20th Annual Weekend Under the Stars

August 5, 6, 7, 2010

The 20th annual Weekend Under the Stars is hosted by the

Cheyenne Astronomical Society

Laramie Astronomical Society and Space Observers

Weekend Under The Stars is held in cooperation with the
Front Range Astronomical Super Cluster (FRASC)

The Weekend Under The Stars

2009 Group Photo.

Marty Curran
President
Cheyenne Astronomical Society

Directions to the Star Party From Laramie Wyoming, take HWY230 West 28 miles to Woods Landing. Continue from Woods Landing up HWY. 230 12 miles to the turn off to Foxpark (USFS Road 512). The turn is well marked and there will also be a sign marked "Weekend Under The Stars" with an arrow pointing the correct way. Take the county road approximately 2 miles to the small town of FoxPark. The town is closed up with big gates so you have to turn left when you get there (USFS Road 532). There will be a "Weekend Under The Stars" sign near that turn. After turning, go about 1/2 mile (approximately) and you will come to stop sign that enters another road. Continue forward on that road and you will find the turn off to the observing site on the right about .2 miles after you get on the other road. Watch close for the "Weekend Under the Stars" signs at each entrance (there is one on each side of the site). The GPS coordinates are as follows: " +41° 4' 57.85", -106° 9' 36.91" or, in decimal form " 41.082735, -106.160253"

Information About The Observing Site

The observing site is the winter sports parking area for the south side of the Snowy Range. The site sits a 9100 feet with typical 7th mag stars visible naked eye. Most Messier objects are naked eye as well. The days are hot and the nights can be cold. Bring shorts, t-shirts, sun block, long johns, parkas, gloves and sun glasses. The sun will cook you to a crisp in less than an hour and the night can freeze you in less. Of course if you sun-burn your legs they'll be warm all night ;-) . There are no facilities at the site. As a matter of fact, there are outhouses and nothing else so bring water, food and any supplies you will need to camp out. We do arrange to have some porta potties brought in to the site. There is food, gas and supplies at Woods Landing, so it's not too far to go if you forget something but their supplies are limited. There are two large camping areas and the ground is flat and level so you can camp right at the observing site or almost anywhere you like around Foxpark. There are specific campgrounds at Rob Roy Reservoir, Miller Lake, Lake Evans and Lake Owens. Laramie is about a 50 minute drive from the site.

Weather Link for Foxpark Area

Events and Registration

REGISTRATION There is no pre-registration for this Star Party. All registration will be taken care of at the time of arrival. Please sign in at our registration desk(at the big tent). Fees: ADULTS = $15.00 each CHILDREN (12 and under) = FREE We record the number of people and how much aperture they brought with them for a grand total Saturday evening.

EVENTS We offer the following activities for the weekend. Check the events list below. Friday 2 pm: Tour of Jelm Mountain Observatory (Tour limited to 20 people, sign up on site, find a ride) 9:30 pm a tour of the night sky by Thom Edgar Saturday morning: 1000 yard walk off of the Solar System Guest Speakers: Saturday 4 pm William Possel on the Kepler Mission Chip Kobulnicky on the history of WIRO Group Photo: Immediately after guest speaker (about 5:30 pm) Door Prize Giveaway (Please have a look at our 2009 Donor List) Saturday Evening 6 p.m. after group photo

CONTACT US AT:

Marty Curran
President CAS
3539 Luther Place
Cheyenne, WY 82001 
(307)635-5944
curranm@bresnan.net