The 2021 Northern Prairie Star Party (NPSP) dates are Tuesday, September 7 to Saturday, September 11. The COVID-19 pandemic remains a key factor for us in planning the program and any onsite set up for this year’s NPSP. We are exploring various options, so please check back here and the Stardust Newsletter for more details.

Nevertheless, we have booked the northern part of the campground for use by our members and potential NPSP attendees, as outlined in the update in the March 2021 Stardust. If you are interested in using one of the sites during the reserved time, please email the NPSP Coordinators Susan and Rick Bramm indicating the dates and site preference. We will allocate them on a first-come, first-served basis and follow up with you regarding payment.

If you need more information or have questions, please email the NPSP Coordinators Susan and Rick Bramm.

The sixteenth annual Northern Prairie Star Party was held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield from September 24 to 29, 2019. Most of our group activities occured on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28.

This event is open to the public – registration fees apply. Camping fees apply if staying overnight.*

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

If you need more information or have questions, please email Rick Bramm.

Friday Program (September 27)

Continue Reading →

The fifteenth annual Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield from September 4 to 9, 2018. Most of our group activities will occur on Friday, September 7 and Saturday, September 8.

This event is open to the public – registration fees apply. Camping fees apply if staying overnight.*

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

If you need more information or have questions, please email Rick Bramm.

Saturday Afternoon Program (September 8)

1:45 Starting with a 32-inch mirror
Roman Unyk

2:45 The origin of gold and other very heavy elements in the Universe
Rodrigo Fernandez

3:45 Adventures in Meteor Chasing
Bruce McCurdy Continue Reading →

The fourteenth annual Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield from September 19 to 24, 2017. Most of our group activities will occur on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23.

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

Keynote at 3:45 PM on Saturday, September 23, 2017

Dr. Peter Brown
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario and Canada Research Chair in Meteor Astronomy

Canadian meteorite falls over the last quarter century – How has detection been enhanced and what have we learned?

Having been involved in one aspect or another of almost all Canadian meteorite falls since 1994, Dr. Brown will give a general talk about these falls, the development of a 20-camera meteor network in the last decade and what researchers have learned.

About the Speaker
Dr. Peter Brown is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and Canada Research Chair in Meteor Astronomy. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta he got his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Alberta and completed his MSc and PhD degrees at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Brown studies small bodies of the solar system, with particular emphasis on the origin and evolution of meteors, meteorites, meteoroids and asteroids. His PhD thesis focused on the Evolution of Two periodic Meteoroid Streams: the Perseids and Leonids.

Continue Reading →

The thirteenth Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield from September 27 to October 2, 2016. Most of our group activities will occur on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1.

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

Keynote at 4:00 PM on Saturday, October 1, 2016

David Levy
My life as a comet searcher

 

NPSP 2016 T-Shirt Design
Order yours by Monday, September 5

Continue Reading →

NPSP 2015 – Event Recap

Alister Ling (Edmonton Centre RASC executive member) gave a very interesting talk on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of high dynamic range (HDR) photography in astronomy, followed by long-time RASC member and photographer Warren Finlay speaking on photographing nightscapes around the world. David Miles, PhD candidate and research engineer (EIT), Department of Physics, University of Alberta, gave an entertaining and informative presentation on studying space weather from a sub- orbital sounding rocket. Our afternoon concluded with Dr. Jeff Kuhn, from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, talking about the use of large telescopes to search for alien life in our galactic neighbourhood (see photo of our speakers).

---

This is the twelfth year that the Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at the Black Nugget Lake campground south east of Tofield. The event officially starts Tuesday, September 8 and ends Sunday, September 13 – with most of our group activities occurring on Saturday, September 12.

For more information, please review the schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) and the Northern Prairie Star Party main page.

Keynote at 4:30pm on Saturday, September 12

Jeff Kuhn from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii

Taking a census of alien life in our galactic neighborhood

 

Continue Reading →

This was the eleventh year that the Northern Prairie Star Party was held at the Black Nugget Lake camp ground south east of Tofield. The event officially started on Tuesday, September 23 and ended Sunday, September 28 – with most of our group activities occurring on Saturday, September 27. This year’s event attracted 50 participants including returnees and newcomers. Unfortunately we were beset by cold and rainy weather that prevented observing on our two big nights – Friday and Saturday. This bad luck was more than offset by lots of discussion amongst participants and camaraderie around the first-ever campfire held on Saturday night when the skies were completely clouded over. Continue Reading →

Northern Prairie Star Party
Sep 3 – 8, 2013

Public Talks on Sep 7, 2013

• 3:00 PM Massimo Torri
  Deep Sky Astroimaging Tutorial

• 3:45 PM Paul Hickson
  Extremely Large Telescopes (cancelled)

• 4:45 PM Martin Connors
  Scanning the Northern Skies from Athabasca