BRUNEAU DUNES, Idaho (KBOI) — There's a nightlife at Bruneau Dunes State Park and it happens on Friday and Saturday nights.
Adventurers get the chance to experience the night sky in a way they probably haven't before.
"This is actually one of the few observatories that is solely for the public," said Claire Clarke, Park Interpreter.
Situated near the Owyhee Wilderness, the Bruneau Dunes Observatory is the perfect place to gaze up at the stars.
"The night skies at Bruneau are incredibleThis is the perfect place to have an observatory having the Owyhee wilderness to the south of us and just a ton of undeveloped land, we aren't seeing the light impacts that maybe some cities or places closer to cities are seeing," said Bryce Bealba, Assistant Park Manager Bruneau Dunes State Park.
Equipped with a powerful telescope, star gazers can see the night sky up close.
"We have a massive massive telescope, it's a 25-inch obsession and that will allow the public to view big things like the moon, some of the bigger planets, but also things that are incredibly far away in comparison, so we're talking galaxies, nebulas and things like that," says Clarke, "It's incredible, you think of the stars and they're always so far away, but to actually see them up close, and even bigger things like the moon, is a really great feeling."
During warm summer nights, it's not just the stars that show up, some of the nightlife can glow too.
"Scorpions have a very unique characteristic they actually have things within their shells that will glow under these UV lights, so as you're walking around in the dark you're not going to see them with your bare eye, until you get that light on them, and then they're just absolutely bursting with color, they're just glowing," says Clarke.
Scorpion hunts around the park are to educate visitors about the species while in their natural habitats,
fortunately, scorpions around here are less dangerous than others.
"Our scorpions are not very dangerous, it's like a bee sting, and they're not very aggressive but you won't be getting anywhere near that close to them when you're out with the interpreter," said Bealba.
In addition to the observatory, the Steele Reese Education Center is onsite and provides an orientation to visitors and a chance to survey the sky through their collection of telescopes.
More information is available through their website here.
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