Dear TSP patrons and members of the Astronomical League,
Texas Star Party, Inc. is happy to invite you to our upcoming event. TSP is hosting our "2024 Total Solar Eclipse and Star Party," during the upcoming April 8th, 2024, total solar eclipse. |
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This is a 4-night and 5-day event with opening day, Friday, April 5th, 2024, and departure Tuesday morning before 10am, April 9th, 2024. TSP is promoting and selling this event as an inclusive package with choices of accommodation types available. All attendees must purchase one of the offered packages for all attending in their family and/or group. No offsite nor day of the eclipse attendance options are available. A dedicated observing field with a deployed electrical power grid will be set up for nighttime astronomical observing/astro-imaging and solar viewing/solar imaging during the daytime. Nighttime "Dark Site" rules will be in effect and enforced (8:00pm CDT to dawn). Only dim red lights and computers with red filters covering the computer screens are allowed. |
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TSP has secured a venue location about 25 minutes southwest of Hillsboro, Texas. Hillsboro (located north of Waco, Texas) has been designated by Astronomy Magazine to be the 7th best location out of 20 in the United States and the 4th best in Texas to view the April 8th, 2024, Total Solar Eclipse. |
Images of hotel rooms in the conference center and over the dining hall. |
Venue:
Our venue, Latham Springs Camp and Retreat Center and Latham Springs address is:
Latham Springs Camp and Retreat Center
134 Private Rd 223
Aquilla, Texas 76622
Latham Springs, is a 400 plus acre tract of land set in a beautiful Central Texas river valley. It is surrounded by green spaces, waterfront, and quiet secluded wooded trails along the banks of the Brazos River complete with spring fed lakes.
Latham Springs infrastructure includes:
- Multiple choices of accommodations:
- Hotel Rooms
- Family Rooms (requires attendees bring their own bed linen and pillows)
- Dormitory Bunk Beds (requires attendees bring their own bed linen and pillows)
- RV-Sites
- Tent and Dry Camping
- With campers-total occupancy capacity is 1,300. TSP will use half of the available occupancy.
- Full dining facilities
- Serve 450 at the same time with buffet service.
- No known allergens are used in food preparation.
- For special diet meals, please submit a request to TSP Housing.
- Auditorium - 10,000 sq-ft. seating capacity 900
- Miracle Hall (Registration Intake, TSP Sales and Information and Vendor Area) seating capacity 400
- Meeting rooms,
- Outdoor activities
- 8 miles of hiking trails
TSP staff will set up a dedicated observing field for attendees to set up their equipment for nighttime astronomical observing/imaging and during the day for solar observing/imaging. You will be able to set up your equipment in a secure environment and not have to tear down and set up each day/night.
Accommodations include:
- 94 Hotel rooms - Max Adults 3; 1 queen and 1 twin bed (towels, linen and pillows provided)
- 8 Victory Hall family rooms - Max occupancy 6 to 7 depending on the family room bed setup. 1 queen and multiple twin beds. One common meeting room. You must supply your own towels, bed linen and pillows.
- 12 Cabins with 2 and 3 dormitory style bunkhouses per cabin with 800 twin size bunk beds.
- One common meeting room with each cabin.
- You must supply your own bed linen and pillows (TSP will only fill the bottom bunk beds. The top bunk bed is for storing your gear.)
- 25 RV sites - Electricity, water and sewer. Electricity is 50 amp.
- Tent/Dry Camping - Camping Space for over 200 people.
Meals:
Our event's meal plan includes 11 meals: Friday night dinner- day of arrival, breakfast, lunch and dinner for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and breakfast the day of departure, Tuesday, for all but RV sites and camping attendees. The meal plan is available for RV and camping attendees at an add-on option.
The Dining Hall has the capacity to seat and serve 450+ with buffet style service. Those with special dietary needs meals are available with advanced notification. Click the button below to contact TSP Housing. |
Left to Right: Bill Wadell. Dan McGlaun, David Kipping, PhD., Camille Carlisle, Ted Saker, Esq., Robert Gallucci |
Featured Guest Presenters:
- AccuWeather is an American commercial weather service and media company that has been forecasting weather for over 61 years. AccuWeather was founded by Dr. Joel N. Myers. Dr. Myers also serves as the Executive Chairman.
- AccuWeather Staff: A reporter (Bill Wadell), and a photographer (To Be Determined)
- Bill Wadell, is a trusted and dedicated severe weather expert and reporter for AccuWeather. Bill Wadell joined the AccuWeather Network in October 2019 as a weather multimedia journalist. Bill’s passion for weather started when he was young, after experiencing the 1993 blizzard and 2016 flash flooding in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Bill is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania. He has covered severe weather events across the country for the past decade. From flooding in Pennsylvania, to winter storms in Ohio, tornadoes in Virginia and wildfires in California. Before joining the AccuWeather Network, Bill worked as a reporter at WJAC in State College, Pennsylvania, WNEP in Scranton, Pennsylvania, WSYX in Columbus, Ohio and as an evening news anchor at WFXR in Roanoke, Virginia. Bill is committed to telling their stories to show the importance of accurate forecasting, severe weather alerts, as well as highlighting how
communities come together to help in times of need.
