Pictured here is Dr Alan Stern, New Horizon's Project Investigator giving us a rousing Keynote in 2015. - Photo by Ken Slater
Pictured here is Dr Alan Stern, New Horizon's Project Investigator giving us a rousing Keynote in 2015.
New Horizons Mission Lead back for 2019 Convention
[2018-Nov-22] Back in 2015, when the world was waiting with baited breath over what would become quite a revealing set of high-resolution images of Pluto, the Springfield Telescopes were delighted to be able to host Alan Stern, New Horizon's Principal Investigator. And together, we were among the first in the world to view these stunning pictures, giving us new insight into the world of Pluto.
And for the 2019 Convention, the Springfield Telescope Makers are delighted yet again to bring Alan Stern back as Keynote Speaker. This time around, he will be talking about the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule flyby that is to happen in January 2019.
So, mark your calendars! Convention Weekend is August 1-4. Signups will be open May 1st.
November Election Results
[2018-Nov-10] At their annual business meeting the Springfield Telescope Makers approved two bylaw changes and elected officers and board members, which included several changes.
The updated bylaws changed the board composition from 4 officers, 1 immediate past president and 2 members at large, to 4 officers and 3 members at large. The immediate past president now serves a 1 year term in a non-voting advisory role. With this change, all board members are directly elected by the membership every year. The second bylaw change gave the board additional power to set the donation level for the benefactor membership class.
Dave Tabor, president, and Ken Slater, Vice president retired from those offices after serving for 6 years. Jeff Lowe was elected president and Francis O'Reily was elected vice president. Jay Drew, secretary, and Glenn Jackson, treasurer were re-elected to those positions.
The board members-at-large are incumbent Kris Larsen, Ken Slater and Rick Hunter.
Jeff Lowe President
Francis O'reilly Vice President
Jay Drew Secretary
Glenn Jackson Treasurer
Kris Larsen Trustee
Ken Slater Trustee
Rick Hunter Trustee
WPTZ from Burlington was on site for interviews with convention goers. - Photo by Peter Pekurar
WPTZ from Burlington on site for interviews
Stellafane in the Media
[2018-09-23] It's always nice to see the Stellafane convention mentioned in the media, aside from the obvious astronomy magazines. This year, Stellafane was featured in at least two major mainstream publications; TIME Magazine, and National Geographic.
But wait, there's more! In addition to these articles, NBC Affiliate WPTZ from Burlington was on the prowl, looking to hear what makes telescope makers tick. You can view the video here.
Up-All-Night Starts Today
[2018-09-12] A Reminder that the Up-All-Night Starparty starts this afternoon, Friday the 12th at 3pm, and runs until the wee hours of Sunday Morning. Attendees are able to view the sun in the afternoons. For more information, contact the clubhouse at 802-885-3779.
That's a wrap!
[2018-07-23] The smell of crisp air, sounds of arrival and setups of tents in rain and in dark. The recognition of friendly voices in the night, and the smell of lobster and chicken dinners wafting in the air. The jockeyeing of eyepieces and the exclamation of joy upon finding elusive objects in the obsidian night. The early risers and their quest for treasure on Saturday mornings and the sounds of grit on blank at the telescope making demos.
What is Stellafane? It means something different for everyone. Some come from afar, some even from different continents and hemispheres. It is a piece of paradise, one many hold dear. It is a place that many will congregrate to from year to year, not only for the telescope making, but the sharing of stories with old friends, and the sense of deep history inhabiting the hills, to gaze and ponder like Russell Porter and the original founders did up on that breezy hill.
We want to thank everyone for making this a successful 83rd convention. We couldn't have done it without you!
With convention now over, that's not to say that the Springfield Telescope Makers are idle, however. We turn our minds now to the fall, and upcoming starparties that we are hosting. Information is below, with more details to follow:
Saint-Gaudens Star Party: Saturday, September
8th at 7:00pm, at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, NH. [Press Release for More Info]
Alan Ward with Alumizing Machine to be used at Stellafane
Alan Ward with Almuminizing Machine to be used at Stellafane.
Get your mirror coated at Stellafane!
[2018-06-26] The Stellafane Convention has always been proud of its rich history of telescope making. From its humble beginnings in the 1920's with Russell Porter, the gathering that it was had always encouraged and nurtured the craft. From the beginning, there was always the grinding of the mirror. Then with the building of telescopes came the display and the eventual competition that is still in effect to this day.
Stellafaners get the chance to win mirror making kits during the Saturday Evening raffles, and then are greatly encouraged to attend the Telescope Making Classes. We have telescope making demos on site, and we even have mirror testing on-site. But what if we told you that you could bring your finished mirror to Stellafane to have it coated?
