Put Your Head in the Stars

Photo by Frank Colosimo

Just one of the many nebulae on which Starfest telescopes will be trained Saturday night.

Blogger's Note: While we would normally reserve an entry like this for our wildly popular "This Saturday in Science" series, the timing would not benefit our friends at the Chesmont Astronomical Society, so we are posting it today, so you have time to mark your calendar.

The line-up from a previous Starfest.

The Chesmont Astronomical Society invites you and your family to Starfest 2013, at Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site on Saturday, Aug. 10, starting at 7 p.m..

The hallmark annual star party will feature a line-up of speakers, door prizes, and a variety of telescopes to observe the wonders of the night sky.

Visitors can listen to speakers present on various astronomy-related topics, and when nightfall sets in and the stars emerge, join society members at their telescopes trained on different types of celestial objects, such as planets, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. 

Photo by Frank Colosimo

The Ring nebula

Those who come early can see the telescopes during daylight.

The event is weather dependant, and will move to Sunday, Aug. 11, in case of cloudy or rainy conditions on the scheduled date.

You can check for updates at www.chesmontastro.org.

Prizes will include a 102mm Celestron refractor telescope with mount and eyepieces and a 80mm Orion telescope with mount and eyepieces, plus limited quantities of astronomy material.

Here is the schedule:

• 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Astronomy-related presentations
  
• 7:30 to 8 p.m.: Dark sky preservation talk
• 8 to 8:45 p.m.: Guest speaker
• 8:45 to 9 p.m.: Drawing for telescope prizes
• 9 to 11 p.m.: Stargazing 

The event is free for all ages and free parking is available, but cash donations are appreciated.

So grab your kids, bring a lawn chair, and come learn about the night sky!