Central Arkansas Astronomical Society » Events

Public Star Party Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Saturday, October 1st

Jim — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:00:29 +0000

Join Central Arkansas Astronomical Society (CAAS) and our good friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a public star party from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m at the park’s Visitor center parking lot. As twilight settles in, the members of CAAS will provide telescopes for viewing objects in the night sky. If cloudy skies prevent observation, an indoor program on astronomy will be presented at 9 p.m. As always our star parties are free to the public.

Highlights of the evening will be a beautiful crescent moon and a late appearance by king of the planets Jupiter, which is currently putting on a great show in the late evening and morning skies. We will also great views of the summer triangle stars of Deneb, Vega and Altiar, double stars, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.

We are also giving a telescope to one lucky attendee to one of the last three star parties in 2011! CAAS and Optics Planet, which is recognized as one of the world’s leading online retailers of sport optics, tactical and military gear, hunting gear, and astronomy products, have teamed up to give away a quality portable. The telescope is a Bushnell ARES 5” Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition and retails for $159.99 at OpticsPlanet.net. http://www.opticsplanet.net/bushnell-dob-5-compact-truss-tube-dobsonian-telescope-opticsplanet-edition.html

The drawing will be held at the October 29, 2011 near the conclusion of our final public event for the year – the Halloween Trick-or-Celestial-Treats Star Party at Woolly Hollow State Park. The Halloween Trick-or-Celestial-Treats Star Party will take place at the Woolly Hollow State Park swim beach, on October 29, 2011, 8 – 10 p.m. That night guests are welcome to wear their Halloween costumes (no face paint please, to protect the telescopes) and CAAS members will have plenty of candy for the kids in addition to the celestial treats.

The telescope contest will be open to all star party guests with a limit of one entry per star party. No purchase is necessary. Members of CAAS, employees of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and their immediate family members are ineligible. The drawing will be held near the conclusion of the October 29^th Woolly Hollow event (approximately 10 p.m.) or at the November 12^th monthly meeting of CAAS in the event of a cancellation. The winner need not be present to win and will be notified the following day if not in attendance for the drawing.

Public Star Party at Pinnacle Mtn State Park, September 17

Jim — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 06:00:07 +0000

Join us and our good friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a free public star party from 8 PM to 10PM.

Sunset: 7:13 p.m.

Observing highlights: Saturn, Summer constellations: Hercules, Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquilla. (No evening moon)

Public Star Party at Pinnacle Mtn State Park, August 20

Jim — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 06:00:24 +0000

Join us and our good friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a free public star party from 9 PM to 11PM.

Sunset: 7:51 p.m.

Observing highlights: Saturn, Summer constellations: Hercules, Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquilla. (No evening moon)

Public Star Party at Pinnacle Mtn State Park, July 23

Jim — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 06:00:16 +0000

Join us and our good friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a free public star party from 9 PM to 11PM.

Sunset: 8:18 p.m.

Observing highlights: Saturn, Summer constellations: Hercules, Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquilla. (No evening moon)

Public Star Party at Pinnacle Mtn State Park, June 25

Jim — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:00:50 +0000

Join us and our good friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park on June 25 from 9 PM to 11 PM.

Sunset: 8:26 p.m.

Observing highlights: Saturn, Summer constellations: Hercules, Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquilla. (No evening moon)

MSRAL Conference 2011/ Mulberry Mountain Star Party – May 20th -21st

Jim — Sun, 15 May 2011 20:26:54 +0000

Registration is now open for the 2011 Mid-States Region of The Astronomical League (MSRAL). This year’s MSRAL annual convention is being held in conjunction with the fourth annual Mulberry Mountain Star Party on Friday, May 20 and Saturday May 21, 2011. Registration for the conference can be completed at this link: http://www.aoas.org/staticpages/index.php?page=convention Hurry; registration fees go up after May 8th! The event location is the Mulberry Mountain Lodging and Events (MML&E) resort north of Ozark, Arkansas, on Arkansas Highway 23 (I-40 exit 35) – the world renown “Pig Trail Scenic Byway.” Located in the heart of the Ozark National Forest, MML&E boasts some of the darkest skies in Arkansas. MML&E also offers cabins, pull-through RV sites, and improved tent camp sites with water, electricity and showers. Virtually unlimited primitive campsites are also available with limited water and electricity, with no shower hookups. MML&E’s website is at: http://www.mulberrymountainlodge.com You may also contact MML&E by phone at 800-667-1919 or 479-667-1919 or email at mulberrymountain@aol.com for further information or to make reservations. Other lodging options are found in relatively nearby Ozark (20 minutes), Clarksville (40 mins.), and Van Buren (40 mins.).

Our friends at Arkansas – Oklahoma Astronomical Society are hosting the event, but CAAS is a heavy hitter in this event. Our own John Reed, Rocky Togni and Jim Fisher are slated to present papers at the conference on Saturday. In addition MARS/CAAS alum, astronomy instructor, writer and EarthSky.org contributor Larry Session will deliver the key note address. AOAS has also asked if CAAS members are interesting in volunteering to manage the registration table. If you are interested, please send an email to AOAS President Dave Grosvold at dgrosvold@aoas.org and to Jim Fisher at jrfisher7@gmail.com.

The MSRAL Conference 2011 also has a Facebook page. If you are on Facebook, please join the fun at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mid-States-Region-of-The-Astronomical-League-Conference-2011/180524685326923?ref=ts

Star Party for Japanese Science Students at PMSP April 29

Jim — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:45:15 +0000

CAAS and Pinnacle Mountain State park will be holding a star party for a group of Japanese science students on April 29th at 7 PM. The location is at Stuckey Field across Highway 300 from the picnic area at the base of Pinnacle Mountain.

Free Public Star Party at Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Jim — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:29:55 +0000

Join CAAS and our friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park Saturday August 22, 2009 for an evening under the stars (canceled if completely overcast). This is an exciting opportunity to experience Pinnacle Mountain State Park after dark, because they are usually open for day-use only. Bring a picnic supper and make an evening of it, allowing time earlier in the day to walk a trail, relax by the Big or Little Maumelle Rivers, or explore our visitor center exhibits. Meet at the Visitor’s Center. Admission is free and the time is 9 PM to 11 PM.

National Astronomy Day at Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Jim — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:16:22 +0000

Discover astronomy with CAAS and our friends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park on May 2 from 2 PM (yes, 2 PM) to 10 PM. Activities include solar viewing in the afternoon, special indoor programs, and viewing through telescopes from 9-10 p.m. Contact the park for a detailed schedule and further information. This is a great family-friendly activity! Admission is free.

Star Party at Woolly Hollow Star Party

Jim — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:12:53 +0000

Join CAAS and our friends at Woolly Hollow State Park for an evening under the stars. State parks can be good places to stargaze because they are often far from urban light pollution. If you want to know about the night sky, this event is a “must see.” Time is dependent on the date, the July 18 event starts at 9 PM, the November 7 event starts at 7 PM.