Join us for an unforgettable night of stargazing in the Vail Valley, CO!
Welcome to Rocky Stargaze Adventures! We are the first and only company offering astronomy tours in the Vail Valley, CO.
In order to make this experience more unique, we offer only private tours limited to a maximum of 4 people. This way, you maximize your telescope time and get to ask all your questions astronomy!
In our tours, we’ll give you an introduction to the night sky using both our naked eyes and telescopes. We’ll learn about the famous night sky constellations and the mythology behind them. we’ll also get to observe some objects available in the night sky using our telescopes. We’ll be looking at the moon, planets, star cluster, galaxies, nebulae, etc.!
What’s included
Tours led by our local astrophysicist, Soroush Sotoudeh
We’ll pick you up from your residence from 7:30pm-9:00pm (depending on the season)
A quick short drive to one of our multiple dark sky sites in the Vail Valley (30-60 min)
2 full hours of telescope time
Camping chairs, blankets and red light flashlights to protect your night vision!
Open discussions and/or mini lectures on astronomy topics that come up during the night.
Tailored observing plans based on the group’s needs, desires and prior observing experience.
Drop off at your residence at the end of the tour.
Cancellation and Rescheduling
Weather cancellations are determined only by Rocky Stargaze. In the event of a cancellation, full refunds will be offered. Alternatively, you also have the option to reschedule to another available night, hence our recommendation of booking early in your trip to maximize your chances of rescheduling due to weather.
Guests are not allowed to make weather determination on their own if the program is scheduled to run. There will be no refunds on these instances or no-shows.
Cancellations or rescheduling is not allowed within 48 hours of the start time of your reservation (7:30 PM the day of). No refunds assessed in these situations. If you need to cancel or reschedule for any reason outside this window, please reach out to us.
Booking best practices
Astronomy tours are heavily weather dependent. We encourage you to book your tour early enough in your trip to allow ample time to reschedule your tour in case we encounter bad weather on your initial reservation night. We’ll do our best to reschedule tours for weather reasons (fully refunded if we can’t reschedule you).
Moon-less nights are best for deep sky observations! If you have observed the night sky with a telescope a few times before and would like to focus more on deep sky objects, take the Moon’s phase into consideration as the brighter Moon phases would wash out the fainter objects against the background of the night sky.
Preparing for Your Tour
Dress Warm! Don’t let the pleasantly warm summer days in the mountains deceive you! Temperatures can drop after sunset and make for chilly nights under the stars. Dress warm and be prepared. We recommend that you wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, closed toed shoes and socks. It’s a good idea to have a light jacket, light gloves and a hat handy too just in case.
Moon’s Phase and Weather Forecast
For more details on the Moon’s phases and the planets’ setting and rising times, check here.
