Registration is now open for the fall installment of the Staunton River Star Party (October 21-27). Registration information at http://www.chaosastro.org/starparty/
This star party is distinguished by being held at Staunton River State Park, which is designated by the International Dark Skies Association as a dark sky park and has a dedicated observing field adjacent to the visitor center. The management and staff of the park have been extremely supportive of preserving dark skies in the area and have gone to great lengths to make astronomy a prominent activity at the park; The hospitality they extend to the astronomers is unsurpassed. The food and facilities are great; the Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society members have been outstanding hosts, doing prep work for the party, managing registration, and gathering very interesting and engaging speakers.
If you have not been to this star party before, it’s a real treat and very much worth the trip. There are always larger parties and darker skies in other parts of the country but the combination of dedication to the event, dark skies, hospitality, convenience, facilities, and good food that you find at the Staunton River Star Party are really, really hard to beat. It’s difficult to say enough good things about this star party and the effort that the hosts have put into it.
Please join CHAOS and the Staunton River State Park park staff for the party on October 8 – 14. If you can’t make it for the whole star party, come for whatever part you can or for public night on Friday, October 12.
Below is a link to images of the March 2018 party compressed into three minutes for your enjoyment. Click on the image to view the video or watch on YouTube here. You can view a longer version of the October 2017 party at this link.