WHAT YOU’LL GET OUT OF GOING
Why should you go to a star party? What will you get out of it? Firstly, and most importantly, if the weather cooperates, you’ll be able to enjoy being under a sky much darker, and blazing with many more stars, than the one you are used to. Star parties are held at locations with as little light pollution as possible, so if you go to one you will enjoy wonderful naked-eye views of the stars and constellations and see incredible detail in deep-sky objects when you look through the eyepieces of the larger telescopes there. If you’re into astrophotography you’ll also be able to take much better pictures than you can at home; the lack of light pollution will allow you to take longer exposures and record more stars and much fainter objects than you usually can.
Secondly, you’ll be able to look through a lot of different telescopes and compare the views through them. This is really useful if you’re considering buying your first telescope, or upgrading to a new one. As tempting and attractive as the glossy telescope ads in magazines and online are, there’s just no substitute for actually looking at, and through, a variety of different telescopes to see which one would suit you. You’ll learn which are too big or too small for you, which are going to be too complicated to set up and use and get a feel for which one would be right for you.
You’ll also be able to get lots of advice from more experienced observers. There will be people there delighted to answer questions about choosing and using observing equipment, the best apps to use, how to find your way around the night sky and more. Another great thing about star parties is that you can just wander around and enjoy thrilling views of objects through telescopes far beyond your budget. There will be beautiful refractors giving pin-sharp views of any planets on view at the time, and huge Dobsonian reflectors offering stunning views of deep-sky objects. Looking through them, you’ll see the dust lanes and gracefully curved spiral arms of distant galaxies, billows and swirls of glowing gas inside nebulae and star clusters looking like piles of jewels spilled on black velvet. Star parties are also great for helping you learn your way around the sky and appreciating its true beauty. Without light pollution drowning out the fainter stars, you’ll see the constellations in all their glory, not just reduced to the boring shapes you see from your back garden surrounded by streetlights. This can actually be a little confusing and disorienting at first; with so many faint stars suddenly visible, you can actually get lost as the constellation outlines you are familiar with are suddenly blended into the background of a sky awash with stars. But after you’ve got your bearings you’ll recognise all your old friends again. Going to a star party is a great way to recharge your stargazing batteries if you’re feeling frustrated or disillusioned with the hobby. Under a truly dark sky, unspoiled by light pollution and surrounded by telescopes, you’ll remember why you fell in love with astronomy in the first place and appreciate again just how beautiful the night sky is.