AstroParty
23rd to 30th of October 2011
In celebration of its 5th year, the Salisbury Star Party will be hosting AstroParty with 7 days of Astronomy activities for people of all levels of interest and ability. All are welcome and those who attend will enjoy dark skies, a fantastic location, great company and lots and lots of fun. The organisers intend to make the Astro Party one of the biggest and best astronomy events in 2011 and beyond.
Venue:
The event will be held in a lovely and spacious campsite in the pretty village of Sixpenny Handley in the glorious Wiltshire countryside, (an area of outstanding natural beauty) with dark skies and excellent facilities including a large cafe/ conference area.
The site is located within 300m of the Village High Street. There are a variety of shops, including General Stores/Newsagents, Butchers, Post Office, Gift Shop and also a Public House. The village church backs on to the campsite, which adds a little more of that country atmosphere to the venue.
The historic City of Salisbury and the market towns of Blandford Forum, Wimborne Minster, Shaftesbury and Ringwood are all easily reached within 30 minutes drive.
If you aren’t keen on camping, there are local B&B’s and hotels etc in the surrounding area.
Activities:
Star Party – Running for all of the 7 nights with around 70 to 100 experienced astronomers at its core, the Star Party is the main part of the event, so bring your kit if you have any, join in and take advantage of observing and imaging with a large group, whatever your level of experience? You don't even need to bring a telescope, just use your eyes.
Imaging World Record – More info coming soon?
Inflatable Planetarium Shows – Big planetariums with big shows all topped off with what’s up guides.
Talks – A daily program of talks by famous and experienced people in the world of astronomy.
Tweetup – A social gathering of social media. Twitter and Facebook users meet and tweet with your online friends here.
Tours of the Sky – live and real tours of the sky by experienced astronomers.
Telescope and Equipment Workshops – Ask for advice or get help with astronomical equipment.
Trade Stands – More info and who is coming soon?
Competitions – A raffle for that nice telescope or piece of imaging kit?
Hospitality – There will be a hog roast on the final Saturday, and there is a cafe which is open through the week. We hope to have additional tents where you can warm up, tweetup, get a coffee, have some soup, or somewhere to chill and drink your beer. There is a licensed bar on site and a pub in the village.
More activities and services will be added to the program before the event starts.
A website will be launched shortly where you can look for additional information and book your tickets for the event.
Please book tickets here
Let’s Make AstroParty, hosted by the Salisbury Star Party one of the biggest and best astronomy events and we hope to see you all there.