215-822-8312
Join the Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association in its 23rd year of the Stella-Della Valley StarParty in beautiful Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The weekend will be filled with vendors, swap meet, a great pizza party and door prizes raffles, guest lecturers and of course two nights of terrific stargazing. Stella Della Valley is a relaxed friendly StarParty where astronomical friends gather from all over south eastern PA, NJ, DE and NY.
Location
Stella Della Valley will again be held at Camp Onas, a private camp near Ottsville, PA. This site in northern Bucks County offers some of the darkest skies remaining in the Philadelphia and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area. Stella Della Valley is conveniently located to astronomy enthusiasts from Philadelphia (52 miles), Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (33 miles), Trenton (47 miles), Wilmington (69 miles), New York City (88 miles), Harrisburg (116 miles), and Baltimore (143 miles). Certainly one of the nicest aspects of Stella Della Valley is the fact that you don't have to drive half a day to get there.
Amenities
Stella Della Valley is
a little different than most star parties you might attend. Our admission
price includes indoor plumbing with hot showers at no additional charge.
There are also a number of pavilions, or pre-erected tents on wooden
floors with bunk beds available on a first come first served basis.
If the fall weather should turn cold, you can head indoors to warm
up by the camp fireplace. For those who do not enjoy camping, there
are dormitory style accommodations available for a very modest additional
fee. Campers and recreational vehicles are also welcome, but utility
hook-ups are not available.
Food and Beverage
We are happy to announce that Mays Munchables will be attending SDV and providing food service round the clock for the duration of our StarParty. We will also be having our very popular Pizza Party Buffet on Saturday evening. Enjoy great pizzas, soda and dessert.
Speakers & Workshops
On Saturday afternoon we will present several outstanding lecture programs. All presentations will occur in the dining hall beginning at 1:00 PM.
Door Prizes
Check here for new rules governing our door prizes.
A Stella Della Valley tradition, every registered attendee will be eligible to win door prizes from our sponsoring vendors. This year's prizes include telescopes, gift certificates and other astronomy gear. Separate drawings will be held for children's and adult's prizes. To see a list of this year’s prizes, go to: www.bma2.org/Sdv_sponsors.html. Check back often as new prizes roll in we’ll update our list.
2009 Schedule of Events
Friday, October 16th
- 3:00 PM Entrance Gates Open (Please do not arrive before this time)
- 5 - 10 PM Registration Desk Open – Pick up your Registration Packet
- 6:19 PM Sunset / 7:50 PM End of Twilight
- 7:00 PM Make your own Galileo Scope Dining Hall ($12 materials fee)
- 8:00 PM “400 Years of the Telescope” Dining Hall DVD
Saturday, October 17th
- 5:44 AM Begin Twilight 7:15 AM Sunrise
- 8 AM to 4 PM Registration Desk Open in Dining Hall
- 7 AM to 12 PM Astronomical Flea Market! Bring your stuff / no charge for table
- 10 AM Make your own Galileo Scope Dining Hall ($12 materials fee)
- 11 AM Astronomy 101 Workshop (Dining Hall) A special workshop conducted by BMAA
members on the basics of observing. This will be geared for folks new to amateur astronomy.
We will also point out some of the best celestial highlights of the fall night sky. FREE- 1 – 3:00 PM Speakers Program FREE
- 1 PM Dr. Anne Schmiedekamp, Penn State University and NASA Solar System Ambassador
Will be presenting to date information on the NASA LCross/LRO Mission which has been
underway the past few months. This mission is searching for water ice in the deep polar lunar
craters as well as possible landing site for the future manned missions - in our Dining Hall- 2 PM Dr. Ken Kremer, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador and The Planetary
Society presents “Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to shuttle Atlantis Launch” in Dining Hall:NASA’s final human spaceflight mission to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope was dramatically accomplished by Shuttle astronauts in May 2009. Dr Ken Kremer will present an up close eyewitness account of the thrilling launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center on its historic mission to restore and upgrade Hubble to the apex of its scientific capabilities. Ken will speak on the highlights, purpose and success of the daring shuttle flight STS -125 to save ‘The Peoples Telescope’. He will present a behind the scenes perspective with top NASA and Hubble scientists while reporting in real time for The Planetary Society and Spaceflight magazine. Read Ken’s first hand press reports online at The Planetary Society.
