Erick Dircks checked out the Indiana Family Star Party Thursday. Here are some pictures as astronomers started to gather from the midwest.Astronomers are getting ready for Friday and Saturday night when the public (you!) can come to Camp Cullom and enjoy looking through 50 or 60 expensive telescopes with knowledgeable operators to guide you in your space journey.
Your telescope hosts are eager to show you “what’s up”.
Early gathering photos by Erick Dircks: CLICK HERE
Facebook Users CLICK HERE
On July 26 and 27, join us for the 17th Annual Indiana Family Star Party! See the Milky Way stretch across the summer sky! See the moons and bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and a ball of several hundred thousand stars in a space less than 150 light-years wide! See all this, a distant galaxy, and a sky full of sparkling stars at the Midwest’s premier star party for families!
Come to Camp Cullom, near Frankfort, IN, and experience the Indiana Family Star Party. Our popular “Sky Trekker” program for kids now extends to adults as well, so the whole family will have the opportunity to learn some constellations they may not have been familiar with before! The program runs Friday and Saturday nights and also includes viewing objects through telescopes, having a chance to win prizes, and enjoying an ice cream treat. The entire family will be able to learn about the sky together!
New this year: the return of the 7-inch Meade ED APO refracting telescope to our new observatory dome! Our other publicly available telescopes include a 28” Starmaster Dobsonian, a 16″ Meade LX200R Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, and a pair of giant 25/40 X 100 mm binoculars also mounted at the site. Amateur astronomers from across the Midwest will also have their own telescopes set up on a large observing field, many of which will also be available for public viewing—with permission from their owners of course.
We will also offer our other favorite annual activities, including speakers, door prizes, the ice cream social, the prairie grass walk, an astro-quiz, geocaching, Pokémon Go, and a swap meet. Every year this regional party attracts curious starry-sky lovers, nature lovers, and actual and aspiring amateur astronomers. Join us and explore the skies!
The IFSP is hosted by three regional astronomy clubs: The Wabash Valley Astronomical Society (Lafayette), the Indiana Astronomical Society (Indianapolis), and the Muncie Astronomy Club. The event will open to the public on July 26-27 at 4 p.m. at beautiful Camp Cullom, home of the Prairie Grass Observatory.
Camp Cullom is known for its dark, star-studded rural sky, affording excellent views of many celestial objects. This summer is a good year for planets with Jupiter, and amazing Saturn visible all evening. Summer is also the season of star clusters: tight groupings of stars that allow you to see over 100,000 stars at once through the glass of a single telescopic eyepiece! In addition to star clusters, many nebulae—ghostly clouds of dust in space—will be visible, as will several fun asterisms, and many other favorites!
PUBLIC GATE SCHEDULE:
Friday & Saturday: 4 p.m., gates open. Midnight, gates close.
Note: During these times, the registration booth at the single day parking lot will be open. After arrival, visitors may stay at the star party as late as they choose. Camping for the full event is also available; campers may arrive at 10 a.m. See details below: Registration and Camping.
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS:
Friday Only:
6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.: Evening Swap Meet at the Picnic Shelter.
7 p.m.: Ice Cream Social at the Nature Center, followed by a Roundtable discussion.
Saturday Only:
10:30 a.m.: The Astro Quiz will be given at the Nature Center.
12:00 Noon: Items not sold at the swap meets may be entered into a silent auction at the Nature Center.
1 p.m.: Astronomy presentations begin at the Nature Center.
6 p.m.: Quiz awards and door prizes will be distributed in the Nature Center.
Friday and Saturday:
All day: Daytime solar observing at the observatory buildings.
11:30 a.m. – Noon: Swap meet at the Picnic Shelter.
4 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.: Sky Trekker/Sky Trek Adult sign-up at the Information Room in the Nature Center. Sign-up is computerized, so you will need to contact the Sky Trekker coordinator, Lisa Wieland, or one of her assistants to sign up early.