- Dan McGlaun, is a mathematician (BS Mathematics and Certified Educator) from Purdue University and is a veteran eclipse chaser, Dan's website is https://eclipse2024.org/ and includes world-class substance and content to inform and educate. Complete with YouTube eclipse videos that show what the eclipse will look like from over 2,500 cities. Blog posts for 75 eclipse viewing areas. His website include content translated into Mexican Spanish and Canadian French as well as English. Dan's presentation topics will be on eclipse safety and on the importance of Total and Annular Eclipses, the science that is used in his "Eclipse Simulator" (https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse-simulator/) and the many eclipses that he has traveled the world to witness.
- David Kipping, PhD. a professor at Columbia University in the City of New York. David is an Astrophysicist researching extrasolar planetary systems. Assistant Professor, Department of Astronomy at Columbia University. David studies moons and planets beyond our solar systems and leads the "Cool Worlds Lab" (https://www.coolworldslab.com/) at Columbia University. Outreach YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/coolworldslab His research interests include the study and characterization of transiting exoplanets, the development of novel detection and characterization techniques, exoplanet atmospheres, Bayesian inference, population statistics, and understanding stellar hosts. David's presentation topic will be about his research on "Exoplanets and Exomoons". More than 4,000 planets around stars other than the Sun, referred to as exoplanets, have been discovered. And since our solar system has planets with moons, it is reasonable to theorize that these 4,000 exoplanets should have exomoons orbiting planets that are 1 AU. or greater distance from their planetary system's star. David is also a Carl Sagan Fellow at Harvard College Observatory. His PhD Thesis "The Transits of Extrasolar Planets with Moons" can be found in.
- Camille Carlisle, Science Editor at "Sky and Telescope" magazine, owned by the American Astronomical Society. Camille's presentation topic will be "Sky and Telescope/Science Journalism". Camille won the 2021 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award for her May 2020 cover story “Rugged Worlds” and the 2022 David N. Schramm science journalism award in high-energy astrophysics for her June 25, 2020, news blog “Gravitational Wave Detectors Find Mystery ‘Mass Gap’ Object.”
- Ted Saker, Jr. Esquire, is the managing practitioner at Saker Law Firm in Ohio, Texas Star Party, Inc. (TSP) Treasurer, a Master Visual Observing Amateur Astronomer/Astro-Imager, and a Veteran eclipse chaser. Ted's presentation will be a general overview of eclipse safety, observing and photographing eclipses.
- Rob Gallucci, A fine art, portrait, wedding, wildlife, Southern Arizona high desert landscape photographer Robert Gallucci is known for his unique perspectives in landscape photography and his expressive wildlife photos. Robert also conducts field trips as a photographic workshop instructor.www.rgallucci.com; Rob will be leading a workshop: 2024 Solar Eclipse Workshop: https://rgallucciphotography.regfox.com/2024-solar-eclipse-workshop. Participation in Rob's workshop includes your Event Pass for our event on the dates of April 5th to the 9th, 2024. Robert produces 1-to-3-hour free YouTube video courses to give back to the community.
Fun Activities:
We have fun activities planned during the day on Saturday and Sunday for all to participate in during your stay at our event:
- Paddle Boarding and Kayaking on the lakes
- Bazookaball
- Gel Ball
- 3-person Giant Swing
- Fishing with your tackle or Latham Springs
- Frisbee Golf
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Movie Marathon
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The image above was taken during another star party event that TSP hosts and is provided as an example of what a dark site (No white light and restricted to dim red light only sources) observing field for visual and astro-imaging astronomers captured in a time exposure.
Photo Courtesy: Robert Reeves |
Dedicated Observing Field:
In addition to the above activities, TSP is providing a "Dedicated Daylight and Dark Site Nighttime Observing Field" for visual, astro-imaging astronomers at night and solar observing and imaging astronomers during the day.
- The observing field is remotely located to block any white light from the main campus reaching the observing field.
- This field will have a deployed electric power grid to accommodate those attendees that require electricity to power their telescopes and related gear.
- Solar eclipse chasers who need to polar align their tracking platform mounts can take advantage of this field and its electrical power grid.
- Upon arrival, attendees can go to the observing field and set up their equipment and can leave their equipment set up the field during the event.
- Equipment can be left set up and covered on the observing field during the event.
- The observing field will be monitored by event security personnel.
- This is standard practice and procedure at all amateur astronomer star party events.
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To "Book" your TSP 2024 Total Solar Eclipse and Star Party "EVENT PASS" and/or for information regarding our event and venue, please visit our website: "TEXAS STAR PARTY, INC." by clicking on the "Green" button below. |
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