Category Archives: NPSP

Northern Prairie Star Party Sept 8 – 13, 2026

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Telescopes set up at Black Nugget Lake Park, September 2025 by Ray Wiens


UPDATE: June 8, 2026

Registration for NPSP 2026 is now open!! Click HERE to get to the REGISTRATION FORM.

Join us for unforgettable autumn nights under the stars, enriching and interesting daytime workshops and presentations, and time to learn and talk with other amateur astronomers at the annual Northern Prairie Star Party (NPSP) at Black Nugget Lake Park campground.

NPSP 2026 will run from Tuesday, September 8 to Sunday, September 13, 2026, with most group activities planned for Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12. It is being held at the Black Nugget Lake Park campground located about an hour’s drive southeast of Edmonton. The campground is also the location of our Black Nugget Lake Observatory. Bring your sense of wonder for stargazing under seriously dark skies (Bortle Scale 3).

NPSP 2026 is proving to be a popular event. As of June 6, more than 70 people are registered to attend and almost all the campsites reserved for the event have been booked by attendees. Please register as soon as possible if you want to get one of the last remaining camping spots or to get in before the limit of 120 attendees is reached. See the REGISTRATION and CAMPING sections below for more details.

FINAL DEADLINE for registration and payment is August 25, 2026 (event fees, camping and T-shirts).

For the detailed report on last year’s 2025 NPSP, see https://edmontonrasc.com/stardust/stardust202510.pdf

For more information, please talk with one of the members of the NPSP Planning Team or email npstarfest@shaw.ca.

REGISTRATION

Click HERE to go to the NPSP Registration Form. The form addresses all aspects of the event including attendee fees, campsite reservations, T-shirt orders and signing up to volunteer.

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SAVE THESE DATES for the 2026 Northern Prairie Star Party!

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This year’s Northern Prairie Star Party will be held at Black Nugget Lake Park from Tuesday, September 8 to Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Planning is well underway. More details on speakers, registration opening day, t-shirts, programming and volunteering will be available in next month’s issue of Stardust.

We are in the process of updating the NPSP website, and will add more information as it is available.

For the detailed report on the 2025 NPSP, see: https://edmontonrasc.com/stardust/stardust202510.pdf

For more information, please talk with one of the members of the NPSP Planning Team or email to npsp@edmontonrasc.com

Susan and Rick Bramm, Carol and Dave Mussell, Marion and Alan Hobbs
NPSP Planning Team, RASC Edmonton Centre

Northern Prairie Star Party Sept 16-20 2025

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UPDATE: September 13 2025

Registration is now closed

This year’s Northern Prairie Star Party reached it’s maximum capacity in terms of the number of participants and is no longer accepting new registrations. The response from RASC members and their friends and families has been enthusiastic but we have significant limitations at the Black Nugget Lake location which means for the first time in the history of the NPSP we have had to cap registrations. Below you’ll find complete information about this year’s event including the schedule of activities and speakers, ground rules, and much more.

Schedule and Ground Rules

The NPSP Schedule is now available. A printable version is available here. Please familiarize yourself with the NPSP Ground Rules for 2025 before you come. You can download a printable version of the Ground Rules here.

Friday Workshops

1 PM: Alan Dyer – How to Create Great Night-scape Images

Alan Dyer is a RASC member and renowned Canadian astronomy author, educator and astrophotographer. He says, “While often seen as just a ‘beginner’ technique in astrophotography, shooting night-scapes—scenes of the night sky over scenic landscapes—can be a lifelong pursuit capable of producing superb images that are uniquely yours.” In this 90-minute workshop, Alan will present his tips and techniques for taking great images using today’s DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The emphasis will be on capturing two subjects: the Milky Way and auroras. Alan will demonstrate getting the most out of night-scape images by processing raw files with the aid of the latest AI routines for masking and noise reduction.

3 PM: Clayton Knoll – Green Laser Certification

This one-hour session is designed for outreach volunteers who wish to take the course or are renewing their certification (required every three years). Limited to 12 participants. The workshop addresses the regulatory and safety aspects governing the use of green laser pointers. Please let NPSP organizers know that you wish to be put on the list.

Saturday Afternoon Speakers

We will have three presentations on the afternoon of September 20th at 1:30, 2:40, and 4:00.

1:30 PM: Luca Vanzella – BNLO: The First Two Years

We are happy to let you know that Luca Vanzella has agreed to be our RASC Edmonton Centre speaker. Luca is a long-time Edmonton RASC member who has served in various Council roles, including President (2015-2016), and has been recognized several times, including the 2014 Franklin Loehde Award for Project of the Year (analemma) and the 2017 President’s Award for Service to the Centre. He is currently the club’s Fundraising Coordinator and chairs the Black Nugget Lake Observatory (BNLO) Management and Operations Committee. For the past eight years, Luca has had an ongoing and deep involvement with the planning, construction and operation of the BNLO. He is a keen visual observer and has gained international recognition as a skyscape photographer focussing on images (including “timescapes”) featuring the Moon, the Sun and the planets in the night, twilight and daytime skies.


