As you may already know, due to the extremely dark skies we can have here, this can be an excellent and very unusual event during your visit.

    We (I) will provide one or more accomplished amateur astronomers, an 8" telescope and perhaps tripod mounted binoculars, for 2 hours of observing.  We will be available for these star parties between May and Oct.  If cloudy skies or extremely cold temperatures should exist, we will try to provide another night, but this can't be promised.  Most star parties begin after 9 or 9:30pm due to twilight and darkness at this latitude and parents/adults are expected to participate with their children.

    We can provide an indoor presentation of 5-10 min. about the Jackson area sky conditions, what to expect to see outside, and to answer questions.  Setup normally takes about 15 min.  We'll start things off with a brief tour of the constellations that all can see, for an orientation of what's in the sky and what to expect as we start observing through the telescope.  Then, we'll proceed to show some of the more interesting sky objects depending on their availability from this latitude at that time of year, such as: the Moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, meteor showers, passing satellites, colorful stars, double stars, or galaxies.  I'll find an object in the telescope and show it to all interested before we move on to another object.  Within reason, we'll take requests to view certain objects and welcome the assistance of anyone in your group who might be an amateur astronomer themselves. (We can observe the sun[sunspots, etc.] if invited to come out before sunset.

    Your party should dress warmly.  Even in the summer, it can get quite cool after the sun goes down.  Gloves are a most desirable item of apparel.  I'll have red flashlights to move in and out around the telescopes. Consider trying to bring several chairs to the observing site which will facilitate your comfort when not observing at the telescopes.  If you have children, they are welcome, but must be controlled accordingly as the telescopes are fragile and valuable, although we'll certainly place them and protect them accordingly to avoid any potential problems.  If we are in a public area, we might have people stop by & ask to take a look.  We won't refuse anyone the opportunity to take a quick look if we're in a public place.

    If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me...

Sincerely,

Walt Farmer, 307.733.2173 or 690.6909 or walt@jhastronomy.com

or, Mel Tucker, Chair, J(H)AC
mel@jhastronomy.com
543.2424