Southern Illinois Star Party 2026
FREE Public astronomy observation and science activities at the SIU Carbondale University Farms Astronomy Observation Area
Saturday, September 19, 2026
6pm to 11pm CDT
Join SIU Carbondale, and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for a free night of guided telescope observations as well as family friendly astronomy and science activities. Enjoy an evening under the stars at the SIU University Farms Astronomy Observation Area. The site is 2 miles west of SIU’s main campus in a semi-dark area that offers good views of the night sky.
Several night time and solar telescopes operated by amateur astronomers and SIU School of Physics and Applied Physics faculty, staff, and students will be available to the public this evening. Visitors will be able to see the Sun, Moon, Venus, Saturn and other celestial objects.
Visitors are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets as well as photography or telescope equipment. Free shuttles will run from SIU Parking lot #63 at the corner of Oakland and Chautauqua streets throughout the evening. Parking at the SIU Farms observation site is very limited and available by permit only.
For disability accommodations call 618-453-5738. Disabled visitors or those bringing telescope equipment that would be difficult to transport by shuttle may contact events@siu.edu or call SIU Events and Outreach at 618-453-7751 for a free onsite parking permit.
Free Admission & Family Friendly
Guided Telescope Observations
A variety of small and large telescopes will be setup for public viewing.
Astronomy & Science Activities
Learn about the Sun, our night sky, telescopes, astrophotography and current NASA sponsored research at SIU. Presentations on the night sky will take place at the top of every hour after sunset.
Free Parking & Shuttle Service
Located at SIU campus lot #63 on the corner of Chautauqua and Oakland streets in Carbondale. Shuttle pickup every 15 minutes. In addition, a limited number of onsite parking permits will be available.
Concessions Available
For special accommodations and more information contact SIU Events and Outreach at 618-536-7751 or email events@siu.edu.
No registration or tickets required attend this event.
No outside alcohol is permitted at this venue. Southern Illinois University is a smoke free campus.
Note that you will likely be in close proximity to people throughout the evening. If you are feeling sick, please stay home.
Portions of this event will be photographed, videoed and live streamed.
Details of celestial objects we’ll be looking at this evening.
Safe solar viewing is possible through special filtered white light, Calcium-K and Hydrogen-Alpha solar scopes until sunset at 6:46pm. The filtered telescope allow us to observe solar activity such as prominences and sunspots.
The Moon will be be 62% illuminated this evening. It will be visible throughout the entire event. This Moon will offer excellent viewing of the lunar surface as light casts shadows across craters and other features. This Look for scopes with cell phone adapters at the event so you can get your own pic of the Moon.
Saturn and it’s rings will be visible this evening as well as it’s largest moon, Titan.
Several stars and deep sky objects such as M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster), M57 (Ring Nebula), M31 (Andromeda galaxy) will be visible this evening. Viewed though the eyepiece of a portable telescope, these distant objects appear as faint monochrome images and are often called, “faint fuzzies.” Checkout the astrophotography setups throughout the evening to see detailed images of deep sky objects that are created using long exposures and image stacking techniques.
Fun educational activities.
Do you like learning about space science in fun and engaging ways? We are planning several activities for the evening that we know you’ll enjoy.
Telescopes at the event will be looking at a range of objects. During the day, telescopes and binoculars with special solar filters will observe the sun in various wavelengths. Most smaller scopes at night will concentrate on the Saturn or the Moon after dark. Check out how the different scopes look and work and ask the volunteers about what you’re looking at. Medium sized scopes may shift over to look at dimmer deep sky objects. AASI’s large 16″ and the massive 10′ tall – 30″ Obsession reflecting telescope will allow you to see the faintest deep sky objects. Look for telescopes with cell phone adapters to take your own pic of the Moon.
Learn about solar power at the Straight Up Solar activity area.
Learn about astrophotography or camera assisted astronomy at a few of the telescope pads tonight. Look for small computerized telescopes such as the See Star that output imagery directly to a phone or larger professional astrophotography setups with laptops or larger monitors. Throughout the night, telescope operators will talk about the process they use to acquire and stack images to produce images with much greater detail than you can see in an eyepiece.
Check out different types of telescopes and the most recent innovations in amateur astronomy equipment at the Lookin’ Up Optics area. Owner Randy Harrison will demonstrate and explain the different types of telescopes and the best way to get started in observing the night sky.
Check out the 4.5″ reflecting telescope used by the International Library Telescope Pogram. Visit the info tent to see the standard telescope that is in over 1,100 libraries in the US and around the world. These great little scopes are ruggedized by AASI volunteers and available for checkout at several area libraries.
Presentations on the night sky by astronomers throughout the evening will take place in small groups.
Watch Online
Can’t make it to the event in person? Portions of the event and telescope feeds will be livestreamed to YouTube Live @NASAsolarSTEAM.
