2019 Stellafane Convention
The 84th Convention of Amateur Telescope Makers on Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont, the 2019 Stellafane Convention, was held Thursday through Sunday, August 1-4, 2019.
Suggestions
Do you have a suggestion to improve any aspect of convention? We would like to hear about it! Please send them via email
We are very interested in feedback, comments or suggestions on any aspect of convention, we are always working to make improvements every year.
Thanks to All!
The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank all those who attended the 2019 Stellafane Convention and made it a success, especially all volunteers and club members who help with setup, program and operations and cleanup, and all the excellent speakers who make their expertise and experience available through their talks and workshops. To those of you who brought homemade telescopes to display on breezy hill, a special thank you for sharing your accomplishments and inspiring the next generation of telescope makers - we had a large number of interesting and innovative scopes this year.
Convention Summary
Optical competition was completed on Friday; all three days had good observing for. The weather has high 70's/low 80's during the day and humidity was not excessive for August.
The Porter Turret Telescope has been undergoing some maintenance and a few upgrades, and has never worked better. The Schupmann had some hydraulic failures a few weeks before convention after 25 years of operation, but was repaired and operated well during convention. The McGregor Observatory is still being refurbished now that it is 30 years old, and we hope to have it completed by the 2020 convention. The Cook Spectrohelioscope has had major improvements made to it in the last year and the images are now much sharper and steadier.
There was a large field of telescopes in both the optical and mechanical competitions, and it was a treat to see all the various designs and innovations. No scopes over 12½ inches were entered in the optical competition this year.
Keynote speaker Alan Stern delivered an excellent keynote talk on the New Horizons Project, with new data from both the Pluto and Ultima-Thule being presented.
Program & Schedule
A great selection of speakers, workshops, demonstrations and events for every level: children, teens, beginners, intermediate and advanced amateur astronomers. Click on the link above to see everything going on during convention.
Hartness House Workshop
This year's theme is Advanced Telescope Making. Richard Berry, author of multiple astronomy and telescope making books and former editor of "Astronomy Magazine", will give the keynote/banquet presentation. Bill Zmek has agreed to speak about advanced optics testing and Clif Ashcraft has agreed to speak on Schupmann telescope design. Many additional speakers are on the program, click on the link to see the full list.
Join us at Springfield’s historic Hartness House, home of the Hartness Turret Telescope and the Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making. Meals are included. (Separate Registration from convention Required) Workshop attendees who have also purchased a camping or RV permit for convention may set up at Stellafane on Wednesday from 12pm to 6pm without additional charge.
Donors
The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank the following people and/or companies for donating prizes to the raffle at the 2019 Stellafane convention or goods and services that are sold or used for the convention. We thank:
Special thanks to Tele Vue and
Al & David Nagler for donating |
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Special thanks to Willmann-Bell and Perry & Patricia Remaklus for donating sets of their excellent Astronomy and Telescope Making Books for many, many years. This year's book prizes were five sets of the Annals of the Deep Sky. |
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| Gary Hand | Student Transportation of America
White River Jct., VT |
| Kim & Dennis Cassia | Astonomy Shoppe
Tony Costanzo - Plaistow, NH |
| Kris Larsen | PTH Design Paul Hendrickson - Chester, VT |
| Jim & Martie Erickson | Steve & Terry Simoni |
| Simply Fun | Stephen & Diana Forbes |
| The Vermont Teddy Bear Company | |
Call for 2019 Convention
Photos, Videos & Reports
We would like to add your photos or convention report to our web pages, and link to your hosted videos on YouTube or other services. Your experiences gives a much more comprehensive view of the convention than we can do ourselves. Please send them via email
Photo Gallery
A collection of photos from the 2019 Convention, some from the club and many more from conventioneers.
Reports by Conventioneers
Reports on the experiences and observations of conventioneers by conventioneers.
Presentations
The page contains presentations made at the 2019 Stellafane Convention, or additional information about them, when the presenters make them available to us for publication.
which won 3 awards this year
Telescope Competition
Details and photos of all the telescopes and other items entered and all the winners are here.
Observing Olympics
A challenge to observe at least 15 deep sky objects, accessible in small to large amateur telescopes, has been developed for us by Larry Mitchell, who is in charge of the Texas Star Party Advanced Observing Program. Try your observing skills and earn a pin for your efforts. A Binocular Observing List has also been developed by Phil Harrington again this year.
This year's Observing Olympics has fun new lists of objects to search for and learn about.
Teen Program
A hands-on class working in teams to construct a piece of robotic technology that will be demonstrated at the Convention.
Attendance will be first-come first-served. If you are 100% sure your Teen (age 12-17) will attend the convention and will want to attend this event,
then you’ll need to get them on the list.
Mirror Coating
Alan Ward will set up his portable coating machine in the grassed 'valley' just west of the Stellafane Clubhouse and will coat attendees' bare mirrors with a reflective aluminum coating on Friday and Saturday - you can watch your mirror get coated, and learn more about the process if you don't know how this works.
At convention, please visit the coating machine and sign up on the clipboard for a coating time slot. The cost is almost free - you need to bring two bags of ice to keep the diffusion pump cool (available at the food tent). The maximum mirror diameter the machine can handle is 10-inches. Mirrors having existing coatings need to be stripped by Alan Ward ahead of time. Coating machine operation is from 9 to 5 each day. Additional details are available in this news item
Sun, Moon & Twilight Data
When is Astronomical Twilight during convention? When does the sun set and the moon rise? Click to find out.
General Information
This page contains information about the convention that does not fit in elsewhere. Check this page for answers to any questions you may have.
Convention Policies
This page contains convention policies which we have established to insure the safety, comfort and enjoyment of convention by all who attend. In particular, please read the new Stellafane Convention Code of Conduct. Please familiarize yourself with these policies, so that you too will have a safe and enjoyable convention.
Lodging & Campgrounds
If you are not camping at Stellafane, you will need some place to stay. Here is a listing of Motels, Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, and Campgrounds in the area.
Directions & Maps
Need to know how to get to Stellafane? Here are written directions and a map for after you get off the Interstate. We also have a site map of the convention area. See also Local Airport Information.
Food Services
Please see details on the Food Services page, which has the menus available for your information.
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