Sierra La Rana’s first Dark Sky Party will be held Friday, April 24, 2009 from 7:30 PM - 11 PM. Star parties are a wonderful way to get acquainted with the night sky and to understand the importance of protecting dark skies - not just for astronomy purposes which is crucial to the McDonald Observatory, but also for the values that darkness provides to area wildlife. Members of the Texas Star Party have agreed to moderate the event.
We are receiving national press on the event:
1. Astronomy magazine is posting our Star Party on Senior Editor Michael Bakich’s blog on Astronomy.com :
http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/blogs/astronomy/default.aspx 2. Astronomy.com has posted the Star Party on the Community Events Calendar:
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/community/events 3. Sky and Telescope has posted the Star Party on Community Events:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/calendar/searchresults?countrySelect=47501&stateSelect=0&eventmonth=0&eventday=0&eventyear=0&searchTerm=®istration=Find+Event 4. International Dark Sky Association will post the event on the IDA website
http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=55060&orgId=idsa , IDA newsletter and do a follow up with us after the event.
THIS YEAR'S LINE UP
Schedule:
08:30 PM: Slide Presentation by Paul Derrick
09:15 PM: Telescope(s) available for public viewing and discussion
11:00 PM: Dark Sky Party conclusion
Paul Derrick is an active and charter member of the Central Texas Astronomical Society and a participant and presenter at the Texas Star Party. Paul will orient the audience to the sky by pointing out the planets, stars and constellations overhead.
Paul Derrick...
· is author of the "Stargazer" column published in the Waco Tribune-Herald and other newspapers. Originated in January 1990, "Stargazer" appears every other week.
· teaches amateur astronomy short-courses. Designed for novice stargazers, Paul's courses include indoor sessions and field observation. They require no equipment or prior knowledge.
· conducts public and private amateur astronomy slide programs and star parties for children and adults in schools, camps, parks and other settings.
· is author of (A Beginner's Guide to) Learning the Night Sky (2003) and Stargazer's Life List (2004).
We are looking for volunteers for the following:
1. Volunteers with telescopes who would like to set up on one of the 8 telescope pads.
2. Volunteers to assist with parking and directions along the route to the Astronomy Village.
3. Acoustic Guitarist to play as attendees enter the Astronomy Area.
Note: If you would like to volunteer please contact Gil Bartee at
giba@jmkint.com or telephone (817)975-8736
If you plan to attend the Dark Sky Party please RSVP so that we can have an idea of how many will be attending.
Bring Lawn Chairs. We encourage you to wear comfortable walking shoes or boots. No white lights after sundown in the observer’s area. Allow yourself to become dark-adapted and see all that you can see. Please bring a red light if you have one.
Please see
http://www.alpinestarparty.com for more information and to RSVP!
