Star Parties & "Nights Out" The Chester County Astronomical Society offers "nights out" to interested organizations including local schools, scouting groups, and other civic groups for the purpose of learning more about the heavens. For example, scouting groups often hold them to earn badges for their members. If your organization is interested in hosting a Night Out, please contact our coordinator, Don Knabb. Star Parties are similar to our "Nights Out" but are open to the public and are organized at the national and regional level. Listed below are upcoming star parties; click on the star party title for more information directly from their website. February 2012 Star Parties Cedar Key Star Party February 20 - 24, 2012 Sponsored by the Florida Park Service. Cedar Key Museum State Park, Cedar Key, Florida. 28th Annual Winter Star Party February 20 - 26, 2012 Sponsored by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society. The party will be held on Scout Key, Florida. 18th Orange Blossom Special Star Party February 22 - 26, 2012 Hosted by the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club. Withlacoochee River County Park, Dade City, Florida. March 2012 Star Parties Triad StarFest (*Tri*Star*) March 2 - 3, 2012 Hosted by the Greensboro Astronomy Club and the Cline Observatory. Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, North Carolina. April 2012 Star Parties 21st Annual Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) & Telescope Show April 28 - 29, 2012 Sponsored by the Rockland Astronomy Club. Rockland Community College - Suffern, New York. Delmarva Star Gaze April 19 - 22, 2012 Eighteenth Annual Delmarva Star Gaze at Tuckahoe State Park, near Queen Anne, MD. South Jersey Astronomy Club Spring Star Party April 19 - 22, 2012 Sponsored by the South Jersey Astronomy Club. Belleplain State Forest, near Woodbine, New Jersey. 6th Annual Tennessee Spring Star Party April 20 - 22, 2012 Sponsored by the Cumberland Astronomical Society. Fall Creek Falls State Park, Pikeville, Tennessee. May 2012 Star Parties June 2012 Star Parties Grand Canyon's 22nd Annual Star Party June 16-23, 2012 For eight days in June, park visitors will explore the wonders of the night sky on Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and on the North Rim with the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix. July 2012 Star Parties Table Mountain Star Party July 19 - 21, 2012 Table Mountain, about 20 miles northwest of Ellensburg, Washington. Connecticut River Valley Astronomers Conjunction July 20 - 21, 2012 The 30th annual convention held at the Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environment Center, Northfield, Massachusetts. August 2012 Star Parties Rockland Summer Star Party August 10 - 19, 2012 Held at Shady Pines Campground, a privately owned and operated facility located in Savoy, Massachusetts. September 2012 Star Parties Prairie Skies Star Party September 13 - 16, 2012 Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See 4-H camp, near Kankakee Illinois. October 2012 Star Parties Fall Star Gaze October 6, 2012 Sponsored by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club. Held at C.M. Crockett Park in Fauquier County, Virginia. South Jersey Astronomy Club Fall Star Party October 11 - 14, 2012 Sponsored by the South Jersey Astronomy Club. Belleplain State Forest, near Woodbine, New Jersey. No Frills Star Gaze October 10 - 14, 2012 Seventeenth Annual No Frills Star Gaze at Tuckahoe State Park, near Queen Anne, MD.