As we inch closer to our “astronomy season” I figured it is a good time to give an idea of what to expect when coming to Wyalusing State Park for one of our offerings. You can view our calendar here!
Our calendar has some different types of events listed. Business meetings are when our membership gets together and discusses future plans and handles behind-the-scenes details. We also have park programs, programs by request, and activity nights. See below for a description of each of those.
Types of Programs:
Park Program – Our park programs are open to the public and free of charge. We do appreciate any donations as we are a registered non-profit organization and we operate entirely on donations. A typical park program begins at 8:30pm when one of our members gives a presentation on astronomy. Topics vary by member and could include astronomy basics, astrophotography, or space exploration. Once the sky is dark enough, we will head outside and use some of our amazing equipment to show you many celestial objects.
Programs by request – We do try to accommodate programs by request as much as we can but due to our small membership numbers, we can’t fulfill every request. You are more than welcome to request a viewing but please understand we get a lot of requests and we are all volunteers so we may not be able to make it work. Being a non-profit we do not have set fees for requested programs but we strongly encourage a donation of at least $3 per person. We promise that it is money well spent! You can request a program by using the contact page.
Activity Night – These are time set aside for our active members to enjoy the night sky at their own pace. When we do programs we are very focused on delivering a great experience so we take the activity night as a chance to look for other objects and learn new things. These are still open to anyone but please note that it will not be run like a program. If you have your own telescope and want to learn how to use it, you are more than welcome to bring it and we will be happy to help you out!
When you arrive…
We ask that you park in the parking lot at the Turkey Hollow trailheads and then proceed down the gravel path on foot.
Please use only red lights and keep cell phones and any other white lights tucked away.
If you are using bug spray, please apply it up the gravel path or in the parking lot and not around others. We have one member who is very allergic to bug sprays.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our gatherings at Huser Observatory in Wyalusing State Park! Hope for clear skies and we will provide the rest!
Ad Astra,
Kyle