Planning any large event is frequently difficult. Organizing an astronomy viewing party is especially so, because you have to maintain interest in an activity that can be, at times, slow in pace. In addition, you have to organize transportation to somewhere away from lights, make sure that everyone is taken care of (they're comfortable, warm, well fed, etc.), make sure not to interfere with stargazing (with your own lights or such) and you have to get everyone to agree to go out at hours that most people will agree are pretty much unreasonable! Here, I'll attempt to help you deal with some common problems.

Cities

Astronomers dislike cities because astronomers are looking at things that are dim. The primary function of a telescope is to collect light, and as much of it as possible. Size isn't the issue; it's getting enough photons to make it clear. The problem is that city light will interfere with this. Dim things like stars or other astronomical objects will appear even more dim when surrounded by other lights; light that reflects off the atmosphere will interfere with your image; finally, cities are frequently polluted and block out the sky. In order to get good viewing conditions, it is very important to put a good distance between yourself and cities. Ideally, 60+ miles is a good distance, if your group doesn't mind driving. Other good things to try include going up mountains, because less light will reach you. If you position the mountain between yourself and the city, you'll have an even better view.

The moon

The moon is a source of problems for astronomers because it is another large source of light. The only reason that you can't make out the stars in the day is because the sun completely outshines them; the moon can do the same, especially for anything near to it in the sky. The moon will make meteors seem less impressive, it will make viewing stars harder, and it will generally interfere with what you want to do. Thus, look ahead. Make sure the moon is far from full (the phases are new, meaning no moon, crescent, half, gibbous, and full moon. The closer to new you are, the less it will interfere) or find out when moonrise/moonset is from the Navy. They provide a calculator to find out when the moon is rising and setting. Make sure to give 30-60 minutes of buffer time, since light from the moon can still interfere on the horizon.

On the other hand, perhaps you want to observe the moon? It's fascinating, and it's easily the clearest thing to observe, because it's so close. Have everyone bring a pair of binoculars (even cheap ones work!) or even set up a telescope; you can get great views of all sorts of interesting structures on the moon. Look them up later on the web and see what they really are, how they were discovered. Maybe you can find the spots where the moon landings took place? Maybe you can track down some other landmark?

Clouds

These are obviously bad. Solve your problems with weather.com.

Unless you have a group of very avid stargazers, everyone probably doesn't have their own telescope (and if they do, good luck finding vans large enough to carry people with their equipment). Having one or two telescopes for a group of more than six is an issue, because waiting in line for that long takes a lot of the interest out of the event. On the other hand, if your telescopes can track and don't need to be constantly set up, organize cycles. Most people should be relaxing and watching the stars, and then can come up in groups of two or three to use the telescopes. The people who are just gazing should have binoculars to look through. This is still a problem for lots of people; I would say that one (good) telescope per four-five people is necessary.

If you have enough binoculars, look at the moon. It's an easy target; it's fun, and doesn't require a telescope. In this case, it's best to either prepare people so they know what to look at or discuss it somewhat; otherwise, it can get fairly dull quite quickly.

Meteor showers are also a good idea. They're easy to look at and require no equipment. Frequently, they'll captivate people for hours just watching for the good ones.

If you want to know when the interesting events are out there to watch, there are two good sources: Sky and Telescope Magazine and Astronomy Magazine, although Astronomy's website is a bit bandwidth-heavy right now. Both magazines and web sites have lots of good information about current events in the sky (Astronomy's is particularly good about events for the next couple of months). A great source for things to do.

Finally, if you have a laptop computer you can bring, you might try something like Piranha Software's Redshift 3. It's an excellent piece of software that lets you get skycharts for any night (including way back when, such as Egyptian times, or just about any historical occasion). It also explains some of the science behind astronomy with movies that would make a nice break from sky-watching to explain what's being seen.

Transportation

Depending on how far you're going, this could actually be a major issue. It's best to travel in groups so that people can talk along the way, instead of a long procession of cars; this is also better for the environment. It might even be a good idea to rent a large van (15-passenger or so) if everyone is willing to contribute a bit of money.

Food

People like to be fed! Offering pizza and soda or something else that's simple is a great idea for people to relax with. However, in the dark, it may be difficult to find these; make sure they're easy to get to with nothing to knock over if you mess up (thus, a large cooler with soda is better than easily spilled two-liter bottles, or cans are best).

Seeing in the dark

Normal flashlights are frowned upon in astronomy because they so easily disrupt your vision. If your light is white, then it carries a lot of energy and your eyes will react to it, thus ruining everyone's night vision (to really get your best night vision, you want 30-60 minutes in the dark). Thus, all flashlights should be kept to an absolute minimum.

If this isn't possible, get a redlight filter. Thus can be as simple as red plastic wrap (although this is pretty primitive and doesn't work so well) to getting a cheap filter for your flashlight at Radio Shack to buying a flashlight with built-in filters for some ridiculously high price. No matter what you choose, this is pretty much essential for any astronomy trip.

Comfort on the grass, when it's cold

Almost no matter where or when you are, it gets awfully cold at night. Even in the middle of August, we've found people quite chilly during the night. Thus, you want to make sure that everyone brings blankets to keep themselves warm, and ideally some warm clothing as well. Blankets are also necessary to lay on, especially for grassy areas. It's quite possible that your surface will be wet with dew!

Another alternative, which I've grown rather fond of, is to bring lawn chairs or, better yet, "lawn beds." Thus, you can just lay back, adjust the back of your bed to point your head at the right star, and look up. These are especially great for meteor showers, when you just lay there, reach for the soda and pizza at your side, and enjoy the quiet night.

If people are going to be on the ground with blankets, tell them to bring pillows as well, or else they'll get their neck strained and it might hurt from the hard surface.

Managing your group

Different people like their astronomy in different ways. Some people like to talk to other about what they're seeing, and "oooh" and "aaah." Others like to watch in silence, taking in what they're seeing and keeping it to themselves. It's difficult to accomodate both groups; of course, you can seperate them or arrange before hand on the level of conversation that you'd like. Hopefully this won't be a serious issue.

Conclusion

I am not an expert astronomer; I may even have gotten a few facts wrong here. But I do really enjoy what I do, and I'd like to advise people as to the best way to have fun (and introduce other people to the activity). I hope that this has provided some help for you in doing that, even if it's something like a checklist for your trip or if it provided you with amusement!

Still, I'd like to improve this document as much as possible. If you can think of something that would make it better, or if you can correct mistakes or offer more suggestions, please let me know. I'd love to add and improve it as much as possible. Thanks for reading!

Daniel Zaharopol