news sciences: Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops

Here's the Texas Star Party in 2009, one of the biggest such events of the year, drawing about 500 deep-sky enthusiasts and their telescopes to the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Image via Todd Hargis / Ron Ronhaar. Used with permission.

Here’s the Texas Star Party in 2009, one of the biggest public astronomy events of each year, drawing about 500 deep-sky enthusiasts and their telescopes to the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Image used with permission, via Todd Hargis and Ron Ronhaar.

Interested in astronomy, but not sure where to begin? Seek out your local astronomy club, a roomful of willing and able amateur astronomers, whose telescopes may offer your first glimpse of the cosmos. The Astronomical League, an umbrella organization of 240 amateur astronomy clubs and societies in the U.S., helps us create and maintain the list of events on this page. Click here to visit the Astronomical League’s website.

Know of an event that’s not on the list below? Contact us.

Do you have a great photo of a star party in your area? Submit here.

Looking for an astronomy club in your area? Click here.

Jump below the photo for the list of events!

View larger. | Big Dipper on the horizon while getting set up at CST-25 (Astornomical Society of New Haven's 25th annual Connecticut Star Party) in Goshen, Connecticut. Photo by Kurt Zeppetello.

View larger. | Big Dipper on the horizon while getting set up at the Astronomical Society of New Haven‘s 25th annual Connecticut Star Party in Goshen, Connecticut, October 9-11, 2015. Photo by Kurt Zeppetello.

Fall and Winter 2015

October 11–18
Peach State Star Gaze
Deerlick Astronomy Village,
Crawfordville, Georgia
http://ift.tt/1MWtJ5H

October 12–18
Staunton River Star Party
Scottsburg, Virginia
http://ift.tt/1IwNpXs

October 13–18
Astroblast
Oil City, Pennsylvania
www.oras.org

October 14-17
Enchanted Skies Star Party
Socorro, New Mexico
http://ift.tt/1MWtK9S

October 24
Astronomy Day @ George Observatory
Brazos Bend State Park near Houston, Texas
www.astronomyday.net

November 3-8
Deep South Regional Star Gaze
Norwood, Louisiana
http://ift.tt/1IwNmuP

November 5–8
Nightfall (Star Party)
Borrego Springs, California
http://ift.tt/1PzpHnj

November 5-8
Riverside Astronomical Society Star Party
Landers, California
http://ift.tt/1QnmZ0z

November 9-15
CSPG Fall Star Party
Chiefland, Florida
http://ift.tt/1IwNmuR

November 12-13
New Moon Workshop (stargazing and astrophotography)
Joshua Tree, California
http://ift.tt/1bOTFlc

November 14
Evening Star Party at Ralph A. Worley Observatory
Shreveport, Louisiana
http://ift.tt/1IwNpHa

December 11-13
Riverside Astronomical Society Star Party
Landers, California
http://ift.tt/1QnmZ0z

Orion rising from this year's Okie-Tex Star Party in Black Mesa, Oklahoma, September 2015, by Max Corneau. Thanks, Max!

Orion rising over this year’s Okie-Tex Star Party at Black Mesa, Oklahoma, September 2015, by Max Corneau. Thanks, Max!

Winter and Spring 2016

February 8-14
Winter Star Party
Big Pine Key, Florida
www.scas.org

March 9–13
Staunton River Star Party
Scottsburg, Virginia
http://ift.tt/1IwNpXs

April 2–9, 2016
OzSky Star Safari, a.k.a. Deepest
South Texas Star Safari
Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia
www.ozsky.org

May 1-8, 2016
38th Annual Texas Star Party
Prude Ranch near Fort Davis, Texas
texasstarparty.org/

May 2-5, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah
Taylor Photography

May 9-12, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah
Taylor Photography

Bottom line: List of astronomy and night sky events for the public, for fall 2015 and spring 2016, compiled in cooperation with the awesome Astronomical League. Join in, and have fun!

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1UhrUpV