Star Parties Galore!
Have you been to one of our recent star parties? If not, you’ve missed out on viewing the Moon, planets, planetary conjunctions and alignments, stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies oh my!
One of the challenges for scheduling star parties in the Pacific Northwest is that clear skies and early sunsets rarely coincide. In late spring and early summer, when temperatures are tolerable and the sky is frequently clear, sunsets occur as late as 9 pm and twilight lingers until around midnight. It’s tough on the kiddos to stay up that late (good a reason as any to do away with Daylight Saving Time). Even so, there is plenty to see and enjoy as the sky darkens.
But now it’s August! As we move in our orbit away from the summer solstice, sunsets and full darkness are coming earlier, by about a minute or two each day. And this year, ringed Saturn reappears in the evening sky, rising out of Seattle’s light pollution about 11:30 pm at the start of August and 4 minutes earlier each evening (9:30 by month’s end).
August brings Friday Movies in the Park hosted by BI Parks! https://www.biparks.org/recreation/special-events. Come visit us on Observatory Hill next to the Sundial, where we’ll have a telescope or two set up for sky viewing during and after the movies. And don’t forget Concerts in the Park on Wednesday continue through August. Take a break from the music and come see us at the Observatory!
August also features the Perseid meteors! In collaboration with IslandWood, our August 2nd Saturday program on 8/8 focuses on this annual summer shower. Registration is required to participate; see the announcement and registration link elsewhere in this issue of The Observer.
Star Party Etiquette
The goal of star parties is to enjoy the night sky with others. If you’ve never participated in one, or even if you have, here are some simple, commonsense rules of etiquette to ensure it’s fun for everyone:
https://www.go-astronomy.com/articles/star-party-etiquette.htm
To this list I’ll add:
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Wear warm clothes in layers, and bring a hat. Even though the days are warm, evenings can be cool and windy. You might also want to bring a warm drink in a thermos, and a snack. But please don’t leave litter on the ground!
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Bring mosquito repellent. The Battle Point Mossies appear at dusk. They’re not super aggressive but they are annoying. After a few hours they go home.
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Park in the large lot directly south across the road from the observatory, so your headlights are blocked by the south hill.
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Please don’t bring white flashlights! And refrain from using the white light on your phone.
