September 20 & 21 – our 28th year! 
The Event will be held this year
at Maybury State Park!
49601 Eight Mile Road, Northville MI, 48167

Event is FREE! No registration required. Parking requires Recreation Passport or park entry fee (see below).

Temporary New Location

Island Lake State Park, where Astronomy at the Beach has been held for several years, will be under construction this fall, so the event had to be moved to a temporary location. AATB will move back to Island Lake State Park in 2025.

Telescopes on the field

Astronomers from across southeastern Michigan will set up solar telescopes during the afternoon, and telescopes of all shapes and sizes during the evening for you to observe numerous night sky objects! In 2023, we had reps from NASA Glenn who brought a giant inflatable Artemis rocket.

Presentations and Hands-on

There will be a keynote lecture from a special guest both Friday and Saturday nights, as well as presentations by local astronomers – many of whom are volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors!

Astronomy Club Tables

Several Astronomy clubs and event hosts will be set up at tables with representatives, freebies, teacher resources, demonstrations and more! You can chat with local astronomers, and maybe schedule a lecturer to speak to your group.

This year’s theme is: Our Home Star

The Sun is nearing solar maximum, and is becoming more active – sunspots are appearing more often, and flares are more frequent; space weather is more energetic, and auroras and radio disturbances are occurring more frequently. Our lecturers will discuss the life-cycles of stars, the amazing processes taking place within them, and how space weather can affect space-based telecommunications and ground-based electrical infrastructure.

Schedule

Friday Sept. 20

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Solar Observing – Telescope field
7:00 – 7:30 PM: How to Make a Comet (tentative) – Michigan Science Center
7:45 – 8:45 PM: Keynote: TBD
9:00 – 9:50 PM: Presentation: TBD 
9:00 – 11:30 PM: Tour of the Constellations – Telescope field, periodically
10:00 – 10:50 PM: Meteorites and Tektites (tentative) – Sandra Macika

Friday Speaker: TBD

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Saturday Sept. 21

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Solar Observing – Telescope field
7:00 – 7:30 PM: How to Make a Comet (tentative) – Michigan Science Center
7:45 – 8:45 PM: Keynote: TBD
9:00 – 9:50 PM: Presentation: TBD
10:00 – 10:50 PM: Meteorites and Tektites (tentative) – Sandra Macika
9:00 – 11:30 PM: Tour of the Constellations – Telescope field, periodically

Saturday Speaker: TBD

Food and Drink

The South Lyon Track Team will be at the event from 6-10 each night selling Pizza, Chips, Soda and Water.

Cost and Parking

The Astronomy at the Beach event itself is free. However, it is located within a state park, so a Michigan State Park “Recreation Passport” on your license plate tag is required to get you in; a metro-park sticker is not adequate (since this is not a metro-park).

If you do not have a Recreation Passport, you can buy the annual sticker at the gate for $13 (plus a $5 convenience fee – because they really want you to buy this option when you renew your vehicle registration tags).

Previous Astronomy at the Beach events:

Astronomy at the Beach is brought to you by: