Info

Location

The York County Astronomical Society will host the 21st annual Mason-Dixon Star Parties from July 9th through 11th and October 8th through 10th.  The MDSP will return to the Shreveport Airport / Footlight Ranch. This facility will provide a large amount of space, which will also be the flattest land that the MDSP has ever been held on. 

The horizon is extremely flat, stars are visible at less than 10 degrees about the horizon, and light pollution seems to be at a minimum. The Milky Way was easily visible the night we first went to see the location. Observing can be made from the airport taxiway or runway. 

See our Map page for directions.  Registrations and souvenir purchases can be made on our Registration page.  When available, a downloadable document will be provided with a mail-in registration, and all of the event details, directions and schedule.

Lasers
We will not be allowing the use of green lasers at this Star Party. We apologize for the inconvenience, but due to public safety, liability, and astrophotography concerns, we will not permit the use of green laser pointers. Also, all lights must be red filtered. (We are not the only star party to do this).

Event Site
There is no electric or water on the camping field. There will be water at the Little Hut near the runway, as well as showers and men’s and women’s flush toilets. We will be providing additional Jiffy Johns to place along the taxiway Wednesday through Sunday, which is over 2500 feet long. Participants will set up their camps along either side of the taxiway, and there will be a wide path between the camps for safe walking at night.

Camping is permitted on the taxiway on the south side of the runway. The runway will be closed for the event. We are allowed to use the runway for ballgames or other activities, including observing, but not camping.

Camping fees include the following: the use of public showers and restroom facilities at the Little Hut, volley ball and horseshoes (equipment provided by owner), and trash removal. We will provide trash bags to all attendees, as well as 55-gallon bags for the trash drums (he has 4 drums). The owner will collect the trash, however, we will ask all participants to take trash to either the dumpster or a central location. We will be collecting the camping fees for the site owner upon your arrival. YCAS does not keep the camping fees. We collect them on behalf of the event site owner.

Food
This years MDSP will be catered by Larry’s Catering of New Oxford, PA. They will be providing 24 x 7 food service. He will be open beginning with lunch on Friday and will close after breakfast Sunday morning.

Saturday Special: Pulled Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Roll, Iced Tea or Water $8

Egg Sandwich $1.50
Egg w/ sausage patty $2.25
Egg w/ bacon $2.25
Egg w/ ham $2.25
Sausage patty $1.50
Cheese $ .25
Hot dog $1.50
Hot dog w/chili sauce $1.75
1/4 lb. Hamburger $2.50
Cheeseburger $2.75
Bacon cheeseburger $3.00
Farmerburger $3.75
Sausage link w/peppers & onions $3.50
Chips, pretzels, cookies $ .50
Coffee, tea, soda, hot chocolate and water $1.00

These are the Summer MDSP Prices and menu. Subject to Change.

Here is a link to local eating establishments:
http://tinyurl.com/2010mdspeat

Vendors (Summer MDSP Only)
We will provide as many vendors as possible. See the schedule to see what times the vendors will be open. Many of these vendors are also providing door prizes. If you would like to be a vendor, please contact us at here

Raffle (Summer MDSP Only)
You can win a door prize by purchasing raffle tickets. Each Adult Registration receives 2 Raffle TIckets. Additional Raffile Tickets will be available on Saturday for $2 each or 12 for $20. Our list of raffle prizes are updated in our Raffle page, and prizes stream in until the day of the event.

Schedule (Summer MDSP Only)
There will be scheduled times for telescope and photo contests. Additionally several speakers will be scheduled for a variety of topics. We have a a modern audio-visual system which will provide an excellent experience for all the attendees. Check our Schedule page as it is updated frequently