National Park Service Hosts Winter Sky Star Party February 8

Attendees at a previous Star Party enjoy the dark sky and Milky Way. The National Park Service will host a Winter Sky Star Party on February 8 at 6:00 p.m. at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills.

Courtesy of Mike Shaw

News Release Date: January 21, 2014

Contact: Kate Kuykendall, 805-370-2343

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – The National Park Service invites the public to attend the Winter Sky Star Party at Paramount Ranch on Saturday, February 8 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The free event will feature star-gazing, constellation tours and children's activities.

"Star parties are a great way to appreciate our beautiful night sky," said Robert Cromwell, park ranger for the National Park Service. "We may be near the second-largest metropolitan area in the nation, but our park still provides amazing views of stars and planets in the night sky."

Cal Lutheran University Professor Mike Shaw, as well as astronomers from the National Park Service and Ventura County Astronomical Society will be on hand to show attendees the brightest night star, a planet over 10 times the diameter of earth and gigantic gas clouds over 1000 light years away!

Visitors are encouraged to bring a flashlight and warm clothing. 

Paramount Ranch is located at 2903 Cornell Road in Agoura Hills. In the event of rain, the program will be canceled. For further information, call 805-370-2301. 

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo. 

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