Members of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society will present their final star-gazing party of 2018 on Saturday evening from sunset to 9 p.m. at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex.
“Saturn will be the star of the show. People always love to look at Saturn,” said SLAS member Patrick Wiggins, who also serves as a NASA solar system ambassador.
Wiggins said the sixth planet from the sun and second largest in our solar system will be in prime position for viewing. The public should also be able to see Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, he said.
“It will just look like a little blue dot so I think most of the viewing will be of an almost full moon and Saturn,” he said.
“We’ll also offer views of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters,” Wiggins said.
A popular feature at SPOC is the nation’s largest amateur telescope built by Herriman resident Mike Clements. It allows the public to look deep into space. The massive telescope sports a 70-inch mirror and is 35 feet long.
“The value is priceless considering it may spark a lot of interest in astronomy for young people who come out here to look through it,” Clements said when his telescope was unveiled at SPOC in July 2017.
“It has been so popular that we have to draw numbers for people to line up to use it,” Wiggins said.
“There also are two telescopes in the Harmon’s building, one in the refractor house and a couple more we will wheel out for people to use,” Wiggins said. “All of these telescopes will be manned by experienced operators form the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, and they can help people. We love it when people ask us questions.”
He said the public also can bring out their own telescopes to use. SLAS members can also help people who want to purchase their own telescopes.
“We can steer them away from buying bad telescopes,” Wiggins said.
He said it is important for people to dress warmly because the viewing party will be outdoors.
Wiggins said Stansbury Park is just far enough away from light pollution in Salt Lake Valley to make it a great place to observe the solar system.
“You could drive down to Bryce Canyon or out in the West Desert for darker skies, but that’s a long way to drive,” he said.
SLAS normally holds star parties twice a month from April through October.
Star parties at SPOC are free. The observatory is located at 20 Plaza on the north end of Stansbury Park near the skate park.