AstroTours.org

A little Colorado night-sky field art. 🌌

This long exposure was made on Loveland Pass by light-painting AstroTours across the mountainside with a green laser.

For the controlled exposure, we first confirmed the mountainside was clear of people, then made the light painting against the night landscape.

Milky Way overhead. AstroTours across the ridge. One frame.

Trail Thursday: Ridgway. 🌌

This was an evening just outside Ridgway, one of the official stops on the Colorado Stargazing Trail.

The sky is only part of what makes stargazing in Colorado special. The mountain landscape, the drive, the quiet before the stars fully come out, and the places you discover along the way are part of the experience too.

We’re exploring the trail one stop at a time.

Ten years of friendship. Five Champion of the Year campaigns. More than $60,000 raised.

Amanda & Jeff are running for Best Buddies Colorado Champion of the Year for the fifth and final time. They met through Best Buddies at the University of Northern Colorado in 2016, and that unexpected meeting became a friendship that has lasted a decade.

This year is their final Champion of the Year campaign, and they are hoping to make it their strongest yet. AstroTours is glad to support them and help share their story.

The campaign runs through November 7. Full details are in the second image.

Private stargazing in Keystone. 🔭🏔️

AstroTours is built to be mobile, so we can bring a full astronomy program to the place a group is already staying.

This telescope was set up for a private event in Keystone, turning the patio into an observatory for the night.

We work with mountain homes, resorts, weddings, retreats, corporate gatherings and private groups across Colorado.

https://www.astrotours.org/

We have some pretty huge news.

AstroTours.org has been named a 2026 Arival Spotlight Awards Tour Innovator Finalist. We’re one of just four finalists worldwide in the category, and the only United States-based finalist.

We’re still having a hard time believing it.

Arival’s Spotlight Awards recognize companies pushing the tours and experiences industry forward, so being recognized specifically for innovation means an enormous amount to our team.

AstroTours started in Boulder in 2018 with a simple idea: bring the observatory to where people already are. Since then, our astronomers have brought astronomy experiences to resorts, ranches, schools, weddings, conferences, festivals, city centers and destinations across Colorado and far beyond.

The universe sets the itinerary.

We’re honored to be finalists alongside 46° Balaton Borbusz of Hungary, Overland Tours of Ireland, and The Little Green Boat of Curaçao.

It feels especially meaningful as Colorado puts a bigger spotlight on astrotourism and the Colorado Stargazing Trail. Thank you to Visit Boulder, Visit Colorado, GoBreck and all of the destinations, organizations, guests and astronomers who have helped us build this.

The winner will be announced October 14 at Arival 360 in Spokane.

Read the full story:
https://www.astrotours.org/post/astrotours-2026-arival-tour-innovator-finalist

Trail Thursday: Chimney Rock. 🌕

This was the Moon during the lunar standstill at Chimney Rock, photographed while camping on Forest Service land across the river.

Some astronomy is about magnification. Some is about standing in the landscape and watching the geometry of the Earth, Moon and horizon come together.

This was one of those nights.

Moon-gazing in RiNo. 🌙🔭

Astronomy works in the middle of the city, too. This was one of our Moon-gazing events at Beacon in Denver's RiNo neighborhood, with a telescope set up right at the venue.

The Moon is a great urban observing target: bright, detailed and always changing from night to night.

AstroTours brings telescopes and astronomers to venues, private events, schools and group gatherings across Colorado.

https://www.astrotours.org/

Help put Colorado’s night sky on Outside’s radar. 🔭
Nominate AstroTours.org for Best Adventure Travel Company in Outside magazine’s 2027 Travel Awards!

Have we helped you see Saturn’s rings, find a constellation, or ask a question that sent you down a cosmic rabbit hole? Tell Outside about it.

Nominate here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8905856/Outside-Travel-Awards-2027

HOW TO NOMINATE
1. Open Outside’s 2027 Travel Awards nomination form.
2. Enter your name, email, and organization/affiliation.
3. Skip the hotel and trail questions by clicking Next. Go to Question 8: Best Adventure Travel Company.
4. Enter AstroTours.org, explain why, and press Submit.

A STARTING POINT YOU CAN ADAPT:
“I nominate AstroTours.org for Best Adventure Travel Company. This locally owned Colorado business makes the night sky an outdoor destination, with astronomers, large telescopes, and stories that help guests understand what they are seeing. Its public tours in Boulder and Breckenridge welcome first-time stargazers, while mobile programs bring astronomy to schools and community events. AstroTours connects outdoor adventure with science, curiosity, and appreciation for dark skies.”

Been on a tour? Add where you joined us and one moment you still remember. Your own experience makes the nomination stronger.

Submit by September 30, 2026, at 9:59 PM Mountain / 11:59 PM Eastern.

Thank you for helping our small Colorado team share the universe with more people. Send this to someone who looked through a telescope with us! ✨

Science in Snowmass kicks off TOMORROW! 🦣🔭🌌

September 11–12, Snowmass Village becomes a two-day celebration of discovery, connecting the extraordinary Ice Age fossils found beneath Snowmass with the science of our planet and the universe above us.

⭐ FRIDAY 9/11 | STARS & S’MORES | FREE
Snowmass Base Village Events Lawn | 8:00–9:30 PM

Join AstroTours.org astronomers at multiple professional telescopes for guided stargazing, plus free s’mores and hot chocolate.

🏔️ SATURDAY 9/12 | SNOWMASS STARGAZING
Elk Camp | Gondola opens 5:30 PM | Stargazing starts 8:00 PM
$32 | Kids 10 & under FREE | Gondola included

From mammoths and mastodons beneath Snowmass to planets, star clusters and galaxies overhead, come spend the weekend exploring deep time in every direction.

Scan the QR code on the flyer for tickets and the full weekend schedule.

Colorado, look up tonight.

A deep partial lunar eclipse peaks tonight, Thursday, August 27, at 10:12 PM MDT. At maximum, nearly 94% of the Moon will be obscured by Earth's shadow, making this a particularly deep partial eclipse.

Partial eclipse: 9:12 PM to 11:13 PM
Maximum: 10:12 PM
Penumbral eclipse ends: 1:01 AM Friday

You do not need a telescope or eclipse glasses for a lunar eclipse. Find a clear view of the Moon and watch Earth's shadow move across it.

These images are from the last lunar eclipse we observed through our telescopes. If you photograph tonight's eclipse from Colorado, share it with us.