- 4:30 PM Door Prizes in the Dining Hall
- 5 PM Pizza Buffet Dinner in the Dining Hall (separate cost)
- 6:00-ish Variable Star Observing Workshop with Walt Rauscher in our Dining Hall, the
workshop will continue up on the observing field following the indoor introduction. FREE- 6:18 PM Sunset / 7:49 PM End of Twilight
Sunday October 18th
- 5:45 AM Begin Twilight 7:16 AM Sunrise
- Solar Viewing
- 12 Noon (latest) Checkout and Departure
Registration & Information
A separate mail-in registration form is available HERE. If you have questions about registration please contact our registrar Art Baldwin at ottjac@comcast.net or (215) 698-5804. Other questions may be directed to Dwight Dulsky, SDV Chair at sdv@bma2.org or (267) 733-7253. Visit our website at www.bma2.org. Informaton about Stella Della Valley, especially for Newbies may be found HERE. The 2009 SDV mailer in PDF format is available for download HERE.
Getting To Stella Della Valley
Caution: Bridge (Still) Out!
Returning guests are encouraged to carefully read the new directions to the camp, due to a bridge outage about ½ mile from the camp on Geigel Hill Road. The main detour is about five miles long, but should be quite scenic due to the fall foliage. One bridge along this detour may not be suitable for all campers and trailers. Contact BMAA if you have any concerns about ground clearance.
From Philadelphia and Points South
Take I-95 North to US-1 North to the PA Turnpike West. - OR - the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) West to the PA Turnpike East. Exit the PA Turnpike at exit #343 (old exit #27), Willow Grove, and merge onto PA-611 North. Proceed for about 24 miles, passing Doylestown, to the intersection of PA-113. Proceed North on PA-611, watching for Durham Road about 2/10 mile on your right. Turn right onto Durham Road, and proceed about 1 mile to Headquarters Road. Follow directions from Headquarters Road.
From Allentown-Bethlehem, and Points North
Take PA-309 South to Quakertown. Turn right onto PA-313 East. Follow PA-313 to the intersection of PA-563. Turn left onto PA-563 North. Proceed about 7.5 miles to the end of PA-563 at the intersection of PA-412, and turn right onto PA-412. Proceed about ½ mile to the intersection of PA-611. Proceed straight onto PA-611 South for 1.25 miles. Turn left onto Durham Road, which leaves the highway on a shallow tangent. Proceed 1.7 miles on Durham Road, and turn left onto Headquarters Road. Follow directions from Headquarters Road.
From New York City and Points East
Take I-78 East, crossing the toll bridge from New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Exit immediately after the tollbooth and follow the signs for PA-611 South. Follow PA-611 South for about 16 miles, and watch for the intersection of PA-412. Continue on PA-611 South another mile, now watching for Durham Road your left hand side. Turn left onto Durham Road, which leaves the highway on a shallow tangent. Proceed 1.7 miles on Durham Road, and turn left onto Headquarters Road. Follow directions from Headquarters Road.
From Harrisburg and Points West
Follow the PA Turnpike eastbound to exit #343 (old exit #27), Willow Grove, and merge onto PA-611 North. Proceed for about 24 miles, passing Doylestown, to the intersection of PA-113. Proceed North on PA-611, watching for Durham Road about 2/10 mile on your right. Turn right onto Durham Road, and proceed about 1 mile to Headquarters Road. Follow directions from Headquarters Road.
From Headquarters Road
Proceed on Headquarters Road until you reach a one-lane bridge. This bridge may not be appropriate for guests towing campers; contact BMAA for an alternate if you are concerned about ground clearance. There are two options immediately after crossing this bridge. Turning left onto Sheep Hole Road is the shortest route, but the road is unpaved. Follow Sheep Hole Road 1 mile to a stop sign. Turn right onto Geigel Hill Road, and watch for Camp Onas ½ mile on your right. Turning right immediately after the bridge will keep you on paved roads. Proceed another two miles on Headquarters Road, watching for Van Sant Airport and Cafferty Road on your right. Proceed ¼ mile past the turn for Van Sant Airport, and turn left onto Cafferty Road. Proceed 1.4 miles to a stop sign, and turn left onto Geigel Hill Road. Watch for a sign for Camp Onas 1.8 miles on the left.