I spent Day 2 at the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) mostly talking. I talked to manufacturers about new products, I talked to amateur astronomers about our magazine, I chatted with astroimagers about their photography, and I interacted with some of the event's keynote speakers.
Everyone thought Day 1 of PATS was a success. About 800 paid admission tickets sold, and people milled about through the whole day. Jen Winter, president of DayStar Filters, said that, beyond the sales the company made, the networking she experienced at PATS would prove valuable to future sales.
David Nagler, president of Tele Vue Optics, said he was glad the event was 2 days long, because it validated the long trip from New York. "Still," he said, "the first day alone would have made the trip worthwhile."
I had great conversations with astroimagers Tony Hallas, Bob Fera, and Ken Crawford. All expressed their appreciation for the high-quality reproductions of their work within Astronomy magazine.
I had a chance to catch up with noted comet-hunter David Levy. And I chatted with, and attended a talk by, Robert Naeye, the brand-new editor of Sky&Telescope magazine. Bob worked at Astronomy for 5 years, but that was before I arrived. His talk, "Behind the Scenes at Sky & Telescope," was quite informative.
All in all, this has been a great trip. Congratulations to the organizers of PATS. Next year, the convention will occur in Pasadena's newly improved convention center, a much larger venue, so I expect this year's 70 dealers to blossom to well over 100. And who knows how many people will attend. I, for one, am ready to return.
Editor's note: We've loaded additional pictures from Michael's trip to an album that you can access:
Astronomy on the road: Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show 2008.