Star Party Trails
Credit and Copyright:
Joe Orman
Stargazing is fun!
If you'd like to try it, this weekend may be your chance as many
astronomy clubs and organizations will be
hosting public celebrations of
Astronomy Day on
Saturday, May 22nd.
In recent years, open house nights
at observatories,
astronomy club gatherings, and
star parties have become increasingly popular.
They offer great opportunities for beginners to
view the sky through a variety of telescopes
and veterans to swap
stories and
ideas.
This time exposure of
star trails
was made last month
at the Sentinel, Arizona "Stargaze" star party.
On the right, a
brilliant trail tracks the setting evening star,
Venus.
Stars in Orion
are near the center and bright Sirius
produced the prominent trail at the left.
City lights from nearby Yuma glow on the horizon while
party-goers' red filtered flashlights create
the eerie foreground effect.
The red flashlights are courteously used to
provide a safe level of illumination but
still preserve night
vision for enjoyable stargazing.