Astronomy Group to Visit Big Valley

December 12, 2007, Adin CA
Copyright 2007 Big Valley News

Each year, a large group of California amateur astronomers holds an annual star party in the Lassen Area. For 2008, the Golden State Star Party has chosen a location near Adin for their next big telescope meet.

The main reason for the location choice is something which Big Valley residents take for granted, very dark skies which usually translates to good observing.  As the population grows and city lights continue to encroach on the night scape, dark sites like Adin are more of a rarity.  The organizers of the event are excited to be here, and hope that this will benefit the whole community.

The star party will be held July 2 to July 5 of 2008 and it is expected that somewhere

between 150 to 200 people will attend the event. These are night people, very quiet and very friendly people. They will bring some business to Big Valley but you may not see them much unless you show up Saturday evening (after 6:00pm) when they'll be open for public viewing.  If you've never looked through a telescope or would like to see other galaxies, star clusters and planets, then don't miss this.

We should look forward to such a large group of tourists visiting Big Valley, especially non intrusive ones, and would consider it a special favor to turn off as many outside lights as possible during their stay;  as dark skys are what star gazers love and a little light travels an amazing distance. After all, that is why they are coming all the way out here.