Astronomy magazine is proud to be sponsoring three big events in the astronomy world in the coming months — I’ll tell you about each of them soon.

First, let me mention a major astronomical meeting — ALCon 2012, the annual convention of the Astronomical League. This meeting will take place July 4–7 in Chicago, Illinois, and will feature speakers including Dave Crawford of the International Dark Sky Association, stellar astroimager Don Parker, Astronomers Without Borders President Mike Simmons, astroimager Wally Pacholka, Kepler scientist Jason Steffen, Field Museum Meteorite Curator Phillippe Heck, and me. For more on this meeting, see http://alcon2012.astroleague.org/.

For any of you who haven’t been to a league meeting, I heartily suggest you go. It‘s a great mixture of talks, products showcased by manufacturers, great field trips, observing, and much socializing with fellow sky enthusiasts.

This summer’s Chicago meeting promises to be a big one, and I think it’s fair to say it will be one of the greatest ALCon meetings yet!

Stay tuned for more information as we draw a bit closer.