The Conecuh National Forest is the southern-most national forest in Alabama, encompassing 84,000 acres between Andalusia, Alabama, and the Florida line. An Auburn Astronomical Society member wrote: “The skies at the Conecuh National Forest are very dark- excluding the horizons which have some light pollution hugging them, it’s nearly impossible to tell you’re not in West Texas. The faint and elusive Gegenshein is visible every night, and on a good night, the incredibly faint zodiacal band (not to be confused with the immensely brighter zodiacal light) is visible too. M33 is about to easy to see naked eye as M31 from a magnitude 4.5 or 5 site. The Milky Way is incredible.” Via https://www.auburnastro.org/trips/cnf/conecuh.htm

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.