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.
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 Chasing Aurora Across Alberta
Team Tanner – Darlene and Theresa Tanner
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.
Dr. Peter BrownHaving 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.
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.
NPSP 2016 T-Shirt Design
Order yours by Monday, September 5
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).
NPSP 2015 T-Shirt Design
Order yours by August 21
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.
NPSP 2014 T-Shirt Design
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.
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NPSP 2013 Poster
Northern Prairie Star Party
Sep 3 – 8, 2013
Public Talks on Sep 7, 2013
Public Talks at the Northern Prairie Star Party 2012
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Dr. Brian Martin, Professor of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Astronomy, King’s University College, Edmonton on the science amateur astronomers can do with their telescopes. |
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Dr. Warren Finlay, RASC member and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta “Galaxies: A Brief Introduction” ? the astronomy and astrophysics of galaxies. |
Public Talks at the Northern Prairie Star Party 2011
 The three speakers at the 2011 Northern Prairie Star Party were (from left to right): Dr Doug Hube, Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta on “Solar Cycles, Past, Present and Future,” Dr. Greg Sivakoff, Associate Professor, University of Alberta on “Black Holes and Revelations” and RASC member Murray Paulson on “Alberta’s Whitecourt Meteor Impact Crater.” |