Request a Private Star Gaze
Due to cold, windy weather and snowy/icy road conditions on the top of Grassland Mtn. at 4,130 feet, there will be no private star gaze bookings during the months of December, January, and February.
If both the observatory staff and the facility are available and the weather cooperates, the club will accommodate private star gaze requests at its dark-sky observatory in Madison County – Grassland Mountain Observatory.
Come up to Grassland Mountain (4,130 feet elevation, and a 50-minute ride from downtown Asheville), watch a beautiful sunset, the Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus; and then observe some meteors, the planets, the stars, star clusters, nebulae, the Milky Way and other galaxies, along with a guided tour of the constellations and the night sky.
For these private star gazes, there is a minimum charge of $400, which covers up to 2 hours at the telescopes. After the first two hours, the fee is $100 per hour, with a maximum event time of 4 hours.
All participants must sign a liability waiver form prior to the event. Proceeds from these private star gazes will support the Astronomy Club of Asheville – a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, educational organization. In the event of inclement weather, high winds, or clouds, all fees will be refunded.
To make an inquiry for a private star gaze with an experienced astronomer, please send an email with your contact information to inquiry@AstroAsheville.org.
Image: Above the Black Mountains and Mt. Mitchell is the Earth’s shadow (the narrow gray band), and above the Earth’s shadow is the striking rosy-pink colored “Belt of Venus.” The Belt of Venus is the light of the sunset in the west, reflected off the Earth’s atmosphere onto the eastern horizon. It’s a brief phenomenon, lasting about 15 minutes in the early evening twilight, and it’s quite common up at Grassland Mountain Observatory, with its great views to all horizons. You can also observe this same wonder on the western horizon just before sunrise! (Image credit: club member, Debbie Wertheim)
Milky Way over
Grassland Mtn. Observatory
– Image Credit:
club member, Jerry Sherman
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“Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world
in which he lives.”
— Socrates, Philosopher
A sunset at
Grassland Mtn. Observatory
– Image Credit:
club member, Jim Brown