The story
Nebraska Star Party in Valentine
The Nebraska Star Party is a multi-day stargazing event held each summer at Merritt Reservoir near Valentine, Nebraska, a certified International Dark Sky Park in the Sandhills. Now running for roughly three decades, the event draws amateur and expert astronomers alike for a beginners field school, kids' astronomy activities, and unusually dark, unpolluted night skies.
In the Nebraska Sandhills, far from the light pollution of any major city, Merritt Reservoir has spent three decades quietly becoming one of the best places in the country to look up at the night sky.