Editor's note: This story was originally published Dec. 11. We are bringing it back with information about this Sunday's full lunar eclipse, also known as a "Super Blood Wolf Moon." The University of North Texas Rafes Urban Astronomy Center will hold a watch party Sunday from 8 pm until 1 am. Tickets are $5, cash only. For updates, check the Center's Facebook page. The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas will hold a watch party from 8 pm until 1 am on the 5th floor of the UT-Dallas Parking Structure 3 (PS3). For more information visit the events calendar on the Society's Facebook page.

As a boy growing up in Oak Lawn in the 1960s, Don Elliott spent hours observing the night sky from his backyard. With his $20 telescope, he could spy moon craters, distant stars and constellations.

Over the years, light pollution from the fast-growing metroplex began to overwhelm what Elliott could see. So he asked The Dallas Morning News, "Where is a good location near D-FW to stargaze?"

His question is part of Curious Texas, an ongoing project from The News that invites you to join in our reporting process. The idea is simple: You have questions, and our journalists are trained to track down answers.

You can send us your Curious Texas questions by texting “DMN” to 214-817-3868. Follow the prompts and introduce yourself to us, share your story or questions, and we’ll text you with information as we report the story.

Dallas has one of the brightest skies in the U.S. because of the size of our city, said Levent Gurdemir, director of the planetarium at the University of Texas at Arlington. The glow from artificial lights masks deep-space objects and the disk of our own Milky Way galaxy, a cloudy stripe that arcs overhead from one horizon to the other.

But there is still plenty to see. Watch for bright star clusters, the moon, planets and the spectacular Geminid meteor shower Dec. 13 and 14 that will give off one shooting star every minute. There are also clever ways to get around the problem of light pollution.

Felipe Cuellar, 36, of Dallas, views the planet Saturn through a telescope during a Mars viewing event hosted by the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas at Brookhaven College July 31, 2018. (Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

To seek out darker skies, visit the state parks that surround the D-FW area, says Gary Carter, president of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas. Find listings at tpwd.texas.gov.

One of his favorites is Ray Roberts Lake State Park in Pilot Point, north of Denton. "There is a small parking lot right off of the boat docks on the Isle du Bois side," he said. The lot is marked "DORBA Trailhead Parking" on maps available at the Ray Roberts Lake State Park website, which visitors should check in advance for weather-related closures.

City parks, said Carter, are less optimal because they host brightly lit sporting events at night.

Star-watchers with their own telescopes can use filters to block sky glow and enhance the view of certain space objects, like comets, nebulae and planets, said Carter.

To commune with fellow astronomy lovers and learn more about sky watching, attend one of the many star parties held throughout the Dallas area. At these gatherings, astronomers and volunteers set out instruments and guide visitors through observations.

The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, one of the oldest astronomical societies in the United States, hosts free star parties every week that are open to the public. Next Saturday, Dec. 15, is the Cedar Hill Starbolt at J.W. Williams Park. Saturday, Dec. 22, marks Stars on the Rock at The Shores Park in Rockwall. (For details and more events visit http://www.texasastro.org or follow the Society on Facebook).

Attendees are able to observe the galaxy through telescopes at the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center's star parties. (The University of North Texas)

Universities host their own public events, often accompanied by planetarium shows. The University of North Texas opens its Rafes Urban Astronomy Center to the public the first Saturday of each month. Stargazing is $5 (children 4 and younger are free); a stargazing and planetarium show combo is $9 for adults and $7 for children younger than 12.

At its Dec. 1 event, astronomy students led a star talk and guided visitors among more than a dozen telescopes aimed at Mars, the Orion nebula (a luminous gas cloud where stars are born) and the Andromeda galaxy, the galaxy closest to our own.

Starting in January, UT Arlington will open a new observatory on its campus that will host public events in conjunction with shows at its planetarium. Watch for announcements on the UTA planetarium website.

To experience darker skies, viewers must drive at least 50 miles outside the metroplex, says John Cotton, who lectures on astronomy at SMU. The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas owns an observatory on 40 acres of land near Atoka, Okla. — about 125 miles north of Dallas — where members can camp out and enjoy dark, smog-free skies. The site is available free of charge to members ($50 per year). There are bathrooms, running water, concrete pads for telescopes and the all-important barbecue pit. Members store equipment, and some have built their own private observatories that they enjoy year-round.

Of course, the stargazing mecca of Texas is the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory, about 450 miles west of Austin. It hosts star parties every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evening, with expanded programming during spring break. Out there, good lighting control protects the night sky, humidity is lower and the elevation is higher, creating a clear, unobstructed view in good weather, says Cotton.

But this bounty of glittering space objects comes with its own downside. “It produces a black sky so full of stars,” he says, “that one has trouble finding familiar constellations.”

In Sept. 2015, Ariana Guinn, 7, a student at Chester Ditto Elementary School in Arlington, looked at the waxing crescent moon through Dick Gentry'­s telescope from a sidewalk in Klyde Warren Park. Gentry, a member of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas was participating in International Observe the Moon Night. International Observe the Moon Night is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observations, appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. (Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

Sky watching apps and maps

Experts we interviewed recommended these tools to enhance your star viewing experience.

A planisphere ($29.99 at CelestialTeapotDesigns.com) is a circular printed star map that identifies stars, constellations, meteor showers and other objects by location, date and time.

Find free, monthly star maps for the Northern Hemisphere at www.skymaps.com. Each map lists features visible with a telescope, binoculars and the naked eye.

The GoSkyWatch app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch ($3.99) and the SkySafari app (free) for iOS and Android let you point your device at the sky to see what's visible where.

Gas giants (free) This iOS app shows Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus through a simulated telescope, just as they appear in the sky now, or at any date and time.

Moon Globe and Mars Globe (free). For iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, these apps label features on the moon and on Mars as seen from Earth, so you always know what you're looking at.

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