Dark skies and epic Winter Star Party — why the Florida Keys are more than just a Spring Break destination

暗夜星空与盛大的冬季观星派对——为何佛罗里达群岛不止是春假胜地

If you're looking for the best locations for astrophotography and skywatching, look no further than the Florida Keys. A 125-mile string of tropical coral islands linked by bridges that stretches into the shallow waters of the Florida Straits and the Gulf of Mexico, it's home to fishing, boating and snorkeling, but also stargazing.

如果你想寻找最适合天文摄影和观星的地点，那就别再找了，佛罗里达群岛就是你的答案。这片由桥梁连接的125英里长的热带珊瑚岛链，延伸至佛罗里达海峡和墨西哥湾的浅水区域，不仅是钓鱼、划船和浮潜的绝佳去处，更是观星爱好者的天堂。

Related: Night sky for tonight: Visible planets, stars and more in this evening's sky

相关阅读：今晚夜空：今晚可见的行星、星星及其他天象

As well as some of the darkest skies on the U.S. East Coast, it's also the nation's southernmost point. At 24.5 degrees north, just above the Tropic of Cancer, it's possible to see many stars and deep-sea objects usually only seen from the Southern Hemisphere. The perfect location for the only Winter Star Party in the U.S.

佛罗里达群岛不仅拥有美国东海岸最黑暗的夜空之一，还是全国最南端的地点。位于北纬24.5度，北回归线稍北的位置，使得这里可以看到许多通常只有在南半球才能观测到的星星和深空天体。这一独特的地理位置，成为了美国唯一冬季观星派对的绝佳举办地。

Full disclaimer: This article was made possible by travel provided by Florida Keys & Key West to experience its night skies and by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society to its Winter Star Party.

特别声明：本文的创作得益于佛罗里达群岛及基韦斯特提供的旅行支持，以及南方十字天文学会提供的冬季观星派对体验。

I was transfixed by Venus shining brilliantly in the west in deep twilight when I first noticed a bright star due south, just above the Florida Straits. There was no moon in the sky, and from West Summerland Key, the star was far too low to be Sirius — the brightest star in the sky — which was shining much higher in the sky close to Orion. What I was seeing was Canopus, the second-brightest star in the sky, glimmering over the open ocean.

当我第一次注意到正南方上空那颗明亮的星星时，金星正在西边的深暮色中闪耀着耀眼的光芒。天空中没有月亮，而从西萨默兰岛（West Summerland Key）望去，这颗星星的位置太低了，不可能是天狼星——天空中最亮的恒星，而天狼星正高悬在猎户座附近。我所看到的是南船座α星（老人星），天空中第二亮的恒星，它正在开阔的海面上闪烁。

In the Southern Hemisphere, Canopus and Sirius journey across the sky together, but in the Northern Hemisphere, only Sirius rises above the horizon. Canopus' shine shimmered over the ocean like a path was being laid from the Florida Keys to Cuba just 90 miles across the water.

在南半球，南船座α星（老人星）和天狼星一起划过天空，但在北半球，只有天狼星能够升起。老人星的光芒在海面上闪烁，仿佛在佛罗里达群岛和古巴之间铺就了一条小径，而两地仅相隔90英里。

It was the peak way of a week-long road trip through the Florida Keys, chasing the southern stars from the best stargazing spots in this subtropical paradise.

这是我在佛罗里达群岛为期一周的公路旅行的高潮时刻。在这片亚热带天堂中，我从最佳的观星地点追寻南天的星辰，感受着这片土地的神秘与壮美。

I get asked a lot about the best places to go stargazing. My reply is always the same. Firstly, find somewhere away from people you'll enjoy visiting, regardless of whether the night skies are cloud-free. That way, you'll have a good trip, whatever happens. Secondly, always go the week before the new moon when our satellite rises after midnight. With the moon phase perfect, locations checked on a light pollution map and an invite secured to the only winter star party in the U.S., my wife Gill and I set off on a starry-eyed road trip from Miami to Key West in the Florida Keys via some off-the-beaten-track places.

我经常被问到哪里是观星的最佳地点。我的回答总是这样：首先，找一个远离人群的地方，即使夜空布满云层，你也会喜欢去那里。这样，无论发生什么，你都会拥有一段愉快的旅程。其次，尽量选择新月前一周出行，因为那时月亮会在午夜后升起，夜空更加黑暗。在确认了月相最佳、通过光污染地图筛选了观星地点，并且获得了参加美国唯一冬季观星派对的邀请后，我和妻子吉尔从迈阿密出发，沿着佛罗里达群岛一路向西前往基韦斯特，途中还经过了一些鲜为人知的偏僻地点。这是一场充满星光的公路旅行，沿途的风景令人难忘。

Having landed in Miami, we drove south for two hours, but the real journey began at Fiesta Key RV Resort, a secluded retreat surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico. We watched the planets appear behind a "Warning: crocodiles" sign and got up early to watch a stunning sunrise before watching turtles and coral reefs from Transparensea's glass-bottom boat.

抵达迈阿密后，我们向南驱车两小时，但真正的旅程从菲斯蒂瓦基（Fiesta Key）RV度假村开始。这片隐秘的休憩之地被墨西哥湾环抱，宁静而美丽。我们在“警告：鳄鱼出没”的标志后，静静地看着行星逐一现身；清晨，我们早早起床，迎接一场令人惊叹的日出；随后，我们登上Transparensea的玻璃底船，透过透明的船底，观赏海龟和珊瑚礁的奇妙景象。

Later that day, we checked into Grassy Flats Resort, Marathon, just in time to watch a sunset from a classic Florida Keys pier. Then the clouds rolled in. Gulp. Would we see any stars the next night at the star party?

当天晚些时候，我们入住马拉松市的格拉斯弗莱茨度假村，正好赶上在经典的佛罗里达群岛码头观赏日落。然而，云层开始聚集。我们不禁咽了口唾沫。第二天晚上的观星派对还能如愿看到星星吗？

From Marathon, we drove farther west, across the Seven Mile Bridge and into the Lower Keys, the darkest part of the Florida Keys. We couldn't resist spending a few hours in Bahia Honda State Park — an ideal location for stargazing if you don't mind camping at its wonderful, south-facing Sandspur campground (as the park is closed to visitors at night) — and home to both incredible white sand beaches and a photogenic derelict railroad bridge.

从马拉松出发，我们继续向西行驶，穿过七英里桥，进入佛罗里达群岛最黑暗的下群岛区域。我们忍不住在巴伊亚霍尔达州立公园停留了几个小时。这里是一个理想的观星地点，如果你不介意在其面向南方的桑德斯珀露营地露营的话（因为公园在夜间不对游客开放）。这里不仅拥有令人惊叹的白色沙滩，还有一座非常适合拍照的废弃铁路桥。

A few miles away was West Summerland Key — our location for the star party — but first, we had a date with Big Pine Kayak Adventures to explore one of the darkest areas, No Name Key, which is still predominantly native forest. After negotiating a tangle of mangrove roots in a tight channel, we emerged into a shallow lagoon. The mud beneath our kayaks was home to millions of tiny pulsing jellyfish that all appeared upside down.

几英里外就是西萨默兰岛（West Summerland Key），我们的观星派对就在这里举行。但在那之前，我们预约了大松树岛皮划艇探险（Big Pine Kayak Adventures），去探索一个名为无名岛（No Name Key）的黑暗区域，这里至今仍以原始森林为主。我们穿过狭窄水道中错综复杂的红树林根系，来到一片浅水泻湖。皮划艇下的泥泞中，生活着数百万只微小的脉动水母，它们看起来都像是倒置的。

"These are Cassiopeia jellyfish," my guide Bill Keogh, who's been running kayak tours since the 1980s, told me. "Whoever named them must have had an appreciation for astronomy." The five bright stars of Cassiopeia, "the queen," are seen low in the northern sky from here as a W or M-shape, depending on when it's viewed. Since it's circumpolar, it appears to revolve around Polaris, the North Star. Bill explains that Cassiopeia jellyfish host algae that live in their bodies, which photosynthesize and produce effortless food for the jellyfish. "It's like having grapes dropped into your mouth, said Bill. "Cassiopeia jellyfish have a queen's lifestyle."