Join us on Facebook
For more information and discussion about the event, please visit the Southern Illinois Star Party Facebook event site.
Volunteer for the Star Party
The Southern Illinois Star Party remains a free community event due to the volunteer efforts of our campus community partners and individuals. If you are interested in volunteering for this event, contact solarsteam@siu.edu for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What groups are involved in the star party?
The Southern Illinois Star Party is hosted by SIU Carbondale as a joint event that involves several campus units including the School of Physics and Applied Physics, the School of Media Arts, and the SIU STEM Education Research Center, as well as the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois (AASI).
What type of activities are at the star party?
The star party will include several telescopes operated by volunteers giving you views of the Sun, planets and other celestial objects. Most of the telescopes are visual (with eyepieces) while some are camera assisted and will display imagery on computer screens or a cell phone. Volunteers at each telescope will explain what you are looking at. Small group presentations on the night sky will take place throughout the evening.
What if I can't attend in person, is there an online way to participate?
Portions of the star party will be streamed live to the @NASASolarSTEAM YouTube channel. You can tune in throughout the night for special content produced live from SIU Carbondale and participate in discussion online.
Parking
The best option for most visitors is to park at SIU lot #63 and ride a free shuttle to the observation area. This area offers free paved parking that is well lit. Shuttles run every 15 minutes and help us to keep white light at the site and dust from the road at a minimum and allow visitors to be dropped off and picked at the telescope pads. Limited grass parking onsite is available for handicap visitors, media, or attendees bringing telescope or photography equipment that would be difficult to transport via the free shuttle. Parking permits are required for the area and can be requested through University Events at (618)-453-7751 or email events@siu.edu.
Are white lights allowed at the observation site?
You will notice that most of the volunteers at the star party will use red lights after dark in order to keep light pollution at a minimum and enhance the experience for everyone. White lights are only used in areas where we absolutely need them. Visitors are encouraged to use red lights when necessary at the site.
What can I bring to the star party?
Visitors are allowed to bring food and non alcoholic drinks as well as chairs, blankets and observation or photographic equipment. Concessions are available onsite. The astronomy observation area is part of SIUC’s smoke free campus.
Are pets allowed?
No pets other than service animals are allowed at the star party.
Can I bring a large group to the event?
Large groups should contact SIU Events in advance at (618)-536-7751 or email events@siu.edu
Is there a rain date for the event?
All in person activities at the star party are weather permitting and there is no rain date.
What types of telescopes are at the event?
All telescopes at the event are portable amateur astronomer telescopes or binoculars. Expect a range of telescopes including 40mm to 140mm refactors that offer incredibly sharp images and a variety of reflectors including Newtonians, large Dobs, and compact Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes. The largest telescopes at the event are the 16″ and 30″ visual Dobsonian telescopes owned by AASI. These scopes offer the best eyepiece views of deep sky objects. A few telescope setups are specialized for astrophotography and will allow visitors to see stacked images of deep sky objects in great detail. Note that most of the telescopes are owned by volunteers who are sharing their passion of astronomy with visitors this evening.
Are there other public astronomy observations in the area?
SIU Public Astronomy Observations are hosted monthly by SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois (AASI) at the Neckers Astronomy Observation Deck on the SIUC campus during the fall and spring semesters. Special observations are advertised on the hosting venue websites and social media.
Is this an annual event?
The Southern Illinois Star Party is an annual event hosted at SIU Carbondale. The first star party was hosted at the SIU Farms in 2018 following and was attended by just over 500 people.
How many people attend the event?
Star Party attendance has been as high as 550 people and as low as 250. Most people attend the event for an hour or more taking the shuttle to and from the event.
Are there activities for handicap or special needs visitors?
Most of the activities at the star party are accessible to all visitors with a few exceptions. The level of the eyepieces on some scopes may be out of reach of some visitors and require stools or step ladders to reach, however camera assisted viewing is available on some telescopes that allow visualization on computer screens. Visitors with mobility issues or in need of special accommodations should contact SIU Events and Outreach at 618-536-7751 or email events@siu.edu. A limited number of parking permits for grass parking adjacent to the gravel and concrete observation area are available.
Are there activities for children?
The Southern Illinois Star Party includes hands on activities for all ages. Children accompanied by adults are encouraged to check out the different views from the telescopes and most telescope have step stools or ladders allowing children to reach eyepieces.
Are there sponsorship opportunities?
Businesses or individuals wishing to sponsor the star party or similar community outreach events at SIU should contact SIU Events and Outreach at 618-536-7751 or email events@siu.edu.
All activities are weather permitting.
For questions or more information, contact University Events and Outreach at: (618)-536-7751 or email events@siu.edu.
Thank you to our event partners and sponsors