The Statewide Star Party is going virtual!

The Statewide Star Party was originally slated to take place at 36 sites across the state on April 24-25, but we've switched gears to share some fun ways you can engage with the skies from your own homes (or anywhere).

Check back regularly for new opportunities!

Morehead At Home: Skywatching

Explore the sky from home using tips and tools from Morehead educators Nick Eakes and Amy Sayle. Every Tuesday and Thursday, join them via Zoom where they’ll discuss upcoming celestial happenings and other astronomy-related topics like how to identify constellations, measuring distances between objects in the sky and more. Each skywatching session will be accessible via Zoom. Learn more.

Hands-On Activities

Why is it Upside Down? - Use a kitchen spoon to learn why the image in a telescope is flipped.

Oral History - Interview someone who remembers the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Sizing Up the Moon - Create a model of the relative sizes of Earth and the Moon and the distance between them.

Light Pollution - Explore how poorly designed lighting makes it harder to view the nighttime sky.

A Handy Way to Measure the Sky - Figure out your latitude using only your hands and a clear sky.

Make Your Own Solar System Walk - Take a whirlwind vacation through the solar system.

Morehead planetarium Blog posts

April 14 - Skywatching at home: Use Stellarium to learn the sky

April 17 - Skywatching at home: How dark is your sky? Leo knows.

April 20 - The meteor shower drought is over!

April 26 - Happy birthday, Durham! Your city flag is astronomically wonderful.

April 29 - Take a walk through the solar system—in your own neighborhood.

Virtual Planetarium Programs

The Robeson Planetarium will be offering virtual programs. People can get the planetarium experience, all from the comfort of their homes! Learn more.

Enjoy some tunes while you explore the sky

For more information, please contact:

Amy Sayle and Hope Thomson

Coordinators, NC Statewide Star Party

Email: starparty@unc.edu

The Statewide Star Party is made possible with the support of NC Space Grant and the NC Science Festival.

Click here for digital copies of Statewide Star Party kit materials

Illustration Credit: Tyler Nordgren