The Wonder of the Stars

In this fourth episode of our seven-part road trip through Arizona, we’re reaching for the stars. Northern Arizona has some of the darkest skies in the country, as well as the world’s first International Dark Sky City in Flagstaff. If you want to see the Milky Way like never before, this is where you’ve got to come. We stand on the rim of Meteor Crater, the best-preserved meteorite impact crater on Earth, blasted out of the desert 50,000 years ago by an asteroid traveling faster than the speed of sound. We step inside the historic Lowell Observatory, home to some of the most important astronomical discoveries in history. And in the center of downtown Flagstaff, we stand beneath a sky filled with more sparkling lights than you could possibly imagine.

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Episode highlights

The Day the Sky Fell

Walk the rim of the Barringer Meteor Crater, the best-preserved meteor impact site on Earth, and feel the raw power of the universe. The crater is three-quarters of a mile across and more than 550 feet deep, a hole so vast that two million spectators could watch from its slopes.

One Giant Leap

Hear how Meteor Crater helped make one giant leap for mankind possible, and why, from Mars rovers to NASA’s Artemis program, this hole in the Arizona desert is still playing an essential role in space exploration today.

Staring Into the Sun

Look through a specially filtered telescope at Lowell’s Giovale Open Deck Observatory and see the sun as few people ever do: dark sunspots, arcing prominences and ribbons of plasma, churning like a living thing.

Expanding Universe

Step back in time at Lowell Observatory with historian Kevin Schindler, inside the wooden dome of the 1896 Clark Telescope. Lowell is famous for discovering Pluto, but it was here that one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy was made, and it’s a story almost no one knows.

The World’s First Dark Sky City

Meet cultural astronomer Dr. Danielle Adams and discover how Flagstaff protects its stars, and why the night sky matters for our health, for nature, and for our sense of wonder. Then find out what it’s like to stargaze from a brewery in the middle of town.

A lot of times I get asked, where should I go to do stargazing? In Flagstaff, the answer is just open the door and look up.

Dr. Danielle Adams, Executive Director, Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition