Last night my wife and I celebrated Starry Treats for Halloween for the third year. The idea is simple: offer the many children and families out in the early evening a view of the heavens along with a Halloween treat.

• Set up to receive trick-or-treaters in on your front walk or driveway. All you need is a bowl of candy, table, chairs and a telescope. Be sure to include some Halloween and night sky friendly lighting.
• When things get busy, it helps to have two adults, one to manage the candy and one to help with the telescope.

Response has been very positive from parents and children. We even had one teen say that the views were better than candy. With good weather, we find relaxing outdoors between visitors much nicer than a string of door bell interruptions.

Keeping it simple with views of the Moon, planets, and other easy to see targets works well. In our neighborhood the fun starts around 7 PM. If your neighborhood starts early, safe solar observing or the Moon make good late afternoon targets. Many of the children we see, might never get the chance to go to a star party or visit an observatory. Giving a young child their first view of a planet, or craters on the Moon is a thrill and a chance to make a lasting impression.

Before Halloween, we also post about this activity in local astro and neighborhood news sources to inform parents and encourage other astronomers to bring their scopes out. Make Starry Treats for Halloween a tradition at your home next year!