Star Parties

Star partyFor many amateur astronomers, participating in club star parties is the best part of belonging to a club. These friendly nocturnal gatherings give observers a chance to talk about all things astronomical, look through many types of scopes and show off a few of their favorite sights. EVAC offers at least two star parties each month (weather permitting, of course).

Never been to a star party? Please check out our Star Party Guidelines to help make your first star party a safe and enjoyable one. Attendance at either the Local Star Party or the Deep Sky Star Party is predicated on your acknowledgement and acceptance of the liability disclaimer detailed at the bottom of this page.

Check out our Events Calendar for a complete listing of star party dates and other EVAC events.

Local Star Party

The "local" star party is held on the Saturday closest to 3rd quarter moon at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, near Superior. The site offers reasonably dark skies within an hour of most east Valley locations. A hill blocks a good bit of the Phoenix sky glow to the west, and Superior's minor glow is visible in the northeast. The star party is usually well-attended and is especially suited to those just getting started. If you are in the market for a scope, this is the place to see a variety of scopes and talk to their owners or simply get advice on getting started.

2010 Local Star Party Schedule

January 9th
February 6th
March 6th
April 3rd
May 8th
June 5th
July 31st
September 4th
October 2nd
November 27th
December 25th

How To Get There

To get to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) site, take US 60 east past Florence Junction. Continue driving past Florence Junction to Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. The park's address is 37615 U.S. Highway 60, Superior, AZ; however if you actually reach the town of Superior, you've driven past the site. This site is 6½ miles past our old Florence Junction site, and its entrance is marked by the familiar brown State Park signs. The gate will be unlocked, but it may be closed. If it is closed, just swing it open and proceed back to the observing field.

Getting to Boyce Thompson
Map to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park site
Getting to Boyce Thompson
Detailed map to site

BTA Site Map
Detailed map of site

Download

Click above button to download the emergency data sheet for the Boyce Thompson site

Bortle class 4 site
This map is a small excerpt (195 miles wide x 230 miles high) from the The World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness. The cross marks the location of the EVAC Local Star Party site (Boyce Thompson Arboretum). This site is classified as '4' on the Bortle scale. Fairly obvious light-pollution domes are apparent over population centers in several directions. The zodiacal light is clearly evident but doesn't even extend halfway to the zenith at the beginning or end of twilight. The Milky Way well above the horizon is still impressive but lacks all but the most obvious structure. M33 is a difficult averted-vision object and is detectable only when at an altitude higher than 50 degrees. Clouds in the direction of light-pollution sources are illuminated but only slightly so, and are still dark overhead. You can make out your telescope rather clearly at a distance. The maximum naked-eye limiting magnitude is 6.1 to 6.5, and a 32-cm reflector used with moderate magnification will reveal stars of magnitude 15.5. Modest to serious impact to deep sky observing and imaging.

Deep Sky Star Party

June 2010. 

The "deep sky" star party is held on the Saturday closest to new moon. For many years, EVAC has supported the use of a location known as Vekol Rd. This location was East of Gila Bend, and South of I-8. Due to recent events in the Arizona news, and out of caution for our members safety, EVAC is not recommending the use of this location at the present time.  A permanent replacement location for the EVAC Deep Sky Star Party has not yet been selected.

Possible alternate locations are described   Alternate Observing Sites .

 

2010 Deep Sky Star Party Schedule

January 16th
February 13th
March 13th
April 10th
May 15th
June 12th
July 10th
August 7th
September 11th
October 9th
November 5-6th -- All-Arizona Star Party at Farnsworth Ranch
December 4th

 

 




Star Party Liability Disclaimer

The East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC) is not responsible for the property or liability of any star party participant, nor will the club be held liable for their actions or possessions. EVAC is not responsible for any vehicular damage, theft, or mechanical difficulties that may occur while attending a star party. EVAC strongly recommends adherence to the doctrine of 'safety in numbers' when it comes to remote observing sites. In the interest of safety it is recommended that you don't go to remote sites alone and that someone knows where you have gone each time you go out observing.

 


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