The Star Partyers of New Mexico

“We live here because it’s dark,” Dar- rel Moon, an amateur astronomer, said of his slice of rural New Mexico. Roughly six years ago, Mr. Moon built his own observatory to track asteroids in the dark skies above the Route 60 corridor between Pie Town
Totoritis Observatory in Pie Town, N.M., during the 2021 Enchanted Skies Star Party.
Stars at Ski Santa
Star party in Moriarty, N.M.
Joey Troy of the Albuquerque Astronomical Society, using red light at GNTO Observatory in Belen, N.M.
Dark Sky New Mexico observatory in Animas, NM.
John W. Briggs, an instrumentation engineer, repairs vintage telescopes.
Star maps are still handy, but these days most stargazers use mobile apps.
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Viola Sanchez, a retired civil engineer, has volunteered with the Albuquerque Astronomical Society, or TAAS, for more than 10 years. She often brings her eight-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope to share with budding stargazers who attend these star p