Annual Camping With The Stars

The Minnesota Astronomical Society would like to invite you to attend the Annual Camping With the Stars at the Eagle Lake Observatory in Baylor Regional Park. Speakers are scheduled throughout the day and will give talks on astronomy and what there is to see. Door prize and raffle prize drawings will be held Saturday evening and include telescopes, binoculars, MAS merchandise, astronomy books and more. Weather permitting, the evening will conclude with a tour of the night sky and of course stargazing.

Additional information as well as directions can be found on the Eagle Lake Observatory web page.

 Registration & Check-in

Registration 

• Call the Carver County Park Office at 952-466-5255 to register and reserve your spot or register online at https://web2.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/mncarverctywt.wsc/search.html?module=PST
• Group Camp Setting in Ball field below the observatory (not including event admission pass)+ MAS EVENT Registration $20/night
• Daily Admissions (not camping) to MAS EVENT $12/person/day

Check-in

The campground host will be checking in any CWTS campers that arrive on Friday & Saturday. Any walk-ins will be sent to the observatory.

All CWTS guests, after checking in and getting their campsite, will pick up their CWTS packet at the observatory. Among other things, the packet will provide information on the weekend activities, event schedule, and door prize tickets for Saturday night drawing.

Walk-in fee are collected at the observatory. Included with the fee are the door prize tickets (and wrist bands).  Anyone can also buy a raffle ticket, whether registered or not.

Tentative Schedule of Events

Friday July 12

The observatory opens and the Star Party begins at 7:00 pm. We will begin with solar viewing and other daytime objects. The star party continues past midnight.

7:00pm: Dave Falkner, NASA Solar System Ambassador – Understanding the Sun

Summary: We know the solar wind causes the aurora borealis. Obviously the solar wind comes from the Sun. But how does the Sun create the solar wind? Let’s learn about the Sun. Dave will talk about the perception of the Sun in history, how the source of energy for the Sun was discovered, the structure of the Sun and its features, the source of the solar wind, and how NASA is unlocking the mystery of the Sun’s corona with the Parker Solar Probe.

Bio: Dave has been a life-long amateur astronomer. He first became interested in astronomy as a pre-teen when his father took him to a show at the Holcolm Planetarium in Indianapolis. He became hooked and has had an interest in astronomy ever since.  After retiring from the US Navy, Dave settled in Minnesota and became an active member of the Minnesota Astronomical Society (MAS). He has served as its President from 2011 – 2014 and again from 2019 – 2020 and is the current Secretary. As a member of the MAS, Dave enjoyed performing astronomical outreach, often speaking to groups at libraries, nature centers and schools.  Dave is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador where he educates the public about space, space exploration and NASA missions. Along with his outreach activities, Dave has taught beginning Astronomy classes at a local community college and has published three books; two editions of “Mythology of the Night Sky” and the book “The Stories of Astronomers and Their Stars.”

8:00pm: Tim Carlson, NASA Solar System Ambassador – Voyager 1 & 2: Humanity’s Most Distant Explorers

Summary: The Voyager missions to the outer planets and interstellar space will be discussed. Including the incredible opportunity for a “grand tour” of the outer planets only encountered every 176 years and some true “postcards from the edge” at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The interstellar mission and current status will also be highlighted as well as the challenges of flying two geriatric spacecraft with a tiny flight team.

Bio: Tim has been a space nerd all his life. For his science fair project in 4th grade he built a model of the Apollo 11 Command and Lunar modules and explained how they docked together for their trip to the Moon. He loves all things that have to do with space from Mercury to Artemis and everything in between. He looks forward to sharing his love of space exploration with everyone he can.

9:30pm – David Falkner – Laser Light Constellation Tour

Join us near the plaza for a guided tour of the night sky using a laser light.

Saturday July 13

The observatory opens at 1:00 pm. for daytime viewing of the sun, stars & planets (if clear).

1:00pm – Trena Johnson, MAS President , NASA Solar System Ambassador – An Overview of the Earth’s Natural Satellite, THE MOON!

