18 replies to this topic

[Apollo Dave]

Hello Everyone! I’m an older new amateur. For many years (45) I used binoculars and a parallelogram mount. My viewing would happen in streaks of a few months here and a few there. I am however a novice compared to the vast majority of you. I recently purchased my first telescope - an Apertura AD10. I plan to stay in visual astronomy and this will be my main pastime in my retirement. I am currently retired. I live in Central Wisconsin. I am doing some planning for 2024 and would like to attend 3 or 4 great star parties. I have never been to one. I don’t have a big impressive scope but I’d like to attend to learn and to meet other amateur astronomers. I have the time to go and the only requirement is that it is feasible to be able to drive there. Here are a few I am considering but I would like your comments on others to attend that would be appropriate for newer people like me.

1.) Nebraska Star Party - This one seems to be one of the closer big star parties to my home area. I am also planning to drive to the area of this star party to do some viewing on my own. I’d like to spend 2 or 3 weeks there next summer on my own. I’m not sure though at Merritt State Park which campground is the best for viewing or which campground the NSP is held in.

2.). Okie Texas Star Party - I have always wanted to attend this one.

3.). Texas Star Party - I know the location is different this next year due to the eclipse but that’s ok. Not sure yet if I want to deal with the masses of people for the eclipse so may wait till 2025 to attend.

4.). Other recommendations?

Thank you!

Dave

[hyiger]

I would choose any star party that is in Bortle 1 skies with best chance of clear weather. Also, you don't need an impressive scope to go to a star party. I've seen people with AstroScans and tabletop Dobs as well as people with no scopes at all. 

Edited by hyiger, 02 December 2023 - 02:33 PM.

[cookjaiii]

Hi Dave!

 

You picked an awesome telescope for getting into visual astronomy in a serious way, so congrats on that!

 

One of your stated goals is to learn and to meet other astronomers.  That will certainly happen if you drive to a big event, but have you also sought out any local astro club?  Many experienced hobbyists are members of a club in their area, and most are very welcoming toward people who are starting out and are eager to impart tips, tricks, and general advice. 

 

Here's a list of clubs in Wisconsin.  Are any near you?  https://www.go-astro...te.php?State=WI

 

By all means, go to those big events, but local clubs hosting star watches can be lots of fun and educational too.

[MikeTahtib]

I went to the Nebraska Star Party this year (2023).  There was much to like about it. Big wide open field, plenty of room, very friendly people.  A lot of big telescopes whose owners welcomed people to look through them (on "Dob Row").  There were drawbacks, though.  No flush toilets, and no showers at the site.  I ended up renting a hotel about a half hour away, as did many other attendees.  Weather was also problematic.  I delayed my trip out a couple days due to weather, even still, when I got there late at night, there were dramatic thunderstorms going through.  I stayed a couple nights with little observing time.  I finally gave up and went home early due to bad forecast for the remaining nights, which was a mistake, as I heard the viewing was spectacular on Friday.  I was warned before I went that the weather could be like this, but it was extremely rare for the week to be a complete washout, there is always at least one great night.  Whereas I was coming from Massachusetts, with a couple days travel each way,and this was my main vacation for the year, it was not a great experience for me.  But if you live nearby, and have all the time in the world, and don't mind waiting out some crazy weather for some great observing, I would highly recommend this one.  The altitude is fairly high, which should yield some great seeing on a clear night.

 

I also went to Okie-Tex in 2021, which was good.  Nice hot showers, flush toilets, dry cloudless skies for the most part, but the skies were a bit hazed over by smoke from wildfires.  Views were still excellent, although not necessarily batter than I have in Maine.  Some veterans of this party said the skies were not what they usually are.  It was less social than some of the parties I've been to, but we were just coming out of the pandemic.  Still, people were nice, and still showing views through some awesome telescopes.  I think if I were to do another cross-country star party trip, this is the one I would go to again, in hopes that the wildfires will not be as severe as they have been, in which case, I would expect several spectacular nights of observing.

 

I believe there is also at least one Grand Canyon Star Party, which would be awesome, although I don't know if it's more geared to amateur astronomers or as an outreach to the general public.  Not sure how it all works, but something I'd like to find out more about.

[Etrsi_645]

W.O.W Wisconsins Observers Weekend is at [post='http://new-star.org/']here[/post]

and under Links there are several more local ones.

[Bob W4]

The Nebraska Star Party is a good one.  As Mike wrote in post #3, the weather can be a crapshoot as it is anywhere.  Bring whatever scope you like.  People observe with everything from binoculars, up to massive dobs.  Last year I took advantage of the dark skies with my 8" SCT on a goto mount, to observe a boat load of faint Galaxies that would be impossible to see from my home city location.  As an added bonus, I arrived a day early, and left a day late.  2 extra beautifully dark nights.

