ALCON 2011 Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah June 29 - July 2, 2011

Submitted by Lowell Lyon on December 6, 2011 - 7:59pm

The 64th annual national convention of the Astronomical League was held “under the stars” at Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah.  Co-Chair Terry Mann was a driving force behind wanting ALCON at a very dark sky site and also at a National Park.  This ALCON was quite different from previous ALCONs as it was primarily focused on actual observing and enhancing one’s own personal viewing experiences.

 

Asked if they wanted to get involved with ALCON 2011 at Bryce Canyon, the Salt Lake Astronomical Society enthusiastically said yes!  Having orchestrated ALCON 2002 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake club felt like their experience would be beneficial in the effort to work with the League to plan another successful convention.

 

Thanks to all who attended ALCon 2011!!

Submitted by Terry Mann on July 12, 2011 - 9:43am

 

Faulkes South 2-meter telescope remote imaging session

Submitted by Lowell Lyon on June 6, 2011 - 9:32am

ALCON 2011 attendees will have the opportunity to help select from a list of DSO’s an object to image using the Faulkes South 2-meter telescope located in Australia. This telescope is part of the Las Cumbres Telescope system that is devoted to education and research. We will be imaging one object over the two hour period, operating the telescope remotely via the internet. We will capture multiple images of the object using a variety of filters including RGB, H-alpha and OIII. Attendees will have the opportunity to access these files anytime after the imaging session and practice their own processing skills on the data collected.

Those interested should meet at 8:00 am to determine imaging target, exposure times for filters times , etc.  Imaging session on the Faulkes telescope will begin at 9:00 am.

Dates: 
Jun 30 2011 - 8:00am - 11:00am

Swap Meet

Submitted by Lowell Lyon on May 27, 2011 - 9:31pm

The ALCON Swap Meet will be held Saturday morning at 10:00am in the lecture room on the 2nd floor at Ruby’s Inn above the vendor area. All those that want to participate in the swap meet are invited to contact  Michael Carnes .

Dates: 
Jul 2 2011 - 10:00am

Speaker Schedule for Wednesday June 29

Submitted by Lowell Lyon on May 25, 2011 - 11:11am

9:45am     John Stetson – Solar Observing Techniques (Solar scope outside Ruby’s Inn afterward)

11:00am   Kevin Poe, Bryce Canyon National Park’s “Dark Ranger” – “Dark Wars”

1:30pm     Joe Lopinot, River Bend Astronomy Club – "Astronomical Filters:  Types, Uses and Advantages"

2:45pm     David Bernson, Salt Lake Astronomical Society –  "Ophiuchus and the Argonauts - Celestial Highlights of the Summer Sky"

4:00pm     Mike Murray, Clark Planetarium, Salt Lake City – "More Than Meets The Eye: Improve Your Observing Techniques"

Click the links above to view the author's biography and summary or outline of their talk.

Speaker Schedule for Thursday June 30

Submitted by Lowell Lyon on May 25, 2011 - 11:11am

11:00 am Bob Parks, Executive Director, International Dark Sky Association, "Making Progress/Dark Sky Update"

1:30 pm John Dobson,  "Questions for John Dobson"

2:45 pm Tyler Nordgren, University of Redlands Dept. of Physics, "Stars Above, Earth Below, A Guide to Astronomy in National Parks"

4:00 pm Robert Arn, AstroArn Photography,  "Inexpensive Astrophotography for the Beginner"

Click the links above to view the author's biography and summary or outline of their talk.

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