Wine Country Star Party BLOG

<most recent posts at top>

April 8 2026
Rainbow

Beautiful rainbow this morning.

Could a photo of a rainbow be considered 'astrophotography'? No, it is not since 'astro' means star and we know what photography is.

But clouds, rainbow colors, and trees are very nice to look at. Also, I couldn't resist the shot as I came down my outside stairs this morning and saw the rainbow.

April 7 2026
Star Circles

Star Circles facing north captured with our Allsky camera.

This includes over 6 hours of photographs combined into this composite using StarStax.

Although it is not obvious at first glance, focussing was the biggest challenge. The details are hard to describe, but the adapter that holds our Rokinon lens over the ZWO camera does not make the infinity setting correct. That is something we'll have to check out.

Ursa Major and its asterism, "The Big Dipper" are in the photo, but it is hard to tell in the composite.

April 2 2026
Wine Country Star Party Allsky Camera

Allsky cameras have become very popular. An Allsky camera takes a widefield photo of the sky and records the motion of the stars. If you're looking at the captured image during the daytime, you may just see a lot of sky or clouds. Take a look tonight while the stars are out.

The adjacent photo shows the hardware. Encased in a waterproof box is a Raspberry Pi, ZWO ASI294MC camera, and a Tamiron 10mm lens. The Raspberry Pi is a small computer that triggers an image at regular intervals and uploads them here. You can see the image it captures on our broadcast page: HERE. The ZWO camera is used because it is shutterless - no damage-prone mechanical shutter, and very low noise.

There is software running that also automatically generates star trails and timelapse video of the nightsky. The star trails and videos will be posted here in the future.

Here is a map of many of the Allsky cameras online: CLICK. If you zoom into California, you can find the Wine Country Star Party camera.

February - March 2026
Oregon Camping Trip

Our RV at Harris Beach State Park Sunset at Harris Beach State Park The Moon - photo taken with my cell phone Sunset at Harris Beach State Park Harris Beach State Park Our RV at Harris Beach State Park

We camped for a few weeks in Oregon.

The main attraction was the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival.

We camped in our RV alongside my Brother and his Wife at the South Beach State Park just south of Newport.

After the Festival, we camped for 9 days in Brookings Oregon at Harris Beach State Park.

February 12 2026
Sea Ranch Stargazing

Our most popular stargazing location right now is The Sea Ranch.

This is a very dark and dramatic location. We've chosen to view in the meadow north of the Lodge, just a short walk for our guests.

As we view, one can hear the breakers on the beach. There are very few obstructions around the site. Viewing is nearly unlimited.

The Sea Ranch Lodge is just 10 minutes south of Gualala.

February 9 2026
Golden State Star Party

Registration for the Golden State Star Party is open!

We just reserved our spot. This is perhaps the 4th or 5th year we've gone since 2017. The skies are extremely dark - near Adin California.

You can see our black truck and white RV at the 0:56 mark in the top/center of the video to the right.

An excellent location for astrophotography or visual observing.

February 4 2026
We guarantee you'll see a shooting star

We guarantee you'll see a shooting star during your star party.

The photo to the left was taken from the patio at our home. If you come to a star party in Freestone, we really can't guarantee you'll see a shooting star, but it is highly likely.

Shooting stars are meteors. These are small objects about the size of a grain of sand that burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

If we all look up at the same time, we'll see one or two meteors during the night.

If you make a wish during or after a meteor passes overhead, it may come true. Linda says you can wish after the meteor passes. Jim says you have to wish while the streak of light is visible.

February 2 2026
Other things to do in Sonoma County when you book your Star Party

February 1 2026
The Wine Country Star Party BLOG is back!

After a brief hiatus, our BLOG is back.

Technical details prevented us from offering the BLOG. We often found the BLOG corrupted previously, but that's been fixed. Yay!

January 31 2026
Incredible line-up of Astronimcal events for 2026

January 1 2026
Why do you call it a Star Party?

A Star Party is an event where a group of people gather to stargaze. Naked eye and telescope aided observing are included. It is a peaceful time to view the beauty of the heavens. Stars, Galaxies, Open and Closed Star Clusters, and Nebula are all visible. In addition, the participants in a Star Party view Constellations and Asterisms associated with the season. Typically, fact sharing, stories, and mythological tales promote a heightened sense of camaraderie.

A Star Party is not to be confused with a party for Movie Stars or Hollywood Actors. The phrase "Star Party" is used among astronomers as the common name for a gathering of people intent on viewing the Heavens.

As the evening progresses, and darkness falls, there is a growing excitement. Objects rise in the east just like the sunrise and the experienced Astronomers point them out. As each person's eyes adapt to darkness, the ability to see dark objects improves. Gradually novices become more familiar with the map of the sky. Even a shooting star or two adds to the excitement.

December 10 2025
The double star, Albiero

Visible in the Summer, Albiero is the eye or beak of the swan in the constellation Cygnus. These stars are called a binary pair as they revolve around each other. One is hot and blue. The other is yellow and cool.

August 3, 2019
Alexander Valley Film Festival Star Party

We enjoyed delicious food, met wonderful new friends, and experienced beautiful star gazing with the Alexander Valley Film Festival in Cloverdale.

The 4 stars in the Wine Country Star Party logo stand for "spectacular beauty, memorable friends".

I don't think we could have been more spot on than that!

July 17, 2019
Dark Sky Locations

We are constantly looking for dark sky locations. This helps us get the best astrophotography results. We look at the dark site finder, and try to match those locations with remote campsites. The ideal "find" wouild be the darkest conditions without a neighbor in sight. The worst situation is someone with a bright lantern next to us.

This usually conjurs up the idea of the middle of the night, not day break. The image here is from just before morning at Eagle Lake near Susanville, CA.

I thought it was a pretty photo and even though the sun was not up yet, the stars were long gone.

July 9, 2019
Is a Star Party fun?

Sometimes things get a little playful at our Star Parties.

We asked these guests to point up into the sky as if they were seeing a UFO.

October 24, 2018
Gravity Visualized

Dan Burns explains his space-time warping demo at a workshop at Los Gatos High School, on March 10, 2012.

October 10, 2018
Este Lauder / Clinique Star Party

We were hired to perform a Star Party for Este Lauder / Clinique at the "Barn in Green Valley". Lots of energy, fun people, and a beautiful location.

The attendees were mostly Este Lauder / Clinique staff who support the company's online sales.

We met people from Taiwan, Brazil, and New York.

The double doors in the photograph were "flung" open to share the drama of the telescopes with the team.

September 4, 2018
Star Gazing in Freestone Sunday night

We toured the planets Sunday night with our guests. 5 planets!

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. Wait?! That makes only 4. Well, yes, we also saw the Earth.

That joke is getting really old.

December 28, 2012
Moon Photo

One of Wine Country Star Party's Moon photos from earlier this year.

Taken with our 10" Newtonian Telescope.

December 20, 2012
New Telescope Setup

One of the services Wine Country Star Party provides is assistance setting up your new telescope. Perhaps you'll get a nice gift for the Holidays.

Let us help you take it out of the box and assemble it. We can take the guesswork out of the process and help you get outside to view your first astronomical objects.

December 19, 2012
Welcome

Welcome to the Wine Country Star Party BLOG. We will post information here about our Star Parties. We will also post details about the seasonal skies. As the seasons change, there are noticeable changes in the "landmark" constellations. These are the constellations Astronomers use to "get their bearings".