The 18th Annual South Pacific Star Party: 14 - 16 May, 2010
Each year since 1993, the Astronomical Society of New South Wales has hosted the now famous South Pacific Star Party (SPSP), at it's 107 acre (43 hectare) country property Wiruna near Ilford, NSW, between Lithgow and Mudgee about 3 hours north-west of Sydney, through the Blue Mountains and into the NSW Central Tablelands.
The South Pacific Star Party provides amateurs with the chance to meet other amateur and professional astronomers, and observe under dark skies with superb seeing conditions, through all types and sizes of telescopes.
"Among the eucalyptus woodlands in New South Wales, Australia, there is 100 acres of land [Wiruna] designated for stargazing. Owned by a local astronomy society [The ASNSW], the land has both observation facilities and basic accommodations, though most prefer to camp. Each year, the society hosts a "South Pacific Star Party", during which 200 to 400 people convene for a weekend of star watching beneath one of the world's darkest skies." --Forbes.com
The 18th Annual South Pacific Star Party was held at Wiruna over the weekend of 14 - 16 May, 2010.
MAJOR SPONSOR: Celestron
AstroImaging Competition
The 2010 Star Party saw a further boost to the
AstroImaging Competition, which hopes to make it one of the premier competitions amongst Amateur AstroImagers.
Facilities
Facilities are available for camping and there is plenty of space for parking caravans. Barbecues and firewood are provided on site. Hot showers and flush toilets are also available.
Hot Food is available on-site all day at SPSP, to make things far more convenient. Other general supplies are available from Kandos, Rylstone, Lithgow and Mudgee.
Off-Site Accomodation
For those looking at a more civilized style of accomodation, the nearest Motel is at Kandos, about 25km from the site, or cabins at Cherry Tree Hill about 10 minutes drive away, or at Wattle Flat about 20 minutes drive towards Bathurst via Sofala. A list of
off-site accomodation options is also available.
Activities
The Star Party typically includes formal daytime workshops, as well as formal and informal lectures, while evening events include observing, socialising, and sky tours for those of you who are not so familiar with the stellar skyscape, or if you just want to find some of the more obscure objects in the sky.
Due to the exceptionally dark skies at Wiruna, a Light Use Policy has been put in place when observing on the Main Observing Field at Wiruna to preserve the night-vision or dark-adaption of other observers.
Wiruna is also a Bird-Watcher's and Nature-Lover's Paradise, with an abundance of colourful Native Australian birds, Brush and Ring-Tail Possums, Wombats, and our own resident family of rather shy Kangaroos, which can usually be seen around dawn or dusk, around the Eastern Field. There is about 60 acres of bush on the property for those who like bushwalking.
The Anglo-Australian Observatory at Siding Spring is 3 hours drive north of Ilford for those who wish to make a day trip.
Each month, over the weekend nearest new moon, the ASNSW holds an Astrocamp (mini star party), which usually attracts between 20 - 40 members, and several non-members, and locals. Prospective visitors who are unable to attend the South Pacific Star Party are welcome to join us on any of these weekends. If you would like to join us one weekend, feel free to Email us to make arrangements.
Want free SPSP Registration? Why not enter the competition for designing the SPSP T-Shirt logo? Simply by 1 February 2010 for your chance to win!
Regional Tourism
While Wiruna gives you some of the best, easily accessible night skies in the southern hemisphere, it is also the perfect base for a little regional tourism during daylight hours.
- The Wollemi National Park - Covering an expanse of around 500,000 hectares, Wollemi National Park is the perfect destination for visitors to Wiruna to make a day trip to. 200,000 hectares of this park is declared Wilderness Area, and is the largest remaining wilderness area in New South Wales. Access is limited, but there are a number of lookouts and attractions, including Dunn's Swamp, Ferntree Gully and the Glow Worm Tunnel.
- Sofala and Hill End - Former gold mining towns, Sofala and Hill End are well worth a visit to see the history of Australian gold mining days.
- Wine-growing Regions - Ilford has it's own winery, the Mountilford Winery, only 15km from Wiruna, but the whole region out to Mudgee and beyond is scattered with a number of fine wineries. The South Pacific Star Port comes from the Mountilford Winery, where you can make a trip to taste a number of fine wines or buy directly from the manufacturer.
Sponsors
We would like to thank our generous sponsors who have commited to donating various door prizes to the 2010 South Pacific Star Party. These include:
MAJOR SPONSOR: Celestron
Tele Vue Optics
Tasco
Bintel
JMI Telescopes
Australian Sky and Telescope Magazine
3RF Australia / Three Rivers Foundation
York Optical
Quasar Publishing
Wildcard Innovations (Argo Navis)
Hosted By: The Astronomical Society of New South Wales Incprporated
History of the South Pacific Star Party
| SPSP1 | May 21 - 24, 1993 | SPSP10 | March 15 - 17, 2002 |
| SPSP2 | May 6 - 9, 1994 | SPSP11 | March 28 - 30, 2003 |
| SPSP3 | May 26 - 29, 1995 | SPSP12 | March 19 - 21, 2004 |
| SPSP4 | May 17 - 20, 1996 | SPSP13 | March 11 - 13, 2005 |
| SPSP5 | May 9 - 12, 1997 | SPSP14 | March 31 - April 2, 2006 |
| SPSP6 | March 27 - 30, 1998 | SPSP15 | April 13 - 15, 2007 |
| SPSP7 | March 19 - 22, 1999 | SPSP16 | April 4 - 6, 2008 |
| SPSP8 | March 30 - April 2, 2000 | SPSP17 | May 22 - 24, 2009 |
| SPSP9 | March 23 - 26, 2001 | SPSP18 | May 14 - 16, 2010 |
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