✨Here at Joshua Tree, our holiday lights are on every night. ✨ In our park, December sunsets can be as early as 4:30 pm, with full dark falling by 5 pm. This means that visitors who brave the cold will have plenty of time to view special celestial objects that only appear in winter. Here are a few ‘holiday lights’ we are proud to show off: ⭐Orion (the Hunter): Winter’s most famous constellation. Look for three stars in a line that make up Orion’s belt in the southern sky. Below this belt, three faint stars make up the great hunter’s sword. Use binoculars or a telescope to the Orion Nebula- a stellar cloud of dust and gas that appears in the sword. 🌟Sirius: The brightest star in the night sky (not to be confused with Polaris, the North Star). If you follow the line of Orion’s belt down to the left, you’ll find it twinkling brightly! ⭐ Taurus: A V-shaped constellation to the northwest of Orion’s belt. Be on the lookout for a bright red star that makes up the eye of the bull. This red giant is called Aldebaran. 🌟 Gemini: If you follow Aldebaran to the northeast, you’ll see the stars of Castor and Pollux. These two stars make the heads of the Gemini twins holding hands in the sky. Joshua Tree National Park has designated stargazing areas in the parking lots of Hidden Valley, Quail Springs, and Ryan Mountain. If you’re planning on viewing holiday decorations this winter, consider checking out the natural decorations that light up our night sky! Photo by: NPS/ Brad Sutton