We’re just a week away from the Northeast Astro-Imaging Conference (NEAIC), which occurs April 26–27 in Suffern, New York (at the Crowne Plaza Conference Center). A two-day event held prior to the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), the world’s biggest telescope show and expo, NEAIC will bring together a couple hundred dedicated astroimagers for a high-level meeting of the minds. Astronomy magazine is proud to be a sponsor of this event, as well as of NEAF.
The schedule now includes the following first-day activities:
Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Tony Hallas describing photo processing; Stephen Ramsden on solar imaging; Ron Diiulio on introductory astroimaging; Tim Puckett on Apogee Instruments; Jason Cottle on Astrotroniks Mount Service; Neil Fleming on a subject TBD; a presentation by Celestron; and Robert Reeves on high-resolution lunar imaging. Day 2 will feature talks by Chris Go on high-res planetary imaging; Doug George on Maxim DL; Jerry Lodriguss on a subject TBD; Fabian Neyer on mosaic image processing; and Douglas Arion on calibrating images.
I urge you to attend this great conference if you have any interest in astronomical imaging — presentations will cover beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Registration for the event includes all NEAIC activities, a continental breakfast, lunch, and a two-day pass for NEAF.
For more, see
NEAIC’s website.
I’ve also previously mentioned NEAF, which will take place at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, April 28–29.
NEAF will feature more than 140 on-site vendors showing everything there is to see in the world of telescopes, binoculars, CCD cameras, and accessories. It will be an amateur astronomer’s dream. The event also will include solar observing, many activities for kids, STARLAB planetarium shows, events for beginners, and astronomy workshops.
The Saturday talks will begin with Robert Naeye, editor in chief of
Sky & Telescope, who will outline the transit of Venus coming this June. Stephen Ramsden from the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project will speak about solar observing and will introduce Steele Hill from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Mark Clampin, an astronomer working on the James Webb Space Telescope, will follow. We will then hear from Joseph Liske from the European Southern Observatory on the European Extremely Large Telescope project, followed by a screening of the film
Saving Hubble, presented by its director, David Gaynes.
On Sunday morning, the Astronomy Foundation will hold its annual meeting. This nonprofit telescope industry association will be focusing on astronomy outreach events and other activities over the coming years.
Sunday morning will also offer a special workshop on spectroscopy by Tom Fields. The afternoon will begin with a talk on challenges astronomy clubs face by Marni Berendsen of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. This will be followed by a talk on meteorites from Steve Arnold and Geoff Notkin, the Science Channel’s Meteorite Men. I will close out the afternoon with a presentation on the latest advances in astronomy, planetary science, and cosmology. Following this, door prizes and remarks will end NEAF until 2013. For more information, see NEAF’s website.
I heartily encourage you to go to both events — there’s nothing else quite like them in the world.