That's right! This year, one of the things we're proud to be able to offer is the ability to coat mirrors on-site. Thanks to Alan Ward who will be bringing down one of his special machines, this process will be available during Convention. So if you have a mirror ready to be coated, you might want to bring it.
Now for the nitty gritty details: Mirrors up to 10-inches only, please. Up to 12 mirrors will be processed during convention, depending on the weather. Humidity is a factor as it can slow down the process, so allow approximately an hour for the entire process. The mirrors will be coated with bare aluminum which is fragile and not protected so bring a container for your mirror to ensure the delicate coated surface does not touch any foreign object.
For a schedule of operation, please check the convention schedule.
Captain Alan Bean, Apollo Astronaut, featured with Kim & Dennis Cassia.
Captain Alan Bean, Apollo Astronaut, featured with Kim & Dennis Cassia.
Godspeed, Captain Bean!
[2018-05-26] Apollo Astronaut Alan Bean has passed away at the age of 86. In 1969, as part of the crew of Apollo 12, he walked on the moon. In 1973, he would go on to command a crew on the Skylab. Once having retired, he had become a full-time painter.
In 2009, Stellafane was proud to welcome Captain Bean as the convention's Keynote speaker. As well, a dinner had been hosted in his honor at the Hartness House.
Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018
Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018
Remembering Stephen Hawking
[2018-03-17] The world lost a brilliant mind earlier this week. Born in 1942, Stephen Hawking had become a world reknown cosmologist, theoretical physicist and author. Even when saddled with ALS, he had never given up hope when doctors had told him he had only two years to live. He has defied all odds, living to the age of 76. He had even gone where no scientist had gone before, appearing as himself in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
STM Member Dr. Kris Larsen has written an article about Hawking, in which she states: "Hawking’s ability to motivate the general public to attempt to understand the mind-bending marvel that is our universe is arguably his most important contribution to science. For as his readers struggled to understand singularities and boundary conditions, event horizons and virtual particles, even at this so-called nontechnical level, they were mirroring the very same process that scientists
go through every single day as they strive to understand reality. In this way, Hawking made science “real” even while trying to describe the properties of so-called imaginary time."
[2018-02-24] Two Keynote speakers at the 2018 Stellafane convention? No, your eyes do not deceive you. This year, the Springfield Telescope Makers are pleased to announced
not one, but two guest speakers.
They are: Samuel D. Hale and Todd Mason.
A bit about the two:
Samuel D. Hale is the grandson of George Ellery Hale, whose picture hangs prominently in the clubhouse, and who was the friend and employer of the esteemed Russell Porter. Sam currently serves as Chief Executive Officer
of Mount Wilson Institute and was keynote speaker at the Antique Telescope Society at Mt Wilson in 2017.
Todd Mason is an award-winning filmmaker, who with his late wife Robin, produced the highly-regarded documentary "Journey to Palomar". He is now responsible for remarkable computer-generated visualizations of the world's largest telescopes currently under construction.
In that role, his work is an analogue to Porter and his famous drawings of the Hale 200-inch. Todd holds Porter in awe, although Todd himself is a profoundly multi-talented person, as RWP was.
Together, they will be tag-teaming to bring us an amazing keynote worth waiting for!
Samuel D. Hale, Grandson of George Ellery Hale.
Samuel D. Hale, Grandson of George Ellery Hale.
Todd Mason, award-winning filmmaker, "Journey to Palomar"
Todd Mason, award-winning filmmaker, "Journey to Palomar".
Journal of the Antique Telescope Society, Issue #29 - Fall 2007
Journal of the Antique Telescope Society
The Porter Garden Telescope
[2018-01-03] What
does the Porter Garden Telescope, a small scope, have in
common with the 200" at Mt Palomar? The answer is in the
split-ring mount design. First developed for the small
backyard scope, it would later be adopted
for what was then to be the largest telescope in the world.
In an article written by Bert Willard for the Journal of the Antique Telescope Society, first published in 2007, it contains a very detailed account of the Garden Telescope and the correspondence that led to the design of the iconic 200-Inch Telescope, along with many photographs.
[2017-12-14] New Convention videos, for both the 2017 and 2016 convention have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure. You can find them by clicking here (2017) and here (2016).
And if you haven't already, feel free to browse the 2017 Convention photo gallery which has now been uploaded in full, and relive those cherished memories.
2017 Board Elections
[2017-11-20]November marks the time of the annual business meeting, and with that comes change, and election results. Last year, the board remained the same, save for the one position of Secretary currently being filled by Jay Drew.
This year, we have three position changes. Glenn Jackson becomes Treasurer, taking over from Al Monkowski. Kris Larsen and Francis O'Reilly have been elected as board members at large, respectively replacing Dave Prowten and Jeff Lowe. Congratulations!
We'd like to thank Al Monkowski, Dave Prowten and Jeff Low for their service.
