Monday, April 20, 2020

Whipple Observatory Hosting Livestream 'Star Party'

Posted By on Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 12:16 PM

click to enlarge Whipple Observatory Hosting Livestream 'Star Party'
Courtesy photo
This Friday, April 24, Southern Arizona's Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory will be hosting a livestream "star party," where viewers can watch the night sky as it appears in multiple locations throughout the county, and interact with astronomers.

As part of International Dark Sky Week, the star party features live presentations and hosts from multiple time zones, all sharing information and their passion on astronomy.

“Star parties are all about bringing people together. I came up with the idea for this nationwide star party because I saw people hosting livestreams locally, but I wanted to find a way to bring the nation together,” said Amy C. Oliver, from the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

The star party also features participants from the Prescott Astronomy Club; the Mark Slade Remote Observatory in Spotsylvania, Virginia; and the Feynman Observatory in Bloomington, Indiana; as well as astronomer Brian Cummins of Chantilly, Virginia; and, Michael Keefe, The AstroNerd, of Apex, North Carolina. Several participants are members of the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors volunteer corps.

“Star parties are all about bringing people together,” said Oliver. “In this time, where we’re forced apart, we’re working to bring the nation together to celebrate one of the most beautiful things we have all have in common: the night sky.”

The livestream begins at 8 p.m. for Arizona on Friday, April 24 at cfa.harvard.edu/flwo/youtube

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