A car's dome and other interior lights are amazingly bright to someone whose vision is dark-adapted, and you will annoy a lot of people if you pop open a door and light up the countryside. Be sure you know how to disable these lights in your car before you head out to the star party. On some cars there's a simple switch for this, on others you may need to remove the bulb from the fixture, or even pull a fuse. As a last resort, you can tape a piece of cardboard over the dome and door lights.

Some cars, General Motors models in particular, have running lights—special lights that are similar to headlights except that they cannot be turned off when the car is running. If you own such a vehicle, try to find some alternate transportation for the night, or try to park away from the group so that the lights do not disturb anyone.

Red light does not affect night vision, so at a star party you'll see that this is the only light people use. You don't have to bring your own red lamp, but you'll find one to be very handy for finding your way around in the dark. You can purchase them at astronomy shops or sporting goods stores. Many are just small flashlights equipped with red filters.

If you do purchase a red light, don't choose a bright one because that defeats the purpose. A dim light works well, and you'll be amazed how bright it is once your eyes become dark-adapted.