7:45 p.m.: Sky Trekker/Sky Trek Adult sign-up closes.
8 p.m.: Sky Trekker/Sky Trek Adult Launch meeting in the Nature Center. Planispheres will be handed out at this meeting.
8:30 p.m.: Beginning Astronomy Workshop
10 p.m.: Movies will begin in the Nature Center and Sky Trekker/Sky Trek Adult field training and examinations begin at the Galileo Gallery.
Speakers at the 2019 IFSP include: Dr. David Ellis with “NASA and the 50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing”, B.J. Austin, President of IN Space aerospace propulsion and development, who will talk about “The Space Race and the Soviet Union”, and Professor Ron Kaitchuck who will present on “Astrophotography with Very Small Telescopes in Very Bright Skies”. See the IFSP website for more details: http://www.indianastars.com/starparty .
ADMISSION:
Admission is still just $5 per person or $15 for a carload of three or more people for a single day and night. See Registration & Camping below for Admission fees for campers.
PARKING:
Parking, for those not purchasing a full event pass (see below), will be on a separate field a few hundred yards from the observing field. During evening hours, the camp’s ranger will be driving a hay wagon back and forth to provide transportation between the parking area and observing field, but only until midnight. This arrangement minimizes car headlight interference on the observing field.
REGISTRATION & CAMPING:
Camping on the grounds and a 3-day extension of the star party are available for those who are interested. This package includes a 3-day extension of the star party (July 23-28), plus parking/camping on the observing field or one of the camp’s other campsites. Camping fees are $20/individual or $30/family. Fees At-Gate and for Registration forms received after July 8 are $45/individual or $55/family. To park and/or camp on the observing field, you must purchase the full event pass.
If you want to bring in a telescope for a single day, you can either bring it on the hay wagon or, if you arrive during daylight hours, you can drive it to the observing field, and then return your car to the “single day” parking lot before dark. But then you’ll have to carry your telescope back to the parking lot when you leave (with the hay wagon available until midnight).
Note that if you plan to stay multiple days, but want to stay at a hotel at night, you will have to move your car to the parking lot before dark since driving is not permitted on the observing field after dark. If you plan to leave equipment set up on the observing field overnight, you must purchase the full event pass, even if you park in the single-day parking lot at night.
For more information, go to http://www.indianastars.com/starparty , or, if you do not have internet access, contact the Wabash Valley Astronomical Society, P.O. Box 2020, West Lafayette, IN 47996-2020 or email to [email protected]. Registration forms must be postmarked no later than July 8 to avoid the higher late registration fees.
AMENITIES:
Prepared food will be available for purchase at mealtimes starting on Friday afternoon, however, those wishing to bring their own food may do so. Please note that no campfires will be allowed near the observing field, but camp stoves are acceptable before sunset. There are charcoal grills available in most of the non-observing-field campsites.
The camp has restroom facilities with running water and showers. The shower schedule is posted in the event program.
The Nature Center, where many activities and gatherings will take place, is air-conditioned, and close to both the observing field and observatory buildings.
Movies will be shown Friday and Saturday nights in the Nature Center with free popcorn available.
RULES:
ABSOLUTELY NO alcoholic beverages are allowed on the grounds at any time.
Camp Sites: Campers may only reserve ONE camp site next to them for a friend; blocks of camp sites may not be reserved.
Walkie Talkies: Channel 11 is to be reserved for star party communications only. Attendees may use another channel for non-star-party related communications.
Generators must be located on the north side of the road to the Lodge and can only be on from noon to 8:00 p.m. At all other times they must be off.
All net proceeds from the admission fee are applied toward maintaining Camp Cullom and the Prairie Grass Observatory, a non-profit United Way Agency in Clinton County. All net proceeds from the admission fee are applied toward maintaining the Prairie Grass Observatory and Camp Cullom (Clinton County Foundation for Youth), a non-profit United Way Agency.