Our Star Parties - Stargazing on the Sled Hill
We organize star parties in association with the Farmington Hills Special Services, the Nature Center, and Heritage Park. Our star parties provide an opportunity for visitors to look up at the night sky and view its many wonders through telescopes that our volunteer astronomers graciously share with us.
The evening begins with a short welcome, followed by a brief themed presentation before setting the crowd loose to look through the various telescopes we have set up on the sled hill. A sky tour is held at some point in the evening before we conclude and pack the telescopes up. On occasion, we set up informational and activity tables that include meteorite exhibits, lunar and solar system models, and so on.
If the weather is cloudy/rainy, we may meet at the Spicer House for a featured presentation, or we cancel the event if no presentation is planned. We don't have telescopes set up during rainy/cloudy nights.
Our star party events are free, open to the public, and they usually begin at sunset. We ask that people help us preserve our stargazing experience by avoiding the use of bright LED flashlights and minimizing other ambient lighting from cell phones, cars, and so on. We recommend astronomy friendly, red colored flashlights. Please use caution and care when looking through our volunteers' telescopes as they contain sensitive optical materials, and always ask the telescope operator for assistance if you're not sure how to look through their telescope.
Attendance to our star parties of course is always voluntary - the club runs on volunteers and the way we see it, we're out here to enjoy the night sky anyways, so anyone who wants to join us in doing so is also welcome!