AstroAssembly 2017
Highlighting Interesting Amateur Astronomy Projects
Friday Evening Informal Talks and Stargazing
At Seagrave Memorial Observatory
Talks begin at 7 PM. Contact Kathy Siok (kathys5@cox.net) if you wish to give an informal talk.
Saturday Program
All day at Seagrave Memorial Observatory
A full day of Astronomy, the Starlight Grille for Lunch, raffles, Astrophotography Contest, and time with friends.
Special Notes: Wear your eclipse T-shirts for a group picture sometime during the day! Astrophoto contest will include special category for eclipse photos
Eclipse Stories
Individuals who traveled to the 2017 Solar Eclipse are invited to share a story about their experience.
Cubes In Space
Julie Sage
"Cubes in Space" provides student with an opportunity to design experiments to be launched into space on a NASA rocket or balloon. This is an international STEAM initiative to help kids learn about space while getting involved in innovative problem solving. Julie and members of her group submitted 6 experimental proposals to the program and all of them were accepted ! She will share her club's experiences with this activity.
Julie is an 8th grader at Pennichuck Middle School in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Lunch at the Skyscrapers Grill
Amateur Telescope Making in South Africa
Francis O'Reilly
Francis will share his experiences at ScopeX, an annual event sponsored by Astronomical Society of South Africa, whic he has attend several times.
Installation of APASS at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Alan Sliski
Funded by a grant to AAVSO, an all-sky photometric survey is being completed APASS, a system of 2 astrograph telescopes. Al was commissioned to establish this telescope at CTIO to facilitate the survey of the Southern sky.
Alan Sliski has been interested in mechanics and electronics from a young age. He built his first tube amplifier in 6th grade. Astronomy has always been a passion as well, traveling to Prince Edward Island in 1972 and Kenya in 1973 to photograph solar eclipses. Alan received a BS in Physics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1978. He has 28 patents issued, and for the last 20 years has designed medical equipment for treating cancer with radiation. More recently, he has been getting more involved with astronomy at home, with 2 sons interested in astronomy. He has a reasonable collection of modern telescopes from 80mm to a C14. He is also a member of the Antique Telescope Society and also hosts informal meetings of local antique telescope collectors. He has several classic telescopes, in whole or in parts. The most recent project involves the restoration of a 9.5 inch Warner and Swasey mount built in 1916. He maintains a complete machine shop and lab at his home for projects such as this.
Imaging and Monitoring Variable Stars using CCD Imaging
Stella Kafka
Stella will introduce us to the latest method of making variable star estimates.
Saturday Evening Program
At North Scituate Senior Center, 1315 Chopmist Hill Road (a short distance from Seagrave Observatory)
Directions to 1315 Chopmist Hill Road
Evening Banquet will feature an Italian Theme (Tickets by advance purchase only), Raffle and Astrophoto prizes
Reception, Antipasto bar
Evening Banquet: Italian-style dinner (Pre-reservations required)
Words of Welcome, Awards, Raffle Drawing
The Discovery and Monitoring of the Disintegrating Planetoid WD 1157
Mario Motta
Mario will describe the research he completed in conjunction with the Kepler team to monitor a white dwarf star that is slowly destroying the planetoid that closely orbits around it.