Eastern Iowa Star Party

Star Party [SP]
The Quad Cities Astronomical Society is hosting the 2005 Eastern Iowa Star Party (EISP) on September 30th-October 2nd at the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center (WREEC) located north of Dixon, IA. This is the home of St. Ambrose University’s observatory housing three telescopes in a dome and a roll off building. The classroom area has modern rest rooms, heat and AC. EISP is designed for those individuals who prefer a smaller star party rather than a very large one such as AstroFest or Stellafane. The star party is mostly a nighttime affair. Our site has pretty dark skies. We offer friendly conversation and a variety of telescopes to look through. You may find two or three groups doing CCD imaging each night using both commercial and homemade CCD cameras. We don't have scheduled daytime programs but a number of attendees have made presentations. The WREEC normally has a number of environmental programs during the day Saturday. A number of very nice door prizes are generally offered. We are fortunate that so many vendors have generously supported our star party: please support them with your purchases. We have a wiener roasting ceremony and bon fire each night, (bring your own dogs). There are a limited number of concrete pads with power outlets available. There are no registration fees and camping is available for a small fee of $4 per night per campsite. Camping is within walking distance of the observing site. Please, no campers on the observatory grounds. WREEC can be reached without too much difficulty from Interstate 80. Proceed on Interstate 80 approximately 22 miles from the Iowa-Illinois border to the Walcott, IA exit (you can't miss this one; the Walcott Truck Stop located here is billed as the largest truck stop in the nation). At this exit, proceed right (north) on county road Y40 for eight miles to Dixon, IA. County Road Y40 comes to a Tee intersection in Dixon with County Road Y4E. When you reach this intersection, proceed left (west) and go approximately one and a half miles until you come to a sign directing you to WREEC. We will have our own signs to assist you in getting there. N41° 46', W90° 47' See our web-site for a link for a map.
Date:
09/30/2005 12:00AM   —  10/02/2005 12:00AM
Location:
Dixon IA, United States
Contact:
Steve VanHyfte
Phone:
309-762-9784
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
http://home.mchsi.com/~qcas/