2025 Stellafane Convention
The 89th Convention of Amateur Telescope Makers on Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont,
the 2025 Stellafane Convention was held on Thursday-Sunday, July 24th through 27th.
☛ The Original Star Party ☚
This year’s convention is dedicated to
The Youth of Astronomy
The Enthusiastic Next Generation
Stellafane Documentary: Call for Personal Stories
What we need:
Record a short video (cellphone video is ok) of you saying these three things
1. Name
2. First time at Stellafane
3. What you do now or how it impacted your life
Example:
"Hi my name is Bob Bobinton and my first time at Stellafane was 2002. Stellafane inspired my career path and
now I work for XYZ company making/designing cool things"
Or a photograph of yourself either at Stellafane or at your job and a short description of the above information.
Send to: webmaster@stellafane.org
Suggestions
Do you have a suggestion to improve any aspect of
convention? We would like to hear about it! Please send them via email to
The Webmaster.
We are 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 2025 Stellafane Convention and made it a success, especially all the 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 some very interesting and innovative scopes this year.
Convention Summary
We had two good nights of observing on Thursday and Friday; Saturday was fully overcast. It rained Sunday morning. Optical judging was held Friday night. Mechanical judging was held on Saturday morning. The Saturday evening program was held outdoors in the amphitheater.
This year we introduced a number of new programs for young people, invited other organizations to set up pop-up exhibits, and added some non-astronomy events that might be of interest to our attendees. Overall, these new programs were well received and we had a lot of participants in them.
Convention Program & Schedule
A great selection of speakers, workshops, demonstrations and events for every level: children, beginners, intermediate and
advanced amateur astronomers. Lists all scheduled events and times at convention.
View the Program & Schedule
View Program Download Info
Hartness House Workshop
The Hartness House Workshop will be held on Thursday, July 24th. The theme of the event this year will be: "Eclectic Astronomy", meaning the Workshop will offer a broad spectrum of interesting individual talks. The slate for the day will be a heterogeneous collection of high-quality presentations, on a variety of astronomical subjects, with the usual opportunity to mingle with the speakers and other attendees at the historic Hartness House Inn. As usual, the Hartness/Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making will be open during the day.
The dinner session keynote address will be
Catch a Dying Star: Neutrino Astronomy and the Next Galactic Supernova. SNOLAB’s Dr. Stephen Sekula will discuss an
early warning system that uses the neutrino, an elusive but essential subatomic particle, which will play a key role
in the forecast and complete observation of the next galactic supernova.
2025 Slate of Speakers (PDF)
Introduction to the 2025 Hartness House Workshop (PDF)
Information for
Attendees of the 2025 Hartness House Workshop (PDF)
2025 Hartness House Workshop Program (PDF)
Register for the Hartness House Workshop using
the Convention Registration link above.
Raffle Donors
The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank the following people and/or companies for donating prizes to the raffle at the 2025 Stellafane Convention. We thank:
Special thanks to Tele Vue for donating
many sets of their Premium Eyepieces.
Five sets of eyepieces were raffled off with a total value over $10,000!
Photo Gallery
Pictures from the 2025 Convention - Lots of them!
View the 2025 Convention Photo Gallery
Videos
View 2025 Convention videos on our official YouTube channel.
View 2025 Convention Videos
View video special about Stellafane 2025 from Griffith Observatory.
View Griffith Observatory Video
[Click to enlarge]
Telescope Competition
All the entries with photos, and winners from the 2025 Telescope Competition.
View the Telescope Competition Page
Observing Olympics
A challenge to observe at least 15 deep sky objects, accessible in small to large amateur telescopes or binoculars. Try your observing skills and earn a pin for your efforts.
This year's Observing Olympics has fun new lists of objects to search for and learn about.
See the Observing Olympics Details
The Stellafane Family Lunar Rover Mission
Stellafane’s space-tech program activity has been updated to encourage family participation though it is also open to Conventioneers of all ages. Attendees this year will be introduced to the mission and technology behind NASA’s CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) spacecraft. Scheduled to launch in 2026, a trio of CADRE rovers will demonstrate how smarter autonomous and networked systems on the moon can operate. Course material includes a discussion on CADRE’s sensor systems, in particular how they relate to lunar deployed spacecraft.
This will be a hands-on and team oriented class that includes constructing CADRE inspired spacecraft to explore the Convention’s ‘lunar terrain’. Attendance will be first-come first-served. If interested, please email us directly. No technical experience is required however there will be a lot of specialized instruction. Please be on time! We will be working with hand tools, so please no open toed shoes (sandals or flip-flops).
Friday 1:00 to 4:00 in the Bunkhouse.
Sign up for Stellafane Family Lunar Rover Mission
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.
Go to the General Information Page
Non-astronomy Things To Do in the Area
Bringing non-astronomer family members or spending time in the area before or after convention? This list may help you
find other interesting activities in our area.(New This Year)
View Non-Astronomy Area Attractions
Photo by Steve Hannah
[Click to enlarge]
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 Refund Policy and the Stellafane Convention Code of Conduct. Please familiarize yourself with these policies, so that you too will have a safe and enjoyable convention.
New this year: Drone Policy
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.
View our Lodging & Campground list
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.
View Directions & Maps
Food Service
We are using the same vendor as the past few years: JC’s Market & Deli of North Springfield.
A dinner menu from the grill will be available starting Thursday late afternoon / early evening along with salads, fruit and snack items. Breakfast (from 6 AM), lunch, and dinner (from 5 PM) will be available Friday and Saturday and Breakfast will also be available on Sunday morning.
Both Thursday, Friday & Saturday night home-cooked dinner options will also be offered al-la-carte at the cook shack.
In addition to the a-la-carte selections available at the times above, an optional pre-ordered complete dinner will be available Saturday evening starting at 4:30 which must be ordered in advance with your registration. There is a choice of:
- Half Chicken or Half-Rack of BBQ Ribs, and both meals include baked potato with toppings, corn, dinner roll, a drink (water or soda), and strawberry shortcake for $26.99
- Tofu & Grilled Vegetable Skewers for $24.99
Bags of Ice will also be available for your cooler.