As fall begins, the days at Nueces River RV and Cabin Resort still average in the 80s, so there is still plenty of river floating time, fishing, and splashing around to be had. However, as the nights turn cooler, the dark skies of the resort are perfect for stargazing in the Texas Hill Country.
Stargazing can seem daunting or even boring for beginners who don’t always know what they’re looking at or what tools to bring with them. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a NASA rocket scientist or carry thousands of dollars worth of equipment to take advantage of the breathtaking dark skies. Below you will find a few items every beginning stargazer should pack for a Nueces River RV and Cabin Resort night of stargazing fun.
A STARCHART OR STARGAZING APP
If you are just starting, a star chart can be a little daunting. Fortunately, they make apps like Star Walk 2 Free that allow you to pan around the night sky with your phone’s camera and show you what is in the area in real-time.
A PAIR OF BINOCULARS
You don’t need a fancy telescope to start stargazing in the Texas Hill Country. Instead, many astronomers encourage beginners to use binoculars until they are familiar with the night sky. Fortunately, the skies are dark enough here that a simple pair of binoculars will give you the fantastic experience you are looking for. Just use your phone app to locate an object of interest and use your binoculars to get a closer look.
A RED FLASHLIGHT
Did you know it takes several hours for our eyes to adapt to darkness fully? The major changes that give humans better night vision happen in a few minutes, but it can take several hours for our eyes to fully adapt to low light situations.
A bright white flashlight can ruin that night vision rather quickly. However, red light has been shown to degrade night vision much slower. So when stargazing in the Texas Hill Country, you will want to use a flashlight with a red filter or a “red mode” to maintain night vision to see as many stars as possible.
YOUR HOME BASE WHILE STARGAZING IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY
Whether you plan to head out for an evening hike to enjoy stargazing in the Texas Hill Country or you are taking in the night sky from the comfort of your RV site or cabin, Nueces River RV and Cabin Resort is the perfect amateur astronomer’s basecamp.