“这些是仙后座水母，”我的向导比尔·基奥（Bill Keogh）告诉我，他从20世纪80年代开始经营皮划艇之旅”。给它们命名的人一定对天文学很有欣赏。”从这里看去，仙后座的五颗亮星——“女王座”——在北天低处呈现出W或M的形状，具体取决于何时观测。由于它是环北极星运行的星座，因此看起来像是围绕北极星旋转。比尔解释说，仙后座水母体内寄生着藻类，这些藻类通过光合作用为水母提供轻松的食物来源。“这就像是葡萄直接掉进嘴里，”比尔说。“仙后座水母过着女王般的生活方式”。

After smoked tuna, deep-fried conch and Key lime pie at No Name Pub, we see alligators at the Blue Hole Observation Platform and hike around the Fred C. Manillo Wildlife Trail — a perfect place for stargazing, albeit with the best views west and north. After checking in at the peaceful Parmer's Resort — after some impromptu meetings with Key deer in Little Torch Key — we delighted in the clear skies, recharged our batteries and headed to the star party.

在无名酒吧（No Name Pub）享用了烟熏金枪鱼、炸康克鱼和基岛酸橙派后，我们前往蓝洞观景台（Blue Hole Observation Platform）观赏短吻鳄，并在弗雷德·C·马尼洛野生动物步道（Fred C. Manillo Wildlife Trail）徒步——这是一个非常适合观星的地方，尽管最佳视野在西侧和北侧。在帕默度假村（Parmer's Resort）办理入住后，我们在小火炬岛（Little Torch Key）与几只基岛鹿（Key deer）不期而遇。在欣赏了晴朗的夜空后，我们精神焕发，前往观星派对。

The Winter Star Party is split into two camps owned by the Scouts of America — Camp Jackson Sawyer for campers and Camp Wesumkee for those in RVs. With its buildings badly damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017, the latter has an apocalyptic look. Not that we could see the crumbling concrete for long; as the light faded, fat Dobsonian telescopes and long refractors were silhouetted against the deep blue twilight skies. As well as its Bortle 3 skies, this location is famous for its "steady air" beloved by astrophotographers, who finish setting up in the fading light, sorting out firmware updates and aligning motorized mounts. Intriguingly, countless Seestar S50 smart telescopes were perched alongside ridiculously large setups. I'd never seen so many giant telescopes.

冬季观星派对分为两个营地，分别由美国童子军管理——杰克逊·索耶营地（Camp Jackson Sawyer）供露营者使用，韦萨姆基营地（Camp Wesumkee）则为房车用户准备。后者在2017年飓风“厄玛”中建筑受损严重，如今呈现出一种末世般的荒凉美感。不过，我们没时间过多关注这些破损的混凝土；随着天色渐暗，巨大的多布森望远镜和长长的折射望远镜在深蓝色的暮色中勾勒出剪影。除了拥有Bortle 3级的优质夜空，这里还因其“稳定的空气”而备受天文摄影师青睐。他们在逐渐暗淡的光线下完成设备搭建，处理固件更新，校准电动赤道仪。有趣的是，许多Seestar S50智能望远镜与那些令人咋舌的巨大设备并列摆放。我从未见过如此多的巨型望远镜。

I casually asked someone if there were places we should go, as visitors with no equipment, to look through others' telescopes. "Just ask anyone with a Dob," said one stargazer, referring to the behemoth Dobsonian telescopes around us. "They love showing the night sky to anyone passing by." It's true. Through a 16-inch Dob we saw Jupiter and its Great Red Spot, then Venus as a crescent shortly before it set. "Venus is rarely worth looking at — there's usually nothing to see — but wow!" said one stargazer. Next up was Mars with a distinct whitish polar ice cap, then the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros and three open clusters — Caroline's Rose cluster (NGC 7789) in Cassiopeia, M35 in Gemini and M46 in the southern constellation of Puppis.

我随意地问了一位观星者，作为没有设备的游客，我们是否可以去某些地方通过别人的望远镜观察星空。“只要找那些拿着多布的人就行”，他回答道，指的是我们周围那些巨大的多布森望远镜。“他们喜欢向路过的任何人展示夜空的奇妙”。事实确实如此。通过一台16英寸的多布森望远镜，我们看到了木星及其大红斑，随后又在金星即将落山前，看到了它的月牙相。“金星通常不值得一看——通常没什么可看的——但这次真是令人惊叹”！一位观星者感叹道。接下来，我们看到了火星上明显的白色极冠，然后是位于单子座的玫瑰星云，以及三个疏散星团——仙后座的卡罗琳玫瑰星团（NGC 7789）、双子座的M35星团，以及南天船底座的M46星团。

Impressive, but I'm a naked-eye stargazer at heart, and I couldn't take my eyes from Canopus out to sea, mainly because I wanted to find its companion to the southwest, Achernar in Eridanus. I finally glimpse it shining faintly in the horizon haze. I use it to make a triangle with Canopus and an imaginary point below the horizon — a stargazer's way of finding due south.

虽然这些景象令人印象深刻，但本质上我是一个肉眼观星者，目光始终无法从海上的老人星（Canopus）移开。这主要是因为我想要找到它西南方向的伴星——位于波江座的水委一（Achernar）。我终于瞥见它在地平线的薄雾中微弱地闪烁。我用它与老人星和一个假想的地平线下方的点构成一个三角形——这是观星者用来确定正南方向的一种方法。

Walking the site in the dark, only the occasional red light remains. We visit several groups, grabbing a few words and telescopic views with folks from as far away as California, Maine and Illinois, many of whom have driven across the U.S. with their giant telescopes.

在黑暗中漫步场地，只有偶尔的红光闪烁。我们拜访了几组人，与来自加州、缅因州和伊利诺伊州的观星者聊了几句，并通过他们的望远镜观赏了星空。许多人带着他们的巨型望远镜穿越美国来到这里。

Our host, Tim Khan at the Southern Cross Astronomical Society and organizer of the star party, aims his TEC 200mm refractor telescope — designed for planets — and shows us the shadow of Jupiter's moon Ganymede crossing the clouds of the giant planet. A stunning sight!

我们的活动组织者蒂姆·汗（Tim Khan）来自南方十字天文学会，他使用一台专为观测行星设计的TEC 200毫米折射望远镜，向我们展示了木星的卫星——木卫三（Ganymede）的影子穿过这颗巨大行星云层的壮观景象。这真是令人惊叹的景象！

We can't stay up to see the Southern Cross rise — it's not happening until just before dawn — so we take one last look at Canopus-shine on the ocean, before heading off to prepare for a big day and night tomorrow.

我们无法熬夜等待南十字星升起——它直到黎明前才会出现——于是我们最后看了一眼老人星在海面上的光辉，然后便动身去为明天的漫长一天和一夜做准备。

Dry Tortugas National Park is probably the darkest place in the U.S. About 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West, it's a coral island home to the massive Fort Jefferson, which was once used as a prison during the Civil War. It's possible to camp here in primitive style, but it sells out months in advance, so we settle for a day trip there with Key West Seaplane Adventures. It's a wild ride in an aging DeHaviland Otter, with sharks, shipwrecks, and loggerhead turtles visible beneath us in the incredibly shallow coral sea.

德赖托尔图加斯国家公园（Dry Tortugas National Park）可能是美国最黑暗的地方。它位于基韦斯特以西约70英里（113公里）处，是一个珊瑚岛，岛上坐落着巨大的杰弗逊堡（Fort Jefferson），这座堡垒曾在内战期间用作监狱。在这里，你可以体验原始风格的露营，但露营名额通常提前数月就被预订一空，所以我们选择通过基韦斯特水上飞机探险（Key West Seaplane Adventures）进行一日游。乘坐一架老旧的德哈维兰奥特飞机，这是一次惊险刺激的旅程：在清澈见底的珊瑚海下，我们可以看到鲨鱼、沉船和棱皮龟。

While walking the sandy moat wall of Fort Jefferson, I start a conversation with a sailor moored offshore in a yacht, lamenting that I can't stay overseas on the island. He says that while the night skies are stunningly dark, there is always a green glow on the horizon — squid boats using LED lights to attract plankton and the squid that feed on them. I'm sad to leave Dry Tortugas so soon, but we have a nocturnal adventure planned that will make up for it.