The Black Nugget Lake Observatory Continue Reading →

Northern Prairie Star Party 2024

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The Northern Prairie Star Party (NPSP) will run from Tuesday, September 3 to Sunday, September 8, 2024, with most of our group activities planned for Friday, September 6 and Saturday, September 7. It is being held at the Black Nugget Lake Park located about an hour’s drive from Edmonton. The campground is also the location of our Black Nugget Lake Observatory.

This year we will have ONLINE REGISTRATION for all aspects of the event, including reserving campsites, ordering T-shirts, paying attendee fees, and signing up to volunteer.

RASC Edmonton Centre has booked the northern part of the campground for use by star party event attendees – for use during the entire event. Campsites will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. With a limited number of sites with power, we encourage NPSP attendees wishing to camp overnight to book as soon as possible. Here is a link to the revised and correct campground site map that is posted on the reservation site of Black Nugget Lake Park.

This year we are asking that ALL those planning to attend NPSP to PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE – this will assist with our planning. The final deadline for registering (attendees, campsite and T-shirt) and payment is Thursday, August 15, with payment via e-transfer.

We are pleased to let you know that Dr. Christa van Laerhoven has accepted our invitation to be the keynote speaker on the afternoon of Saturday, September 7. Christa is a planetary scientist and educator. She gained her Ph.D. from the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona, with her research concentrating on long-term changes in the orbits of planets. Her ongoing areas of interest include orbital dynamics – particularly the dynamics of the Kuiper Belt and of multi-planet extra-solar systems, planetary atmospheres and Canada’s role in the return to the Moon. Christa is currently the Vice President of the RASC Yukon Centre. Continue Reading →

Northern Prairie Star Party 2023

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Twenty years ago, the first Northern Prairie Star Party (NPSP) was hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) – Edmonton Centre at the Black Nugget Lake campground located southeast of Tofield. This year’s event will run from Tuesday, September 12 to Sunday, September 17, 2023. Most of our group activities are planned for Friday, September 15 and Saturday, September 16.

It’s not too late to register and take in the many activities of this year’s NPSP. As a registrant, you are welcome to take in any or all of the events planned from Tuesday to Sunday as listed below and in the 2023 NPSP Schedule, General Information and Ground Rules.

The registration fees are: $30 per person and $60 for a family. We highly recommend that you REGISTER IN ADVANCE by emailing the 2023 NPSP Coordinators emailing coordinators Rick and Susan Bramm. This will help with planning, especially for seating in the event tent and for food for the Saturday BBQ. You have the option of sending payment via e-transfer or paying when you arrive onsite. Additional camping fees apply if you are staying overnight – click here to camping arrangements below.

If you’re NOT camping, PLEASE ENTER and exit via the NORTH GATE off TWP road 492 (see map at: https://www.beaver.ab.ca/public/download/files/206106 ) between Group Site 8 and site 91. (The campground operator has requested that ONLY those who are camping need to enter through the main campground entrance.) Proceed to the event tent at Site 92 to check in – this is the location of Friday’s workshop and Saturday’s afternoon presentations. If you are coming out in the evening for viewing at the Black Nugget Lake Observatory with the new Unyk-Drew Telescope, you will be directed there when you arrive at the North Gate.

The 32-inch Unyk-Drew Telescope is now installed in the Black Nugget Lake Observatory, with viewing offered every evening during 2023 NPSP from 9 PM to 1:30 AM (viewing conditions permitting). A daytime tour is scheduled on Saturday from 12 to 1 PM.

Before you come out, please review the detailed schedule and rules & regulations (PDF) about this exciting event.

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Northern Prairie Star Party 2022

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2022 Northern Prairie Star Party

The 17th annual Northern Prairie Star Party (NPSP) was held at the Black Nugget Lake campground southeast of Tofield, Alberta, from September 20 to 25, 2022. We enjoyed four nights of dark sky viewing and a busy Saturday with Black Nugget Lake Observatory building tours, solar observing, three excellent speakers, a variety of door prizes, and a BBQ followed by a great evening of sky viewing.

Please see the October issue of Stardust for a report on this event.

The 2022 NPSP was open to the public – registration fees applied: $30 per person and $60 for a family. Camping fees appled if staying overnight – the northern portion of the campground had been reserved by RASC-Edmonton Centre. The process for reserving a site in that area is described below. Continue Reading →

Northern Prairie Dark Sky Weekend 2021

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RASC members only event
Tuesday, September 7 to Saturday, September 11

Update September 3, 2021

This is a members-only event for those wishing to book a campsite for personal observing. Almost all of the sites reserved by RASC-Edmonton Centre have been taken. Please email the Northern Prairie RASC Dark Sky Weekend coordinators Northern Prairie RASC Dark Sky Weekend coordinators Susan and Rick Bramm, for more information.

Northern Prairie Star Party 2019

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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)

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