Astronomy:Star Party Sri Lanka

Star Party Sri Lanka තරු සාදය
Ad Astra Per Aspera
Status	Active
Genre	Astronomical Observation Competition
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	University of Peradeniya
Country	Sri Lanka
Years active	20
Inaugurated	January 30, 2004 (2004-01-30)
Participants	School Students
Organised by	Anandian Astronomical Association, Astronomical Society of Mahamaya Girls' College.
Website	www.starparty.ik

Star Party Sri Lanka, commonly known as the "Star Party" is an astronomical observation competition held in Sri Lanka since 2004. It is the longest-running inter-school astronomical observation competition in Sri Lanka. It happens annually at the University of Peradeniya premises typically in the first quarter of the year. However, in some years it was held in the other periods of the year due to various reasons. Star Party is considered the most important event in the Sri Lankan amateur astronomical calendar.

Observation competition

Star Party night sky observation competition is the main focus event of the entire Star Party. High school students from all around the country teamed up and compete for the title "Best school-based astronomical observation team of the year" and the Star Party challenge trophy. A team consists of 69 members from the same school and there can be a maximum of two teams (namely A and B) that can compete from one school. The competition held under 6 sections as follows,

• Best in moon observation.
• Best in planetary observation.
• Best in deep-sky observation and constellation mapping.
• Best in observational astronomy (Theory).
• Best in celestial measurements.

The highest-scoring team of each of those sections wins the sub-trophy for the respective titles. The team that has the highest total score for all these sections wins the Star Party Challenge trophy and crowned as the Champions of the Star Party.