在杰弗逊堡的沙质护城河墙上漫步时，我与一名停泊在近海游艇上的水手聊了起来，感叹自己无法在这座海外孤岛上过夜。他告诉我，这里的夜空虽然黑暗得令人惊叹，但地平线上总有一抹绿色的光晕——那是鱿鱼船用LED灯吸引浮游生物，以及以此为食的鱿鱼。我很遗憾不能在德赖托尔图加斯多待一会儿，但我们计划了一场夜间冒险，足以弥补这个遗憾。

Minutes after landing back in Key West, we're off again, this time by boat to the edge of what locals call the backcountry — the shallow coral sea we were recently flying over. The light fades fast as we zero in on The Outpost, a floating houseboat restyled as a mobile eco-retreat by Mellow Adventures. As we got closer, I suddenly realized that it was glowing red. "That's no houseboat," I think. "It's a floating observatory." It's not fitted with any stargazing gear save for a pair of binoculars, but there are few better places to watch the night sky. The Outpost — which has two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bunch of kayaks strapped to an outside deck — constantly moves, so it isn't good for astrophotography (though some one-second, high ISO images work fine). "We can take this thing anywhere a customer wants — even out to the Dry Tortugas," says Captain Rob before he leaves us to watch Venus dazzle in the western sky before sinking into a small coral island. I wake up frequently all night and head out to the deck to stargaze — I see the Winter Milky Way stretched overhead in a ghostly arc and watch the island gobble up the stars of Taurus, then Orion, then Gemini. Solitude beneath the stars is broken by the chatter of brown pelicans, double-crested cormorants and frigate birds in the mangroves. We wrestle the kayaks from the deck and paddle around the island before Captain Rob arrives to take us back to civilization.

回到基韦斯特后不久，我们再次出发，这次是乘船前往当地人称为“后方荒野”的边缘——我们刚才飞越的那片浅珊瑚海。随着我们接近“前哨站”，天色迅速暗了下来。这个由Mellow Adventures改造成的移动生态度假屋，原本是一个浮动的屋艇。当我们靠近时，我突然意识到它在发出红色的光芒。“那不是屋艇，”我想，“那是一个浮动的天文台。”虽然它没有配备任何观星设备，只有一副双筒望远镜，但这里几乎是观赏夜空的最佳地点之一。“前哨站”有两个卧室、一个厨房，以及绑在外甲板上的一堆皮划艇，它一直在移动，因此不太适合天文摄影（不过一些一秒曝光、高ISO的图像效果还不错）。“我们可以根据客户的要求把这玩意儿带到任何地方——甚至可以开到德赖托尔图加斯群岛，”船长罗布在留下我们独自欣赏金星在西天闪耀并沉入一个小珊瑚岛之前说道。整夜我频繁醒来，走到甲板上观星——我看到冬季银河如幽灵般的弧线横跨天际，看着小岛“吞噬”了金牛座、猎户座，然后是双子座的星星。在星空下的孤独被红树林中褐鹈鹕、双冠鸬鹚和军舰鸟的喧闹声打破。我们从甲板上卸下皮划艇，在船长罗布来接我们回文明世界之前，绕岛划行了一圈。

We drive away from Key West, and eventually out of the Florida Keys, but there's one final stargazing stop to make — an eco-tent at Flamingo Everglades, deep within Everglades National Park. Here, under a vast open sky, I take a last look at the southern stars, tracing out Eridanus down to a faintly visible Achernar. It's our final celestial sight, the next day filled with views of crocodiles, alligators, manatees and even bottlenose dolphins in the waterways, before a late-night flight out of Miami.

我们驾车离开基韦斯特，最终驶出了佛罗里达群岛，但在离开前还有最后一个观星地点——位于大沼泽地国家公园深处的弗拉明戈生态帐篷。在这片广袤的开阔天空下，我最后看了一眼南天的星辰，沿着波江座一直追踪到隐约可见的水委一。这是我们此行的最后一处天象奇观，第二天我们将观赏鳄鱼、短吻鳄、海牛，甚至还有瓶鼻海豚在水道中游弋的景象，然后搭乘深夜的航班离开迈阿密。

With its dark skies and unique view of the southern stars, the Florida Keys delivered an unforgettable stargazing experience with plenty of unique adventures by day.

佛罗里达群岛凭借其黑暗的夜空和独特的南天星辰，带来了一场难忘的观星之旅，而白天的丰富冒险更是为旅程增添了别样的精彩。