The Cosmic Campground International Dark Sky Sanctuary in Silver City, N.M., teamed up with Darley Newman of “Travels with Darley” to do a special on what the Campground is all about. The result is a video called “New Mexico’s Continental Divide Trail” which will air on PBS stations in March and April, according to the Silver City Sun News.
“In August (2017) we were contacted by Darley to inquire if my husband (Dr. Al Grauer) and I would be interested in being part of a project at the Cosmic Campround,” Patricia Grauer said. “We agreed and Newman and her camera crew met us there on the evening of Sept. 3.”
According to Grauer, Newman interviewed them and directed them while the camera crew made videos, stills and aerial views with drones. Dr. Grauer began to show them objects with the telescope.
“When they saw the moon a photographer tried his hand at taking photos of the moon through our telescope,” Grauer said. “Four hours with them went by quickly.”
The Cosmic Campground is located off Hwy 180 West between mile marker 37 and 38 — 8.5 miles north of Alma. There is a brown national forest sign opposite the entrance at an orange cattle guard. The hard surface road is about 1.3 miles to the campground. There is a two-place standard FS toilet on site.
Cosmic Campground and the Gila National Forest have partnered for a 20-year special use permit. A high tech weather station and night sky data collection system is at the site and run by solar power at the campground. Data will be streamed over the internet wirelessly for people and students to see around the globe.
The Grauer’s have been traveling around the world and speaking about Cosmic Campground to astronomers and others interested in the natural night sky.
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