Southern Alberta Star Party
September 7-12, 2026
Southern Alberta Star Party
The Southern Alberta Star Party (SASP) is our biggest event of the year! An unforgettable week of stargazing, astrophotography, and community under Bortle 2 dark skies in the stunning Cypress Hills. Bring your telescope, meet fellow enthusiasts, and experience the Milky Way like you’ve never seen it before.
- The Star Party is hosted at Whispering Pines Camp, which is privately owned by Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada.
- Whispering Pines is located in an area classed as Bortle 2, which is a 'typical truly dark site', with a naked-eye limiting magnitude of 7.1 to 7.5.
- Elkwater townsite is 1.7km away, with a convenience store, a visitor centre and museum, a gas station, a hotel, two restaurants, and a mini-golf course.
Experiences, Speakers, and Workshops
- Laser Sky Tour: A chance for beginners to learn about the autumn constellations and their showcase attractions under very dark sky conditions.
- Star Party Telescopes: The club provides three Sky-Watcher 8" Dobsonian telescopes, with Telrads and eyepieces, for anyone to use.
- Buy-and-Sell Tables: Tables will be available for attendees to sell their surplus stuff, and hopefully find some interesting new stuff.
- Astronomy Cinema: Astronomy related programming will be presented throughout the week in the auditorium.
- Weekend Observing Challenge: Participate in a fun challenge that will lead you to twenty fascinating targets in the September sky.
- Astrophotography Exhibit: Opportunity to share your images in wide field, solar system, deep sky and images from the event.
On-site Vendor: All-Star Telescope
We are pleased to host the All-Star Telescope team, here for all our astronomy and astrophotography equipment needs.
Complimentary Coffee Bar
A complimentary coffee bar will run throughout the week, thanks to the great people at South Country Co‑op Ltd.
Guest speaker
Murray Paulson
24th September @ 2PM
I felt the starry sky’s calling when I was 9 years old and these many years later it still fascinatesme. Whether viewing the planets, clusters, distant nebula, or a colorful double, the sky brings me home. In the 90s I discovered Meteorites and Eclipses which I fell in love with. Neither of these activities is helping the RRSPs along! In 2009 I was asked to write the Planets section of the RASC’s Observers Handbook and my 18th edition is on its way.
I have lived in lucky times with the Buzzard Coulee meteorite fall and the publication of the discovery of the Whitecourt Meteorite impact in 2008. These events changed my life. What a riot wandering through a farm field and finding stones that have only recently arrived from space and documenting them. A year later I was finding Iron Meteorites in the woods south east of the town of Whitecourt Alberta at the behest of Dr. Chris Herd. These fragments were 1100 years old and gave me a sense of the incredible energy of that impact which tore the 5+ tons of Nickel Iron into fragments and excavated a 37 m crater. We dutifully mapped the strewn field and presented Dr. Herd with the weights and measures of more than 3500 specimens.
Finding meteorites and doing science was the thrill of a lifetime. In this presentation, we will review what meteorites are and look at some of my adventures hunting for these elusive stones.
Guest speaker
Alan Dyer
24th September @ 2PM
While often seen as just a “beginner” technique in astrophotography, shooting nightscapes — scenes of the night sky over scenic landscapes — can be a lifelong pursuit capable of creating images that are uniquely yours and worthy of the RASC Calendar! In this 90-minute afternoon workshop, Alan will present his tips and techniques for taking great nightscapes using today’s DSLR and mirrorless cameras, with his recommendations on the best cameras and lenses, and on the use of star trackers and planning apps. The emphasis will be on capturing two subjects: the Milky Way and auroras. Alan will demo getting the most out of nightscape images by processing raw files, with the aid of the latest AI routines for masking and noise reduction. Participants can bring their cameras for personal advice on how to set them (Alan knows Canon and Nikon, and sort of Sony!).
Alan Dyer is one of Canada’s best-known astronomy authors and astrophotographers. He currently serves as a contributing editor to Sky and Telescope magazine. He co-authored the popular guidebook The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide with Terence Dickinson. Now retired from many years of producing programs for planetariums and science centres in Edmonton and Calgary, Alan enjoys traveling in pursuit of a great nightscape. Asteroid 78434 is named for him. He can be reached through his website amazingsky.com.
Southern Alberta Star Party Over the Years
Accomodations
The Star Party is hosted at Whispering Pines Camp, which is privately owned by Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada. The camp is located in a Bortle 2 area of the spectacular Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Dark‑Sky Preserve, just 1.7km from Elkwater, Alberta.
- Twelve rustic cabins are also available, with heating and lighting, ten of which are in an open area with unobstructed views of the sky. Guests must bring their own pillows and bedding.
- The 6‑acre field has lots of room for tents and RVs. There are no designated sites in the camping field, so camping is offered on a rush basis.
- Power in the field is limited, but every cabin has an external 15‑amp outlet, so bring an extension cord and park behind a cabin if you need electricity.
- The main building features washrooms, showers, a large auditorium with audio‑visual equipment, laundry facilities, a games room, and a large communal kitchen and dining room.
- Potable water is available from a standpipe near the camp entrance.
Optional accommodation
Camping
$90
($110 after July 5th)
- 5 nights accommodation
- Bring your own tent/RV
- Potable water standpipe
- Shared electricity
- Quiet dogs welcome
- Choose your site
Optional accommodation
Cabin Room
RESERVED UNTIL JULY 5th
$130
($160 after July 5th)
- 5 nights accommodation
- Sleeps 1 to 6 People
- Heating
- Lighting
- Electricity
Optional accommodation
Exclusive Cabin
RESERVED UNTIL JULY 5th
$170
($210 after July 5th)
- 5 nights accommodation
- Sleeps 4 (two queen beds)
- Heating
- Lighting
- Electricity
- Under Trees
Registration Opens May 24th, 2026
Register for the Southern Alberta Star Party
Questions regarding the Southern Alberta Star Party? Please contact rod@efsc.ca
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