St. George Astronomy Group free star party includes sun viewing before dark

Image: Joe Parks

The Independent

The St. George Astronomy Group and Toquerville City will host a free public star party at Toquerville City Park on Friday evening, June 12, starting at 7 p.m. All are invited to view the sky through a variety of telescopes and learn the constellations.

The party will last approximately three hours. The first hour will be observing the sun with special solar telescopes. As it gets darker, telescopes will be pointed to the planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. When it is really dark, stargazers will be able to observe double stars, star clusters, and distant galaxies. An astronomer will use a laser to point out bright stars and major constellations.

If the weather turns cloudy the party will be cancelled.

The star party will be held in the city park at the far end of the parking lot, where parking is also available. The City Center Park is located at 250 W Center Street.

The St. George Astronomy Group is the St. George area astronomy advocacy organization with a mission to reach out to the public through free star parties and other public events and to preserve the dark skies over southern Utah through proper outdoor lighting. The St. George Astronomy Group can be reached at: https://sites.google.com/site/StGeorgeAstronomyGroup.