Saturday, 20 September 2025, a star party was held at Oracle State Park, a DarkSky International "International Dark Sky Park" since 2014. As park visitors arrived they were greeted by spectacular views of the area and a partly cloudy sky.

A new pathway from the parking lot to the Kannally Ranch House had been added since the previous star party at the Park.

Visitors enjoyed fish & shrimp tacos from La Bufadora Food Truck while relaxing on the Kannally Ranch House patio and listening to acoustic guitar and American folk songs from local musician Fred Terry. Friends of Oracle State Park were available to answer questions about the Park.

As sunset approached and with the sky becoming mostly clear, members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association began setting up their telescopes.

As the sky darkened, over 200 visitors began enjoying this beautiful night of stargazing and music. Park Ranger Malana Starr used the Park's electronic telescope that was set up on the Ranch House patio to show live views through the telescope in the Ranch House living room.

For many visitors, this was their first time to come to the Park and some came from as far away as Phoenix. Everyone enjoyed the dark sky views of the Milky Way, planets, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Visitors left the park about 9:30 PM. A SQM reading showed the sky quality on this humid night was 20.97. Many thanks to members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association for providing their telescopes and expertise.

Photos by Mike Weasner.

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