Savor Summer Stargazing with Tahoe Star Tours

Go North Lake Tahoe, then look up, and see if you can find your favorite stars.

WHERE DO YOU SEE STARS? First things first, following that big-of-scope question: We're not talking about the terrestrial assortment here, those talented performers who act so well in your favorite films. We're talking about the far, far, very far-off, ultra-twinkly heavenly bodies that grandly occupy various distant points of the cosmos. You see them when you look up after sundown each cloud-free night, yes, but you might also see dotting the shimmery surface of your tea cup, or a friend's pool, or, if you're very lucky, Lake Tahoe on a clear-air'd summer evening. Seeing the stars above reflected on the surface of the alpine body of water is a sight treasured by many, but what if you could fold in another to-do during the same Tahoe trip, one that would also enhance your love of astronomy, of the universe of knowledge, and of velvety, sky-above beauty? You can do so, if you sign up to join...

TAHOE STAR TOURS: The company's astrono-awesome events are ready to start up again on June 14, and they'll keep turning those telescopes to the dome above right through to Sept. 1, 2018. Not just any telescopes, mind you, but "high-powered Celestron telescopes," which you'll peer through as docents stand by, providing all sorts of wondrous science-based facts. The spot is the Dark Skies Cosmoarium at Northstar California Resort, the days of the weeks, or make that nights, rather, are Thursdays through Saturdays, and the cost to join is $40 for an adult and $20 for a child. Tony Berendsen, the owner of Tahoe Star Tours, will give an "...informative Star Tour Astronomy presentation" at every event, and there shall be complimentary hot chocolate and s'mores, all to keep your stargazing energy buoyant.

BECAUSE IT IS SUMMER, expect tours to begin at 8:15 p.m. — bye-bye to you, dear sun, for a darker sky is desired — with everything wrapping at 10:30, just over two hours later. Mr. Berendsen's theme for his 2018 talks, by the by, is to "... explore our home in space." Neat stuff, essential stuff, the very threads that connect beauty, mystery, science, and the sky. The chance to experience this, in the summer, not too far from Lake Tahoe, is a lovely one. Just don't forget to swing by the lake later that night, on your own, or on another evening of your stay, to see if you can indeed detect the stars glittering atop its still surface. Perhaps the same stars you just saw, a few miles away, through a Celestron telescope at Northstar.

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