NC's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse open to moonlight

CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. -- Visitors to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse can find out for themselves why the Outer Banks landmark was so important to coastal navigation. The National Park Service on Friday offers nighttime tours of the lighthouse to coincide with the full moon rising over the Atlantic Ocean. There are no lights inside the lighthouse stairs, so visitors will climb the 210-foot brick tower using flashlights. At the top, visitors will be able to view the working light up close and in motion. If weather allows, climbers stepping out on the balcony will get a glimpse of what lighthouse keepers in the 19th and 20th centuries saw as a powerful beam of light reaching out to sea and to the full moon. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)