Stargazing | Star Parties | Planetariums Gazing at the stars is exciting and draws our minds to wonder….. A great web site and a source of enormous amounts of information on planetariums, observatories, telescopes and our universe is www.mdnights.com. This is also a great source for information of astronomy clubs, groups, and organizations. The Howard County Community College Astronomical League (HAL) hosts several stargazing parties throughout the months of March-November. Unlike the big regional star parties for the serious-minded amateur astronomers, HAL's monthly star parties feature a relaxed, casual atmosphere where club members, other amateur astronomers from the area, and the public are all welcome to come and enjoy the wonders of the night sky. HAL also hosts Kid's Korner, Astronomy Club for Kids. Kids are always welcome at all HAL meetings and events. However, if you are interested in meeting a lot of other kids interested in astronomy, check out Celestial Searchers. They meet at Bushy Park Elementary School, 2670 Route 97, Glenwood on the fourth Monday of each month beginning at 7:00PM from September through May. The club is open to all Howard County students kindergarten through grade 8. Fun activities include special projects, speakers, and monthly stargazing parties. Some of the special events and games can be view by visiting www.howardastro.org/kidskorner The Astronomical Society of Greenbelt (formerly the Greenbelt Astronomy Club) is an organization made up of people in and around Greenbelt, MD who are interested in astronomy. Westminster Astronomical Society serves as the Astronomical Resource for Carroll County, Maryland. They have public star parties all around Carroll and the surrounding counties as well as other community service work to further educate the citizens of Carroll County about the great overhead nightly resource, the Milky Way. Astronomy is looking up! 19th Annual Mason Dixon Star Party, July 30-Aug. 3, h. The Star Party for all members of the family. This location offers a flat and level camping & observing area with unlimited space for attendees. The Milky Way is easily seen and stars can be seen less than 10 degrees above the horizon. This is a fun filled Star Party geared for everyone! There will be workshops, speakers, vendors, field trips and raffle prizes for all ages. We also have camping areas, bunk houses, food, showers and facilities, horse shoe pits, sand volley ball courts and a swimming pool too! www.MasonDixonStarParty.org The Annual NOVAC Star Gaze/VAAS 2008, October 6, NOVAC invites you to the largest public star gaze in the Washington DC area. This year NOVAC will also host the Virginia Association of Astronomical Societies annual meeting. Learn about astronomy while enjoying the night sky with hundreds of telescopes, binoculars and homemade projects. Many experienced astronomers will be on hand to answer questions and share their knowledge. Easy access, lots of equipment and a dark sky make for a good night under the stars. www.novac.com/star-parties Arlington Planetarium, 1426 N. Quincy St. Arlington, VA, 703-358-6070, www.arlington.k12.va.us . A variety of planetarium shows of interest are offered throughout the year. Call for schedule of dates and times. Davis Planetarium, Maryland Science Center, 601 Light Street, Baltimore, Md, 410-685-2370, www.mdsci.org/davis. The night sky becomes illuminated with over 8,500 stars under the 50 foot dome of the Davis Planetarium, while special effects simulate the surface of the Sun, supernovas, and other celestial phenomena. Every presentation is an out-of-this word immersive experience. Programs like “The Sky: Live” identifies stars, constellations, planets, and other wonders in the night sky as it changes with the calendar in this informal presentation. Show times are daily at 3:15 pm. “Live from the Sun” discovers the secrets of the Sun in live broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon from the Crosby Ramsey Memorial Observatory. Einstein Planetarium, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, 6th St. and Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington DC, 202-357-1686, www.nasm.edu/galleries. “Infinity Express” is a 20 minute tour of the Universe, with scheduled show times throughout the day is a voyage through the solar system, past the Milky Way, to the very edge of the known universe and back, powered by all-new digital dome technology. Also, “The Stars Tonight” showing at 12 noon, is a journey through the stars, constellations and celestial highlights of the current night sky with a Museum staff member using the planetarium projector. Public telescopic observing follows the Monthly Star Lecture, weather and time of sunset permitting. No tickets are required. Howard B. Owens Science Center, 9601 Greenbelt Road, Lanham, MD. 301-918-8750, www.pgcps.org/~hbowens offers a planetarium presentation on a theme of general interest on the second Friday that schools are in session at 7:30pm. Call for a listing of programs. Montgomery College’s Planetarium, Fenton Street on the Takoma Park Campus of Montgomery College, Maryland. 