Join Robert and Libby (Wilkinson) Strong of the SMART-Center in Wheeling and other amateurastronomers on Saturday, March 18, 2023 from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm at Grant County’s DayPark for a public StarWatch event for the Grant County Dark Skies Project.   The Grant County Dark Skies Project will focus on the inherent natural beauty of the dark sky of Grant County with the aim of promoting Dark Sky Awareness and Dark Sky Tourism.

 If the skies are cloudy or there is inclement weather on March 18th, StarWatch attendees will enjoy several interactive and family friendly astronomy activities. There will also be astronomy related discussions based on current astronomy events and your astronomy related questions.

 View Venus as it sets, Mars high in the sky, and Orion in the lower southwest sky. Also seemany deep space objects if the sky is clear. We invite all persons with telescopes to bring their telescopes to the StarWatch event. Other telescopes will also be available for viewing. Come celebrate the night sky!

The Grant County Dark Skies Project is a joint effort between the Near Earth Object Foundation, Wheeling’s SMART-Center, and a generous grant from NASA’s West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, grant #80NSSC20M0055. The Grant County CVB, City of Petersburg, Grant County Chamber of Commerce, Grant County Development Authority, Grant County Schools, and Grant County Parks and Recreation are also partners in this project.