2012 Grand Canyon Star Party
Posted: May 26 2012 9:28 pm
The Grand Canyon is hosting a "star party" on the north and south rim. A bunch of astronomers set up telescopes for viewing the night sky. This looks like a lot of fun and I wanted to post it in case anyone is interested. Cheryl and I are heading up to the south rim on Sat, June 16th. We were lucky enough to participate in one of these events in the Chiricahua's and it was truly amazing! The event is nightly for a week. More details below.
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/g ... -party.htm
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/g ... -party.htm
Grand Canyon's 22nd Annual Star Party will be held on both
South and North Rims from June 16-23, 2012.
For eight days in June, park visitors will explore the wonders of the night sky on Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and on the North Rim with the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix.
Amateur astronomers from across the country will volunteer their expertise and will offer free nightly astronomy programs and free telescope viewing.
Visitors will have the chance to view the planet Saturn along with a wide assortment of star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae by night, and the sun and planet Mercury by day. Grand Canyon is one of the best night sky observing sites in the United States because it has some of the darkest skies and cleanest air in the country.
Participants will experience spectacular views of the universe! Everyone dress warmly, since temperatures drop quickly after sunset - even
Here's a look at the 2011 Star Party, an overview of how things were set up, with the viewing area by the Visitor Center. Also included are some interviews with some of the astronomers from prior years.
Telescopes ready for night sky viewing.
On the South Rim, events will include a slide show nightly at 8:00 p.m., followed by telescope viewing behind the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. Parking is available in lots 1 through 4, and the Village Route shuttle bus runs every half-hour until 11:00 p.m. To make sure you get a seat at the slide show, arrive a few minutes early.
On the North Rim, telescopes will be set up on the porch of the lodge every evening, with some possibility of daytime scopes available as well. Bulletin boards at the Visitor Center will list additional events such as star talks and special slide show programs in the Grand Canyon Lodge auditorium.
Bring a flashlight to make your way safely to the telescope area; red flashlights are best but a white flashlight pointed down and turned off when you get to the telescopes works too. A red flashlight can be made by covering any flashlight with red cellophane or painting the lens with red nail polish or even a red magic marker. For more on why red flashlights are so helpful, click here. Although many telescopes come down after 11:00 p.m., on nights with clear, calm skies some astronomers will continue to share their telescopes well into the night.
The event is free (other than paying the park entrance fee of $25.00 per vehicle, good for 7 days of coming and going to either rim.) No reservations are needed except for astronomers wishing to share their telescopes, who register through the astronomy clubs sponsoring the event. Come for a night, or for the whole 8 night-event. Explore the Grand Canyon by day, and the universe by night!
Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association Grand Canyon Star Party Web Site:
http://tucsonastronomy.org/?p=96
Saguaro Astronomy Club Grand Canyon Star Party (North Rim) Web Site:
http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/201 ... rthRim.htm
Short time lapse video of the 2011 Star Party by Dean Ketelsen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE09xkuir5s
I didn't find a more recent topic on this, which surprised me. It's a great event. They gave away two fantastic telescopes in a drawing for kids under 15. It was also oddly satisfying to overhear a very serious and knowledgeable stargazer get fooled by a distant airplane.