Summary: If you were ever wanting to know all about the moon, I would love to help you. Let me start your journey with an overview of our natural satellite. I will talk about the moon’s phases, why we never see all of the far side, when we might return to the lunar surface, and what is the best way to view our moon. Let us journey there together!

Bio: I can’t say that I have been passionate about astronomy for all of my life. I certainly can say I was interested in the constellations, from Greek & Roman Mythology, since being introduced to them in High School. My weekend trips to the family farm and seeing so many stars but also loving how bright the moon was without city lights. It made me always wonder what was up there. Flash forward to today, where I now know a little bit of what we can see and how precious those dark skies are. I have been a member since 2016 and am still learning about what is up there.

2:00pm – Doug Neverman, Engineer, Educator, Musician, and MAS member – A Survey of Astrophotography

Summary: This presentation explores the various categories of astrophotography. Images, taken by MAS members, are presented with a list of equipment and settings. Also included is advice on how to get started and an image history of the presenter’s astrophotography journey.

Bio: Doug Neverman is a retired software engineer and music teacher. At a young age he was interested in science and particularly space and electronics. His observations were first done on an 8″ Newtonian telescope. In 2015 Doug started doing astrophotography and joined MAS. Since then he has improved his equipment, skills, knowledge, and enjoys sharing and helping others to observe and photograph the universe.

3:00pm – Brad Nasset, NASA Solar System Ambassador – Understanding the Night Sky

Summary: Where are we in the universe? How do we find constellations, and why are many of them only visible at certain times of the year? What else can we see in the Milky Way with small and consumer-available telescopes? Well, now you will know!

Bio: Brad Nasset is a Solar System Ambassador with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He enjoys sharing his knowledge about the night sky and has presented astronomy and space exploration topics to thousands of people in public and private groups, at National Park System night sky events, and high school and university astronomy classes. He is also an observatory operator with the Minnesota Astronomical Society.

4:00pm Matt Dunham, Engineer and MAS Treasurer – Make Your Own Planisphere

Summary: Make your own planisphere (star wheel) so you can find objects in the night sky. Materials will be provided.

Bio: Matt has been a product development engineer for industrial, wireless, and medical devices. Hobby’s include amatuer radio, storm chasing, and various outdoor adventures. Matt joined the MAS in 2018 and is currently serving as the MAS treasurer.

5:00pm – Picnic Dinner Break 

6:30pm: Colin Kilbane, STEAM educator – Rocket Building and Launching!

Summary: Let’s get ready to rocket! Come take a crash course on model rocketry, pun fully intended! Learn how Newton’s laws of motion make space travel possible and help us explore our solar system. In this class you will build a simple 3D printed model rocket and learn how to safely launch it.

Bio: Colin Kilbane has been sharing his STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fun for almost 30 years now. He started making slime and setting off fire alarms with chemistry outreach at Kansas State and the University of Minnesota. A chemist and biochemist by training, he ended up moving on to share his passion for STEM and making things go boom as the Senior Mad Scientist and Operations Director for Mad Science of MN for more than a decade before he made his move to the high school classroom. He has taught chemistry, physical science, robotics, makerspace and physics for the last ten years and does STEM on the side. This year, he started up Gopher STEAM. Gopher STEAM can add some STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART! and math) to any event for any age, preschool on up. Gopher STEAM offers fantastically fun interactive shows, activity tables, birthday parties, scouting programs, classes and now summer camps. Check out more at Gophersteam.com

8:00pm – Door prize drawing,  MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.

8:30pm – Raffle prize drawing,  You do not need to be present to win.

9:30pm – Brad Nassett – Laser Light Constellation Tour

Join us near the plaza for a guided tour of the night sky using a laser light.

Sunday July 14

The observatory opens at 8:00 am. for solar viewing and other daytime objects (if clear).

8:00am – Breakfast in the HotSpot Classroom

Come join us for breakfast, which includes eggs, toast, donuts, fruit, juice, coffee, and more. The day will include solar viewing from the observatory.

2:00pm Activities conclude