8/22/24: We are unfortunately canceling this Star Party due to road construction blocking access to the Observatory. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you at a future event!
Join us in celebrating the arrival of the Summer constellations, bright and overhead. The Milky Way will also be visible, stretching across the sky from the southern to northern horizon, passing through Sagittarius and neighboring constellations in the southern part of the sky. Also, the Perseid meteor shower, which begins in late July and continues into August, may still be ongoing, though past its peak.
The constellations best seen for this Star Party are:
Sagittarius: Still visible in the southern sky during the early part of the night, Sagittarius hosts the center of the Milky Way galaxy and its famous "Teapot" asterism.
Capricornus: Adjacent to Sagittarius, Capricornus, represented as a sea-goat, will also be observable in the southern part of the sky.
Aquila: Known for its association with the eagle in mythology, Aquila features the bright star Altair and will be visible in the summer sky.
Attendees will be able to observe our pristine night sky thru the lens of the Smokey Jack Observatory’s 14”, state of the art telescope. Additional telescopes will be setup around the Observatory for viewing and one of our trained Star Guides will be pointing out the brightest stars and constellations.
Free and open to the public. No reservations needed.
Depending on weather conditions, public events can be cancelled the day of the event. All cancellations will be made at least 2 hours before the event start time the day of the event and our voicemail greeting will be changed to announce the cancellation. In order to obtain cancellation details you can call our phone number, 719-398-1284. We will also try to update this event page and the Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley Facebook page with cancellation details as well. However, the voicemail greeting is the primary source of up to date information.
As always, these events are free. However, as a non-profit, we rely exclusively on the generous contributions of our supporters. We do greatly appreciate your tax deductible donations!