301-650-1463, www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/planet/planet/shows . Astronomy is one of the few sciences accessible to any inquiring mind and that welcomes amateurs. The planetarium shows 1,834 naked-eye stars, the Milky Way (the diffuse band of light caused by the disk of our own galaxy), and the five naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) under a twenty-four foot dome with forty-two comfortable chairs. Call for specific programs and star gazing events. National Capital Astronomers, Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, Military and Glover Roads NW, 202-426-6829, www.capitalastronomers.org offers programs the second or third Saturday (month and weather permitting) April through November with beginning times varing from 7-9 pm with viewing through the telescopes if weather is clear. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Visitor’s Center, Greenbelt Rd. Greenbelt, Md, 301-286-8981, www.pao.gsfc.nasa.gov. They offer viewing through the telescopes (weather permitting) the second Saturday monthly September through April from 7-9pm. Admission is free. Call or visit their web site for the monthly schedule. Rock Creek Park Planetarium, Military and Glover Roads, 202-895-6070, www.nps.gov/archive/rocr/planetarium . Located with the Rock Creek Nature Center. A dome-shaped ceiling designed to reflect light, this planetarium can duplicate the motion of the stars and planets as they might be observed from any point on Earth using a Spitz planetarium projector. Programs are usually 45-60 minutes in length. The planetarium holds regular shows on Saturday’s and Sunday’s at 1pm for children 4 & up which concentrates on the identification of major constellations and the movement of the heavenly bodies through the night sky; and at 4pm for children 7& up which is divided into a study of the sky as it will appear that night and an in-depth astronomy presentation. There are also shows each Wednesday at 4pm. Tickets are free and can be picked up at the information desk University of Maryland Astronomy Observatory, Metzerott Rd, between University Blvd and Adelphi Rd., 301-405-3001, www.astro.umd.edu/openhouse. Offering a lecture on an astronomical topic followed by viewing throught he telescopes I weather is clear, the 5th and 20th of each month, November-March at 8pm. Physics is Phun, Physics Lecture Hall, Room 1410-1412, Physics Building, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 301-405-5995, www.physics.umd.edu. University of Maryland offers 4 shows each school year, (each show is repeated on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) beginning at 7:30pm. Great demonstrations of different principles of physics. Each talk has a theme such as light, heat, mech., etc. Call for specific dates of shows. The U.S. Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue at 34th Street, NW, Washington, DC., 202-762-1438, www.usno.navy.mil/tour . The Astrometry Department of the USNO is responsible for the determination of the positions and motions of stars and solar system objects and the establishment of celestial reference frames. Tours of the USNO are offered on selected Monday evenings from 8:30pm-10pm. Tours will include a presentation of the Mission and History of the Naval Observatory, a view of the development of USNO ’s timekeeping responsibilities with a member of the Observatory’s Time Service Department staff, and (Weather permitting) viewing of celestial objects with the 12-inch Alvan Clark refractor with an Astronomer. Individual tour passes must be reserved several weeks in advance for each tour.. U.S. Naval Academy Planetarium, Luce Hall, 112 Cooper Road, Annapolis, Md., 410-293-6048, www.navyonline.com . Several public programs are offered each year at varies times with a theme of current general interest. Call for monthly schedule dates and times. William M. Brish Planetarium (formerly the Washington County Planetarium), 820 Commonwealth Avenue, Hagerstown, MD, 301-766-2898, www.wcboe.com.k12.md.us . Scheduled programs are designed to provide visitors with a fundamental understanding of astronomy concepts. Throughout human history, many cultures which have looked to the heavens and pondered their place in the cosmos. Programs are held promptly at 7pm each Tuesday evening that schools are in session and lasting 30-60 minutes in length, seating is on a first come-first seated policy
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