Star Parties

A Star Party is a gathering of people who want to look at stars and other astronomical objects.  Some of us will set up telescopes for everyone to look through.  We might see double stars, nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.

DRESS IN WARM CLOTHES!!!

This is the most important thing you can do to make sure you have a good time.  Wear a hat, boots and mittens.  Wear your snow pants and several layers of clothes.  You won’t be moving around much, so it will seem colder than you expect.  Remember- it will be dark, so no one will see what you’re wearing!

Things you might want to bring:

Layers of Warm Clothes!!!- I mean it!

Questions- We’ll be happy to try to answer them.

Red Flashlight- Imagine being in a bright room, and then going into a dark cellar.  You can’t see anything at first, but after a few seconds, your eyes start getting used to it.  This is called “dark adaptation.”  If you are trying to look at the stars, and someone shines a light in your face, it will take about 15 minutes for you to get dark adapted again.  For this reason, we use red flashlights.  Red light will not destroy your dark adaptation.  To make a red flashlight, cover your light with red cellophane or tissue paper or a piece from a red plastic bag.

 

Notebook and pencil- You might want to write down what objects you saw, and a description of them.  You might want to draw the nebula (cloud) in the sword of Orion, the hunter.  Keeping an observing journal can be fun, whether you are looking through a telescope, watching an eclipse, or drawing different phases of the moon.

 

Telescopes or binoculars- If you have these, and know how to use them, bring them along.  I was really amazed to find out how many interesting astronomical objects you can see with a plain old pair of binoculars! 
To learn how to use binoculars:

1. Take them out during the day.
2. Look at the object you wish to see without using the binoculars.
3. Without moving your eyes, put the binoculars up to your face, and focus them.  The object should be in view.  Practice this until you are comfortable with it.

Clear Skies!

Schedule

Please check our calendar for star parties.

Calendar