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[Napp]

Add the Winter Star Party to your list.  You can escape winter in February in the Florida Keys.  It's the fartherest south of the major star parties in the continental US.  You can explore a whole region of the sky not visible where you are and not visible from the other majors.  And a lot of the far southern objects are great binocular targets.  I 'aquired' the photo from their Facebook page.  And if you like seafood there is lots of excellent seafood available in the surrounding Keys.

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[Alex McConahay]

Where are you Appollo Dave?

 

A suggestion for a star party might do a whole lot more good if you can actually get to it. 

 

Years ago, the five star parties that "everyone has to go to" (and in no particular order) were:

 

Stellafane--Vermont

Riverside Telescope Makers Conference--(California, no longer operating)

Winter--(Florida Keys)

Texas--(well, Texas)

Oregon--(Oregon)

 

But there were many local star parties that approached them. 

 

One that has not been mentioned so far in the thread is Grand Canyon star party----more a huge outreach effort than a traditional star party. 

 

I've also been to Rocky Mountain Star Stare (Colorado) and one of my favorites is Nightfall (southern California). 

 

Many others sound interesting, particularly in Pennsylvania, and other locations. 

 

So......be more specific. 

 

Alex

[edsmx5]

Cherry Springs State Park (PA) holds two each year, if you want to travel East

[MikeTahtib]

Where are you Appollo Dave?

 

A suggestion for a star party might do a whole lot more good if you can actually get to it. 

...

 

So......be more specific. 

 

Alex

He mentions in his post that he lives in central Wisconsin.

[Oregon-raybender]

The other question is:  How are you going travel by?

Some places (most) require camping. If so, tent, RV, car, etc...?

The cost and time to get there. Always plan ahead, many

star parties limit the number of folks in attendance due

to limit area or resources.

 

The main one is the time of year, one could start at the Winter

ones, move North or West as the weather or seasons improve.

(One of my many bucket list to do)

 

The Oregon one does require early signups and good camper

vehicle. RTMC is no longer (sad to say and very much missed)

 

Contact each one, pull out a map (if you remember these) or smart

phone. Pick the time of the year, plot your course. Each one offers

different opportunities. 

 

Have fun and safe travels.

 

Starry Nights

[Nankins]

If you are willing to travel south a ways we have the Indians Family Star Party in July in Frankfort IN. Not the darkest skies around (sandwiched between two cities), but very friendly people and a highly outreach minded crowd. The star party itself is more or less set up so as to allow the general public to visit two nights in a row and to allow newbies like me to learn and view through other scopes.

[WadeH237]

The Oregon one does require early signups and good camper
vehicle.

Oregon Star Party allows on-site registration, but the cost is double.  The reason for this, is that there needs to be a reasonable estimate of attendance in order to complete the contracts for the vendors that supply food, porta-potties, etc.

 

The only time when they'd deny on-site registration is when they reach the attendance limit in the Forest Service permit.  The only time that I believe that's happened was in 2017, when the event was in the path of totality for the eclipse.

 

The environment can be harsh, and the nearest facilities are around 40 miles away by road.  So having a good camper vehicle is excellent advice, unless you are experienced at tent camping in remote areas.

[Silent_Light]

I head up to NSP site at Merritt 3-4x yearly, usually no body around and it nice n quiet away from the campgrounds. Snake cg is small and is usually fishermen camping. Can rest there during the day, then head up the hill a couple hundred yards and setup wherever you please. Skies never disappoint no matter what time of year.
Did the star party thing years ago and got tired of it, small group of buddies or solo is far more pleasant.

[David Knisely]

Apollo Dave wrote:

 

 

1.) Nebraska Star Party - This one seems to be one of the closer big star parties to my home area. I am also planning to drive to the area of this star party to do some viewing on my own. I’d like to spend 2 or 3 weeks there next summer on my own. I’m not sure though at Merritt State Park which campground is the best for viewing or which campground the NSP is held in.

 

The Nebraska Star Party is held on observing fields just south of the Snake Campground, and Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area is an official IDA Dark Sky Park (entry does require a state parks permit).  The area of the NSP observing fields is pretty open (it is mowed only for NSP), so the sky is pretty accessible there.   There are other campgrounds around the lake that have halfway decent skies and four of them have power hookups for campers (the Snake Campground does not have power hookups however).  The nearest showers are at the Cedar Bay campground and Willow Cove campground.  Merritt Resort on the north side of the lake has cabins, fuel, fishing supplies, and some limited groceries, although for NSP, the cabins are usually booked years in advance.  A number of people also stay in motels in Valentine and commute out to the Snake campground NSP site which is about 34 driving miles away.  I used to do that, but when I got more involved with helping with the Star Party itself, I ended up staying in one of the Merritt Resort Cabins with three of my fellow helpers for the past couple of decades.  We also provide the annual Nebraska Star Party Beginners Field School; a 3-session set of 2-hour classes for those new to our hobby that run on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  The next Nebraska Star Party will be held July 28th through August 2nd, 2024, and we hope to see you there.  For more information, check out https://www.nebraska...starparty.org/  Clear skies to you.

