UNT Rafes Urban Astronomy Center
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Changing the world one Star Party at a time! Public Star Parties are held every 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, weather permitting. STAR PARTIES!
Be sure to check back here for party updates as well as our other lively posts! Come join us at the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center on the first and third Saturday of every month for our Star Party. At Star Parties, you can learn about the night sky from our knowledgeable staff and students and enjoy an opportunity to see objects in space through our telescopes! WHAT'S INCLUDED?
- Sky Tonight Tour -
06/06/2026
Our June 6th Star Party has been cancelled due to inclement weather, but no worries! ⛈️
Our 2nd Star Party of June will soon be announced in the upcoming weeks! 🔭✨
Join us for a night under the stars! 🌌
Come out to the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center and enjoy breathtaking views of the night sky through our telescopes. Learn from our knowledgeable staff and volunteers about the celestial wonders above! Objects of interest for the Star Party: Jupiter, Venus (sets at 10:54pm), Ring Nebula, Irus Nebula, & Whirlpool Galaxy.
Location:
Rafes Urban Astronomy Center
2350 Tom Cole Rd, Ponder, TX 76259
Tickets: $6 per person (available online only)
Purchase tickets here: https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/27808
Want to learn more about our Star Parties? Visit:
https://astronomy.unt.edu/ruac_observatory/star-parties.html
05/09/2026
Tonight's Star Party is unfortunately cancelled due to weather. We will be back at the RUAC for our next Public Star Party May 16th!
05/06/2026
We have a special Star Party this Saturday!!! Join us with the UNT Society of Physics Students for a night under the stars.
Proceeds go directly to UNT Society of Physics Students. Because of this, this Star Party will be **Cash Only**!
We will resume our normal cashless Public Star Parties at our regularly scheduled May 16th event.
Objects of interest for the Star Party: Jupiter, Venus (sets at 10:40pm), Beehive Cluster, Whirlpool Galaxy
Location:
Rafes Urban Astronomy Center
2350 Tom Cole Rd, Ponder, TX 76259
Tickets: $6 per person (cash only for this specific star party!)
Want to learn more about our Star Parties? Visit:
https://astronomy.unt.edu/ruac_observatory/star-parties.html
Join us for a night under the stars! 🌌
Come out to the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center and enjoy breathtaking views of the night sky through our telescopes. Learn from our knowledgeable staff and volunteers about the celestial wonders above!
Objects of interest for the Star Party: Jupiter, Venus, Sirus, Capella, Betelgeuse, & Procyon
Location:
Rafes Urban Astronomy Center
2350 Tom Cole Rd, Ponder, TX 76259
Tickets: $6 per person (available online only)
Purchase tickets here: https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/27808
Want to learn more about our Star Parties? Visit:
https://astronomy.unt.edu/ruac_observatory/star-parties.html
04/30/2026
Congrats to our undergraduates who presented their Senior Thesis Capstone yesterday, Blake Rice and Cassian Grantham! Also a huge thank you and congratulations to our TA, Leigh Parrott, who won the Department of Physics Outstanding Lab TA!!!✨🎉
12/14/2025
Here is some more information how to view both the Geminid Meteor Shower, and 3I/Atlas!
The Geminids are reaching its peak tonight and tomorrow night, and (in clear conditions) should be quite a show!
3I/Atlas will be here for this month, and early next month. But you'll need to be up late at night/early in the morning with a telescope to get a glimpse of it.
We're sad that the clouds have cancelled the last Star Party of the year. However, we are bringing the party to social media! Enjoy the video we put together for the event, giving more information about 3I/Atlas and trivia about comets!
All rights for "What We Know About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS" and "Interstellar Visitor is Fastest Comet Ever Recorded" belong to NASA, and can be found here: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/resources/resource-packages/asteroid-and-comet-resources/
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.