Join us for CTSP 2025!
It’s that time of year! Time for our annual Central Texas Star Party, also known as CTSP! Dunno what that is? Well here’s the first round of details….
All About CTSP!
CTSP is AAS’s annual member gathering, education, and star party! While it is member-focused, anyone can join us, and the Saturday astro activities are FREE!
Over September 19th and 20th, we’ll be out at Pedernales State Park at the Star Theater where our AAS observatory is located. It’s the park’s observing area as well, so park rules do apply! There will be limited camping spots at the side of the Star Theater’s field. It’ll be very important to prepare for CTSP, if you’re coming for the day or camping on the field, or elsewhere in the park. As it’s an active field, Dark Sky field protocol and Star Party Etiquette both apply.
Please note: non-members must pay park entrance fees, and the member dinner and field camping will not be available.
What Happens at CTSP?
Part of the fun of CTSP is to meet and connect with members and the amazing knowledge within the club.
We’ll have our potluck on Friday evening, which is always a lot of fun. Bring a dish to share with the group, and share stories about our astronomical escapades.
On Saturday, participants engage in solar viewing, observatory work and improvements, observatory training, a variety of astro-topical sessions, our onsite swap meet, or individual projects as needed – it really is a great time to ask questions and get pointers! And yes, new AAS members, we encourage you to come out too, even if you don’t have a scope. No matter – come meet astronomy fans like you, and enjoy the night sky with fellow members.
Saturday late afternoon, members take a pause for our member BBQ. The BBQ is $12 for adults and $7 for youth, and comes with all of the trimmings. There will be a members-only link for signup for the BBQ – stay tuned for that in the next posts!
The evening follows on with more observing, well into the night.
On Sunday, folks pack up and head home, making sure we leave the park as we found it.
Preparing for CTSP
We’ll share more later, but as it’s late summer in Central Texas, you HAVE to prepare for CTSP! Bring your astro-gear, but also bring a canopy, chairs, cool clothes, hat, plenty of food for meals, snacks, ice, any medicines, and lots and lots of water! If you sign up with member services for a spot on the field, please bring your self-sufficient tent preparations. Definitely sunscreen or bug spray, but do that far away from any scopes or gear and definitely do not touch anything!
We’d also recommend leaving pets at home, but bring family. 🙂
That’s it – make sure you check out the upcoming mails, the posts here, and on our socials. We look forward to seeing everyone at CTSP 2025!
Clear Skies!
Joi
Hi everyone –
March and Early April are one of the most amazing times in the celestial calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere (depending your latitude), on nights from late March through to the first couple of weeks of April, astronomers can view a good rotation of the night sky. If you’re intrepid, from dawn to dusk, there’s the opportunity to see ALL of the objects in Messier’s catalog!