 

Edited by David Knisely, 07 December 2023 - 06:50 PM.

[saden15]

Merritt : First time up a few years back, I wasn't sure where to go. Cedar Bay has hookups and hot coin-op showers. Boardman also has hookups. Snake River is where NSP sets up, and is more primitive. Most of the campgrounds have trees to contend with, Snake River is wide open skies, for the most part. Each campground has an Iron Ranger for payment, pay for your site at the campground you actually stay in or online https://outdoornebra...ritt-reservoir/. It can be a 20 minute (13mi) drive from the Trading Post convenience store to Snake River. Both Cedar Bay and Boardman campgrounds are between the Trading Post and Snake River campground.

[Starlancer]

I've been to NSP 3 years now and it's a nice party, it is fairly lacking on facilities.  I've enjoyed the time there but this last year was my most disappointing.  

 

The fact that there was basically no garbage locations at the site, usually there are dumpsters around but last year there were a mile+ down the road which for a state park is pretty unacceptable especially when there is an event underway that brings in hundreds of people.  I also wish they had some speakers during the day under the large tent they erect.  

 

I know it's something about they can't sell food at the site, not sure if it's a state law or they would need to get a permit, but besides prepaid dinners, there is nothing there which is a bit disappointing.

 

Everything takes place on Wednesday of that week at the High School in Valentine but it would be nice to have even some local experts to give some talks under the tent as during the day there is nothing going on.  Valentine is about 33 miles up the road so a bit of a drive but has decent creature comforts for the area.

 

The skies are awesome and truly dark but as other have mentioned weather can change all the time.  I think I had a 2.5 good night last year, since you are doing visual work (I am doing AP) nights can be better as you can shoot for the sucker holes but for long nights needed for AP that's not going to help.

 

I'd highly recommend at least booking a night or two in Valentine to recharge (both yourself and batteries) and grab a nice shower, etc.  

 

There is TONS of space and you can basically setup anywhere you want, it's blacktop road all the way into the site.  People are always nice and friendly.  There are usually some huge dobs there.

 

There are some sights to see not to far off, badlands are a few hours away, if you feel more ambitious Mt. Rushmore can be done in a day.  Also if you take the 'North' route on the way east (I live in Illinois) you can stop in Monowi, the town with a population of 1.  There is an elderly lady that runs a tavern there and a neat place to stop along the way and get a bite to eat and sign the guestbook.

 

 

I also attend the Illinois Dark skies star party and it's a shorter event, just 4 days but closer.  It's a nice star party again with paid meals (both brunch and dinner).  They have speakers from local colleges everyday and the skies are pretty dark (Not as good as NSP of course).  Again plenty of room to setup at another state park that has very nice facilities.  Closest town is only about 10 miles away.

[Nankins]

Indiana Family Star Party at Camp Cullom in Frankfort IN. I went this summer and it was my first time going to a star party. Not dark skies, buy out in the country just enough to see the Milky Way as a faint streak at the zenith. Very friendly group. The two nights I was there most people were focused on the brighter objects as the public was there. The star party lasts all week but the last two nights are open to the public and are full of events. We had speakers, including an associate professor from Purdue University who talked about the JWST and some of the information gleaned from the JWST mission to Cassiopeia A which he leads. Look it up. The image has been in the national news for the last few days for a good reason. I also got help with cleaning my telescope for the first time. And one guy was kind enough to lend me a tarp for covering my scope during the day because I hadn't known to do that. Only problem was the terrible humidity at night. I don't have a dew shield, so my scope was a wet mess. There is also a Sky Trekker program for the kids and beginner adults which I enjoyed helping with. And a raffle. Basically spend a few bucks (or 10!) on some raffle tickets and you might win something. I came home with a focal reducer that would otherwise have cost me a fair amount. There was also a super nice 2" 28 mm Williams Optics eyepiece that a guy with a 20" dob won, and I got to look through it that night. The views of the moon were tack sharp and appeared 3D. There's also a silent auction. And the Prairie Grass Observatory is next to the observing field. They'll have the two 16" scopes, one of which is owned by our club, the giant binoculars, and the 28" dob running when the skies are clear. The view of M57 through that thing was phenomenal.

I can tell you that I will be going back to this star party.

[intercept789]

There is this one

 

https://www.cvastro....sf-information/

 

The Northwoods starfest in nw wisconsin.  I have always liked this one. Skies are dark, food is available, good site for setting tents.