Phoenix Astronomical Society

The Phoenix Astronomical Society performs community outreach for the public in the form of star parties and other types of educational events. If your organization, business, school, or scout troop is interested in scheduling a private event, contact us at startours@pasaz.org

Please provide the following information:

Event sponsor
Name of event
Brief description of event
Date of event
Times of event (start & end)
Location address
Number of telescopes (operators) desired
Additional presenters (meteorites) desired
Contact person's name, email and telephone

Program Offerings

These events are offered for a fee based on the number of operators/presenters and the duration of the event. A normal Star Tours event is two hours in duration, but longer events may be arranged.

Our team of amateur astronomers provide their own telescopes, observing equipment, and materials for use during the event.

If your business, organization, school, or scout troop is interested in scheduling a private event, contact us at startours@pasaz.org and provide the information listed above.

Visual Telescope Operator

Visual telescopes are fitted with various eyepieces that allow one guest at a time to observe the astronomical target in view of the telescope

The operator is responsible for setup, target acquisition, focus, and target tracking during the event
The operator is also responsible to maintain a conversation with guests and answer various astronomy related questions
Popular astronomical targets include the moon, the various planets in our solar system, star clusters, asterisms, various bright reflection and emission nebulas, as well as large galaxies
Each visual telescope may handle up to 30 guests per hour based on the viewing time for each guest
Typical events may include views of 2-3 astronomical targets

Electronically Assisted Telescope Operator

EAA telescopes are fitted with a high-resolution astronomy camera which can present the telescope’s live view of the astronomical target on a large monitor that allows small groups of guests to view the target at the same time

The operator is responsible for setup, target acquisition, focus, and target tracking during the event
The operator is also responsible to maintain a conversation with guests and answer various astronomy related questions
Popular astronomical targets include the moon, the various planets in our solar system, star clusters, asterisms, galaxies, and nebula
Each EAA telescope may handle up to 30 guests seated or standing in front of the large monitor
Typical events may include views of 5-6 astronomical targets

Astronomy Topic Presentations

Various astronomy related presentations are available that may not require a telescope operator

Meteorite collection presentation
Traveling the universe by telescope
How to understand the night sky
The mathematics of cosmological distances
The history of our universe

Astronomy Education

Private Star Party