First permanent star walk installation worlwide
In 2014, project nightflight opened the first permanent star walk installation worldwide. The Grossmugl Star Walk is a self-guided tour encouraging astronomical
observations with the unaided eye. Nine displays along the trail explain general astronomical topics in an easy-to-read way. On a 90 minutes' walk, visitors learn
how to spot star colors, artificial satellites, the Milky Way and other objects in the night sky. The 1.5-km-long tour is free of charge, open all year round day and
night and available without booking or reservation. The "Sternenweg Großmugl" was designed by project nightflight and built in close collaboration with the
municipality of Grossmugl, Austria.
The Grossmugl Star Walk was officially opened on May 24th, 2014. About 100 visitors from neighbouring villages and Vienna came to participate in the inaugural
walk despite of storm clouds looming on the horizon in all directions. Since the opening, nature lovers, stargazers and people just taking a stroll can be found
walking the path, especially during the summer months. The news about the Star Walk was well covered by local print and online media, with the publication of
articles still ongoing.
PDF with a description of the Grossmugl Star Walk
Follow-up installation in Harrison Bay State Park, Tennessee
In 2016, the Barnard Astronomical Society (BAS) opened their own star walk installation in the Harrison Bay State Park in Tennessee, USA. During their design
phase we were in close contact with our friends in the United States and supported them with whatever we could. We are very glad the BAS succeeded in setting
up their own star walk installation in a state park near Chattanooga. Image Credit Matt Harbison:
Read more about the
Harrison Bay Star Walk on
the Sky & Telescope Website.