Stargazing at Abó: Night Sky Program Illuminates the Past and Present

While the town of Mountainair gathered under gymnasium lights on the evening of Friday, May 23, 2025, to celebrate the graduation of the Mountainair High School Class of 2025, a quieter, more contemplative gathering took place a few miles west, under a different kind of illumination.

At the Abó unit of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, National Park Service (NPS) rangers hosted an immersive night sky program that drew visitors from across New Mexico and beyond. Beneath the skies of the central New Mexico plains, participants experienced a blend of ancient history, astronomy, and hands-on learning that connected the region’s rich cultural heritage with the wonders of the universe.

The evening began in the pergola southwest of the visitor center, where NPS Ranger Chris Arendt offered a lecture on celestial navigation. He traced the evolution of star-based travel from the Classical Era of Greek and Phoenician explorers, through the development of instruments like the astrolabe and the sextant. Guests learned how humans have long relied on the stars, including the sun, not just for wonder, but also for orientation, migration, and survival.

As twilight deepened and the last hues of sunlight faded into a velvet-black sky, the program expanded. Visitors divided into small groups: one attended a workshop on astrophotography and night sky photography, learning techniques to capture starscapes using modern digital tools; the other explored the stars (with a focus on Vega) and planets (especially Jupiter) through high-powered telescopes provided by the park.

Rangers had prepared the site to preserve night vision, illuminating the Spanish mission ruins at Abó with soft red lights that gave the landscape an otherworldly glow. The timing of the program offered a bonus: a visible flyover of Starlink satellites, which sparked conversation about the changing nature of the night sky and the intersection of technology and tradition.

For those who missed this event, the monument regularly hosts similar programs as part of its Dark Sky initiative, highlighting the area's designation as a sanctuary from light pollution and a window into both the past and the cosmos.