St. Louis Astronomical Society

Powder Valley Moth Ball

Friday, September 26, 2025

Event

Good afternoon Bill,

 Thank you again for your service in providing a Star Party for Camp Hellbender at the beginning of the month! It was fabulous and got fantastic feedback from participants. I sent your report out to many of our staff, and we were all so happy to read your incredibly kind words and detailed report on what was seen.

I know this is short notice and I don’t expect you’ll be available; however, I am hosting an event called Moth Ball September 26th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. This event sees 175 participants, most of whom are within our target age range of 18-34 years old. This gained a lot of attention within our own department last year due to its large number of target attendees. Moth Ball is basically an 18th century ball inspired event where individuals dress up in moth inspired attire, enjoy an array of activities relating to and celebrating moths, and at the end of the night a “Queen Monarch” is crowned. I had the very last-minute thought of providing star gazing as an additional outdoor activity for individuals to explore and enjoy, as some moths on Earth use the night sky to navigate! The thought is that participants could walk up and visit, as most of the event is very come-and-go style tabling and activities.

 

I know it is incredibly last minute being only a little under a moth away. If you can’t attend, that’s totally okay as I wanted to offer it up since you did such a fantastic job at Camp Hellbender! If you’re interested in being part of the event, don’t hesitate to let me know. We would love to have you back! 😊

 

Feel free to reach back out with any comments or questions, I’m here to answer.

Lauren Baker <Lauren.Baker@mdc.mo.gov>

Date: Friday, September 26, 2025

Time: 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Central

Location: Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
11715 Cragwold Rd
Kirkwood, MO 63122

Information for Visitors
Instructions for the Public:

Bill Breeden is leading and handling this event.

Location Details

Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
11715 Cragwold Rd
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(click to get directions)
check weather forecast

Event Report

Comments and anecdotes about the event:
Powder Valley Stargazing Report By Bill Breeden September 26, 2025 KIRKWOOD, MO – The Moth Ball is a fun event run by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) that invites attendees to dress up in their favorite moth-themed attire and learn all about moths. Moths are creatures of the night, are attracted to artificial lights, and are believed to navigate by the stars. As such, stargazing was added to this year’s event at Powder Valley, and I was excited to be invited (again) by Lauren Baker, a Naturalist with the MDC. I set up my LX-90 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope in the small field again, just in front of the nature center. The Moth Ball included an attire contest (with the crowning of a Queen Monarch), moth-based trivia, an ultra-violet mothing sheet on one of the trails, a trinket hunt, and stargazing. Saturn would prove to be the highlight of stargazing tonight, but I had to wait about 30 minutes for it to rise above a distant tree. In the mean time, I treated visitors to a view of Mizar and Alcor (in Ursa Major), with Mizar being a stunningly bright double star. It was a delight to show these beautiful, gleaming stars to guests dressed up in fantastic moth-based attire. Some guests were wearing moth wings; others were wearing two feathers atop their head as the moth’s antennae. Still other guests were wearing decorated capes and various head dresses. This was a very different experience for me (and lots of fun), and everyone enjoyed the stargazing immensely. Tonight would be extra special since we had Saturn in all its ringed glory rising in the southeastern sky. No fewer than four Saturnian moons were visible: Titan, Rhea, Dione, and Tethys. Enceladus may also have been visible, but several guests reported seeing at least four moons lined up along Saturn’s nearly edge-on rings. Neptune was also visible just over one degree from Saturn. I never get tired of visitors shouting “wow!” when viewing Saturn for the first time. When I pointed it out in the sky (appearing like a bright orange star), guests were equally impressed. What a night! Clear Skies, Bill Breeden St. Louis Astronomical Society Star Party Coordinator