Nebraska Star Party

Every year, for the past 20 years a group of amateur astronomers from Omaha and Lincoln come to Nebraska's Sandhills and throw a party -- with telescopes.
They come to central Nebraska for some of the darkest skies in the nation. Some have called it Nebraska's Black Hole. They say it is the best place to view planets, galaxies and other celestial objects because there is no light pollution. The nearest town, Valentine, is 26 miles away.
Nancy and I took three of her grandkids with us to the star party for the experience. It's a long drive but worth it. We camped at Merritt Reservoir for three days and enjoyed swimming, camping and gazing at stars.
You don't need to bring a telescope to view the heavens. To see the Milky Way and shooting stars, you simply spread a blanket on the ground and look up. That's it. People from Minnesota and other states told us they have nothing like this -- too many lights. Not in the Sandhills. Amateur astronomers on Observation Hill are more than willing to let you look through their telescopes. Some people bring a good pair of binoculars.
During the day, the Omaha Astronomical Society and the Prairie Astronomy Club hosts an astronomy field school for adults and children. You can learn some amazing things about our universe just by listening and asking a few questions. For instance, the best time to view the Moon through a telescope is not when it's full -- too bright -- but when it is in a transition phase like a half moon.
This year's star party featured a special guest, NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson. He came up and gave an inspirational talk on what it's like living in Space. Anderson spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station. He retired earlier this year but still comes back to Nebraska for public speaking engagements. His message: Follow your dreams and never give up. He should know. Anderson tried 15 times to get into NASA's astronaut program and on the last try, he was accepted. Anderson made the most of it, too. He not only walked in space but also put Nebraska in the spotlight every chance he could -- from 250 miles above the Earth.

Astronaut Clayton Anderson -- the tall one -- came out to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Nebraska Star Party. He posed with three of Nancy's grandkids, Jenna, Joey and Jacob.

Amateur astronomers from all over the country come to the Nebraska Star Party in early August to view some of the darkest skies anywhere. They bring their telescopes and give adults and children a chance to view the stars.

The star party hosts a gathering on a few nights. This night was the free Cattleman's Barbecue. Great people and a fun time was had by all.

http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/