses:

• Planets Saturn and Jupiter

• Protecting our night Sky charm

• Star Parties at the Park

• Includes links to all past Oracle Night Sky Charm articles

The Village of Oracle is situated atop bedrock outcrops more than a billion years old. At one point in time, an inland sea rose, covering large swaths of equatorial North America, including Oracle and giving rise to marine life. Read this post to learn more!

Our November 2025 post discusses:

• Our November star party

• Comet Lemmon

• Aurora Borealis!

• Protecting our night Sky charm

Our October 2025 post discusses:

• Star parties at Oracle State Park;

• A comet discovered earlier this year at Mount Lemmon Observatory.

Fall is a magical time to visit Oracle State Park, and this season brings so many reasons to explore.

Recent EE activities include:

• Advertising to local school districts;

• Scheduling spring field trips;

• Preparing in-classroom lessons;

• Working with volunteers to broaden program content.

Our September 2025 post discusses:

• Andromeda & the Milky Way

• Visible planets

Our August 2025 post discusses:

• The Milky Way

• Visible planets

• The Moon

Our July 2025 post discusses:

• How to see the Milky Way

• Visible planets

After many years of dedicated service, our Ranger Leonard Garcia is retiring.

Leonard has been the behind-the-scenes hero of our park — fixing what’s broken, keeping everything running smoothly, and showing up day after day with quiet dedication and pride in his work. He never asked for recognition, but his fingerprints are on just about everything around here.

Our June 2025 post discusses:

• Wildfires, climate change and the night sky

• Visible planets

• The “Summer Milky Way”

In Spring 2025:

• We celebrated Dark Sky Week at the Park.

• Jupiter’s moons, discovered by Galileo, are visible.

• You can see the Milky Way!

In April/May 2025:

• You are encouraged to review your outdoor lighting during Dark Sky Week.

• Park representatives participated in Tucson and Fountain Hills festivals.

• There’s a Star Party at Oracle State Park on Saturday April 26th. We’ll also celebrate Dark Sky Week 2025.

In February/March:

• we had a follow-op program on wildlife cameras at Mountain Vista;

• we had sessions of the park’s Adventure & Odyssey programs and trained volunteers.

• we tabled as Arizona State Parks and Trails at the Tucson Festival of Books March 15th&16th.

In April 2025:

• Jupiter and Mars are visible at night but Venus rises in the morning.

• You may - or may not - get to see the Blaze Star.

• There’s a Star Party at Oracle State Park on Saturday April 26th. We’ll also celebrate Dark Sky Week 2025.

In March 2025:

• Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune will all be visible in western night Sky.

• March and April offer good opportunities to see the Zodiacal Light.

• There’s a Total Lunar Eclipse on March 13-14.

In January, Ranger Malana Starr:

• presented at Mesa Verde Elementary’s science night,

• was accepted into the EE Certification Program,

• registered the Park for the Tucson Festival of Books, and

• prepared a February field trip.

In this first article of 2025 you will learn some of what you can see in the night sky in late January and early February. Low in the western sky after sunset you will see the bright planet Venus. Through a small telescope you can see the phases of Venus, just like our Moon. …

In November Ranger Malana Starr trained EE volunteers, started collaboration with Mountain Vista K-8, applied for a table at the Tucson Festival of Books, and more ...