The Stars at Night are Big and Bright... How large is the Big
South Fork and what are it’s boundaries? Most of us would answer
by, defining the “ground level” boundaries of the park as you
would see them on a map. Yet the boundaries can also be measured
vertically and in that direction we have yet to define an upper
limit to Big South Fork. Panoramic views from the parks
overlooks can extend for miles on a clear day, but on a clear
night we can see as far as 2 million light years away to the
Andromeda galaxy! (Converted to miles, that’s 13.2 x 10 to the
17th power or 13,200,000,000,000,000,000 miles.) At night we can
look back in time as well as across space. When we see the
reddish star Antares in the constellation of Scorpio (visible
before dawn in winter and spring), we’re looking at light that
took 500 years to reach us. Several factors make Big South Fork
an excellent place for night sky-watching. Foremost is the
absence of light pollution, so prevalent near developed areas,
which makes this area unique