Star Party under Billions of Stars

The disc of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is captured above sky observers during a star party in the northeastern United States. As noted by the photographer and Sky&Telescope editor “It was taken during the evening star party at 2009 Stellafane convention in Springfield, Vermont. Begun as a gathering of amateur telescope makers in the 1920s, the annual Stellafane conventions have become one of the country’s major amateur events. Every year more than a 1,000 people spend a summer weekend enjoying talks, telescope making demonstrations, and nighttime observing on a rugged hilltop on the outskirts of Springfield, which was once the hometown of Russell W. Porter who helped establish the telescope making hobby in North America. Porter went on to play a significant role in the development of the 200-inch Hale telescope located at Palomar Observatory.” © Dennis di Cicco