Community

The Yearlong Star Party

The Granite Gap development will cover a spacious 300 acres. Part of this land is the Yearlong Star Party RV park, so named because it sits under the darkest sky in North America. For a modest cost, amateur astronomers can lease a 1/3-acre lot for 99 years. Once the land is yours, you can build a small observatory there, erect a telescope pier, or park a recreational vehicle (RV) at the site.

The second option provides access to a well-apportioned 400-square-foot cabin for 6 months each year. Both cabins and plots at the RV park will feature electricity, water, septic facilities,and high-speed Internet. The Granite Gap development offers a terrific opportunity for observers and imagers who struggle to find a high-quality observing site. And financing is available.

But the Yearlong Star Party offers much more than astronomy. Rockhounds, birdwatchers, and history lovers also will use it as a base for exploration. Area experts will conduct tours on foot and on horseback to rock outcroppings, wildlife habitats, and ancient Native American sites. When you're done exploring, pull out your rod and enjoy fishing on Granite Gap's 40-acre lake.

Granite Gap also includes a focal point from which education in the arts and sciences can originate. Two world-class facilities now in the design phase, a planetarium and a mineral museum, will fulfill this objective. Most people think of a planetarium as a place for people to experience astronomy. While that's true, every planetarium also houses a multimedia theater fully capable of presenting programs on a wide variety of subjects.

So the planetarium at Granite Gap will feature, for example, shows about solar power, Southwestern Desert animals, meteorology, and musical, theatrical and artistic presentations, in addition to ones dealing with the origin of the universe, what's up in the spring sky, and why Pluto should still be a planet.

The mineral museum is the other tine in Granite Gap's two pronged educational thrust. In addition to housing one of the country's finest mineral collections, it will feature state-of-the-art interactive exhibits, a fully equipped demonstration laboratory, and personalized tours. Galleries will highlight the history of mining, minerals of New Mexico and Arizona, and a special gallery dealing with rocks from space.