HAL Star Parties

Star parties bring people together to share their fascination with space and the night sky. The Howard Astronomical League (HAL) hosts public star parties, as well as members-only events at Alpha Ridge Park from March to November. You don’t need to be a member or own a telescope to attend.

Public star parties are held on one Saturday each month, begin at dusk and last until 11pm. They include educational activities for kids as well as opportunities to observe planets, comets, stars and deep-sky objects through the eye-pieces of members’ telescopes and through electronically-assisted live images from our permanent club telescope on a large screen within the observatory. Our members have a passion and familiarity with the sky’s most stunning sights and love nothing more than to share those sights with others.

Before You Head Out:

Check the weather report for Mariottsville, MD for Alpha Ridge events. Be sure to bring an extra layer or two of clothes just in case temperatures drop more than you expect. You can’t have fun if you’re cold! For public star parties the show goes on – rain or shine. If the weather is cloudy or worse, the observatory will still be open and presentations will be provided on our large flat panel screen.

Be sure to read Public Star Parties: Etiquette And About Member’s Star Parties & Impromptus and for more, check out Regional Star Parties

Scheduled Star Parties – 2026 (tentative – assignments shortly):

Month	Date	Invitees	Host	Host	CTO	Views/Events/Notes
March	14	Members
March	28	Public
April	18	Members
April	25	Public
May	16	Members				Io Shadow Transit 9:21 PM – 11:39 PM
May	22	Public
June	13	Members
June	20	Public
July	11	Members
July	25	Public
August	15	Members
August	22	Public
September	05	Members
September	19	Public				International Observe The Moon Night
October	10	Members
October	17	Public
November	7	Members
November	21	Public