Star Parties at H.M.S. Beagle
General Star Party Information
Why not come out to see what's up in the night sky? Watch our Twitter feed, our Facebook page, or this page for additional updates.
Star parties are WEATHER DEPENDENT. If we can't see through the cloud cover satisfactorily, then we won't have a star party. We will try to make an announcement as to our intent, based on the best possible forecast data, by 5pm on the night in question. In the list below, alternate dates are given: if we are unable to make the primary date due to weather, we'll usually try again the following Friday.
If you're in doubt, please telephone before you make the drive out. It may look clear where you are, but it might still be cloudy above our heads!
Upcoming Star Party Dates, 2012
- March, 2012
- Date: Friday, 30 March 2012, 7:30pm
- Alternate Date: No Alternate Date Available
A cavalcade of planets tonight! Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn should all be visible tonight (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- April, 2012
- Date: Friday, 27 April 2012, 7:45pm
- Alternate Date: 4 May 2012, 8pm
Venus, Mars, and Saturn should be visible (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- May, 2012
- Date: Friday, 25 May 2012, 8:15pm
- Alternate Date: 1 June 2012, 8:30pm
Get ready, Venus is approaching a transit of the sun (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- June, 2012
- Date: Friday, 29 June 2012, 8:30pm
- Alternate Date: No Alternate Date
Get ready, Venus is approaching a transit of the sun (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- July, 2012
- Date: Friday, 27 July 2012, 8:15pm
- Alternate Date: 3 August 2012, 8:15pm
Mars and Saturn, together with Spica (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- August, 2012
- Date: Friday, 31 August 2012, 7:30pm
- Alternate Date: 7 September 2012, 7:15pm
Late Summer Skies (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
- September, 2012
- Date: Friday, 28 September 2012, 6:45pm
- Alternate Date: 5 October 2012, 6:45pm
Autumn Skies (weather permitting).
If the skies are cloudy or it's raining or snowing, we will not be able to have the Star Party. If you have questions, please give us a call at 816.587.9998
.
Reservations aren't required, unless you are bringing a large group (more than ten people); in that case, please let us know by telephoning 816-587-9998, so that we're prepared for you. Do you have your own telescope or binocular which you want to bring? Please do! The more, the merrier. Don't have a telescope of your own? Don't worry - we generally bring out a couple from the store for everyone to use.
All ages are encouraged to come out for this free event, although we do ask that children be supervised around delicate optical equipment!
About Weather Forecasting
Do you ever wonder how we make our determinations of what the seeing will be like? First, we regularly check this site: Clear Sky Chart, with special reference to the section for Missouri (the WHS Observatory in Platte City is nearest to us in Parkville.
In addition, we check data from the National Weather Service, which is typically more conservative and less hyperbolic than some local weather forecasters we could mention.
These are great resources, and we encourage you to check them out.
So, What's a Star Party?
A Star Party is a gathering of people in the night with only one purpose in mind... looking at the stars through telescopes, binoculars, and whatever other optical gear happens to hand.
Star Parties are hosted by H.M.S. Beagle from April through November, held on the first
Friday night of each month (the time will vary depending on sunset). All of these events are weather-dependent, usually the back-up date
in
the event of being clouded out is the following Friday.
Each month, our staff amateur astronomer, Leif Bahl, puts together a program detailing what we can expect to see in our observing, and then we take telescopes out to the back parking lot, set them up, and see what we can see. Interested telescope owners are encouraged to bring their own.
In addition, we host occasional special event Star Parties - watch this page, the Beagle events calendar, our Facebook group or our Twitter feed for additional notifications, or join our Mailing List today!
Learning More About Telescopes
Want to learn more about how to choose a telescope? Try out these videos from Orion Telescopes, explaining some of the basics!