"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower:
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour."
--William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
This is the page for our popular Friday Night Star Parties. To learn about our Sunday Night Star Parties for people with disabilities click here.
Since 1980 , more than 120,000 people of all ages have come to the UIS observatory for Friday Night Star Parties, as well as for special astronomical events such as lunar and solar eclipses and comets.
At a typical Star Party, visitors learn about galaxies, the sun, stars,
and stellar 
evolution, as well as star and constellation identification
prior to using the telescopes. These discussions take place in the stairway
gallery of astronomical pictures on the way to the rooftop observation
deck atop Brookens Library. Then, the observatory director and qualified
students help visitors use each of the telescopes.
Over the years, stargazers have seen many celestial objects, including the moon and planets, deep-sky objects such as the Orion Nebula and other fascinating star systems, the beautiful yellow-blue double star Albireo, and the open star cluster called the Pleiades.
The Astronomy Program also offers Sunday Night Star Parties for the disabled and their friends and families.
Among the objects that we will be veiwing in Fall 2008 are the planet Jupiter, the Moon (when it is up), the Ring Nebula, globular star clusters M 13 and M 15, and double stars Alberio and Mizar.
For general questions about Friday Night Star Parties call 206-8342.
In order to learn if the weather is suitable for viewing, please call 206-8342 at 7:00 PM on the night of the Star Party. (Note that this phone number is different from the one used in previous semesters!)
The Campus observatory is on the roof of Brookens Library. The door for the observatory is on the southeast corner of the library (side opposite the UIS fountain) and the door is marked "Observatory." Click here for a campus map. On that map the library is building #7 and the door for the observatory is on the lower right corner of the outline of the building.
