Friday, the second day of the Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEIAC 2010), proved to be a worthy follow-up to yesterday’s strong start. The fifth annual conference is taking place at the Holiday Inn in Suffern, New York, where speakers from around the country have come to showcase their latest creations and techniques.
The day began with a bang. Alan Erickson, a senior computer scientist with Adobe Systems, talked about his company’s Photoshop program, the tool most astroimagers choose to process their digital images. Alan began imaging the sky with a DSLR in 2004, so he brought insights into the program’s capabilities as both a designer and as a user. He gave everyone good tips on how to get the most out of their photos with Photoshop.
For me, NEIAC 2010 wound up with a late-afternoon talk by Jerry Lodriguss. If you’ve been reading Astronomy for a long time, you’ll recognize Jerry’s name. He’s been shooting the sky for more than 3 decades now, and the results just keep getting better. His talk focused on how to use a DSLR to capture the night sky. Jerry clearly explained how easy it is to get started in astroimaging, and then expanded to cover more sophisticated techniques. The talk even got me thinking that I could take a decent shot of the night sky.
In the evening, I got an early peek at Orion Telescopes new big Dobs. How big, you ask? The mammoth scopes come in three sizes: 36-, 40-, and 50-inch models. Under a dark sky, these telescopes should deliver incredible views. I can’t wait to actually look through one.
Today marked the end of NEIAC 2010, but no tears were shed. Everyone is looking forward to the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), which begins Saturday. Several astronomy-themed talks and more than 100 vendors promise to make NEAF an event to remember. Stay tuned for more updates!
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