Whittier, NC
Conleys Creek
35.41° N | -83.36° W | 2118 ft
5/17/2008 - 10:07:58 AM EDT
47.1° F | .0
Wind: South 0.0 mph (1.0 gust)
Humidity: 94%
Dewpoint: 45.5° F
Pressure: 29.94in. 
Visibility: 0.06 miles
Weather Data: wunderground/yahoo! composite
sun data
5/17/2008 - 10:07:58 AM EDT
A Twilight: 4:45:38 AM EDT
N Twilight: 5:23:10 AM EDT
C Twilight: 5:57:57 AM EDT
Sunrise: 6:26:23 AM EDT
Transit: 1:29:52 PM EDT
Sunset: 8:33:20 PM EDT
C Twilight: 9:01:46 PM EDT
N Twilight: 9:36:34 PM EDT
A Twilight: 10:14:06 PM EDT
Sun Data:
soho/d web designs composite
moon data
5/17/2008 - 10:07:58 AM EDT
Phase: Waxing Gibbous (Vir)
Age: 12.34 days old
Illumination: 83.56% illuminated
App. Disc: 29.58' X 24.71'
250916.8 mi | 403811.5 km away
Moon Data:
sponsors
smoky mountain stargaze
news
March 10, 2007 - door prizes galore
With nearly 100 door prizes to give away, we've decided to make a few for kids only, like Orion's Planispheres and Starry Night CD's. That leaves about 40 amazing door prizes for everyone else, including 2 telescopes, 3 handheld object locators, a Nagler eyepiece, and a CCD camera, along with some great gift certificates. We want to thank all of the vendors and manufacturers who have donated these great door prizes or are planning on coming out and have helped us make this a better star party!
Dec. 17,2007 - bringing an rv?
We're happy to say that we're getting lots of people pre-registering to attend! We were a little concerned that, this being a first year event, we may be short on attendees, but it doesn't look like that will be the case. However, it seems that RV spots are limited and in very high demand. We only have 4 RV spots left (5 spots have been taken in the last week) so if you plan to bring an RV, you're well advised to pre-register as soon as possible.
We're looking at ways to make room for few more RVs where the RVs can be parked next to telescopes, but after these spots run out, we can't guarantee water/power connections to RVs!
Dec. 3, 2007 - panoramic views
We have added panoramas to the site of the two northern fields (which will be our primary fields). These can be viewed in our section of the site which shows observing coordinates.
Nov. 15, 2007 - internet access & more
We've been working hard to get more vendors, more door prizes, and internet access. Astro Gizmos from Virginia will be attending as a vendor and a sponsor, providing wireless internet access, an internet cafe, and door prizes. Their RV will be parked near the center of the complex and they will also be participating in the swap meet!
We've also lined up a few more great speakers for the event! Please check out our activities calendar to see what's new.
Nov. 12, 2007 - messier marathon
We added a few new events to the calendar. The first weekend of the event is a Messier marathon weekend! If you're new to amateur astronomy, here's a great way to observe some of the brightest deep sky objects. The Messier list consists of 110 objects inlcuding galaxies, open and globular clusters, nebulae, and even an asterism for good measure. Members of the AL can also earn their Messier pin by observing and taking notes on all of them. We'll try our best to get all of these the old fashioned way by star hopping and using our eyes (instead of our computers), though you're welcome to join in with a computerized telescope.
While we're at it, we'll also work on the Messier binocular list and deep-sky binocular list published by the AL and we should be able to catch all 8 of the other planets in the solar system! Mars and Saturn will be high in the sky at sunset and most of the other planets will be rising in the early morning hours before the Sun.
We'll have telescopes and binoculars set up for everyone to use or you can bring your own to tag along or help out.
Nov. 7, 2007 - pricing error
Whoops! We had a pricing error. Everything is cheaper than it was yesterday! Sorry about that, but it's just one person plugging numbers and we (we being me, of course) didn't do the math and just plain made a mistake. If the price scared you before, hopefully it'll make you happier this time around!
Nov. 6, 2007 - volunteers needed
Calling all volunteers! We need some volunteers who are skilled at some practical trades to help out. In addition, if you would like to volunteer to help keep everything running smoothly, we can use that, too! Volunteers will not have to pay a camping or registration fee, so if you're interested, please contact us!
Nov. 5, 2007 - website up
We finally have our site live! If you find any errors or have suggestions for the site, please feel free to contact us.