Well-known to Astronomy readers, Adam Block of the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter (right, with Keith Schlottmann) paraded viewers through many of his sensational images in “The Power of Pictures.” David J. Eicher photo
Saturday, June 26, marked the second full day of the Astronomical League’s annual convention, called the ALCon Expo. Held in Tucson, Arizona, the meeting was sponsored by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and also incorporated the annual meeting of the International Dark-Sky Association. Attendance was about 300, vendors reported good interest and activity, and many talks highlighted the day.
The presentations began with a bang in the morning when Adam Block, frequent Astronomy contributor, described his sensational astroimaging techniques. Block runs the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter’s imaging programs, which amateur astronomers can visit and shoot their own stunning sky photos. Block is, of course, a highly prolific astroimager, and his results are amazing. He displayed many great photos of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies, as well as provided a tutorial on image processing for the audience as he went along.
Before lunch, one of the highlight presentations of the meeting took place. As Astronomy noted earlier this year, Celestron, one of the world’s leading telescope manufacturers, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010. Joe Lupica, Celestron’s CEO, described the company’s humble beginnings when WWII veteran and amateur astronomer Tom Johnson, owner of Valor Electronics, decided to begin making telescopes. Johnson’s revolutionary production of Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes in the late 1950s changed the face of amateur astronomy.
With humor and an eye for detail, Lupica described the company’s history, its ups and downs, adventures with certain market changes, flurries of activities caused by comets, and Celestron's evolution into its current state. It was a remarkable story, capped off by a film featuring Johnson, Lupica, and longtime Celestron executive Alan Hale describing stories of the company’s success.
Other notable afternoon events included Richard Schmude’s recapping of observational highlights on Jupiter for the past 3 years, Connie Walker’s spirited description of dark-sky educational activities, and a splendid banquet featuring Roger Angel of the University of Arizona, famous for creating mirrors for many of the world’s largest telescopes by "spin casting." His address focused on astronomy and solar energy, capping off a spectacular and very successful ALCon meeting. Stay tuned for more from the road.
See all of my pictures from ALCon 2010 at our Online Reader Gallery.
Related blogs:
On the Road: ALCON Expo, Day 2
On the Road: ALCON Expo, Day 1
On the Road: ALCON preview