astrocon2017.astroleague.org

Name	Title of Presentation	Summary
John Bally, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder	Recent Advances in Astronomy: A Visual Tour	The recent completion of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the upgrade to the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, development o	John Bally, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Un
Alan M. MacRobert – Sky & Telescope Magazine	Fine Art of Observing Workshop, Secrets of Deep Sky Observing	We’ve figured out all sorts of ways to get the faintest and the mostest out of CCD chips, DSLRs, and videocams. But what about your eye?
Bill Possel, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado	Operating the Kepler Mission with University Students	The Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, has been one of NASA’s most scientifically successful missions. From the first command to the spacecraft,	Bill Possel is the Director of Mission Operations and Data Systems at the Laboratory for Atmospheric
Bob Gent	Save Our Night Skies Update	Bob Gent will give an update on the campaign to save our night skies and reduce light pollution. He will provide real-world examples where communities have passed outdoor lighting ordinances, and successfully put the brakes on the growth of light pollution. He will also discuss the recent report by the American Medical Association on the need to restrict LED streetlights. Bob recently served on a local city's outdoor lighting code task force, and he will share the techniques used to update an outdated lighting code	Lt Col Bob Gent is a retired USAF Space Systems Officer.
Carolyn Collins Petersen, CEO of Loch Ness Productions	Pro-Am Collaboration Workshop	Carolyn will be talking about the Pro-Am experiences that she has had including comet and other observations.	Carolyn Collins Petersen is an award-winning science writer and astronomer.
Chris Peterson	Chasing Meteors	The science of meteoritics has seen a renaissance in recent years, as new instrumentation and computational techniques have advanced our understand	Chris Peterson started developing computerized, guided mounts in the late 1970s.
David Bernson	Across the water to the Princess in Chains….Celestial Highlights of the Autumn Sky	Constellations, Mythology, Star Names and a few select deep sky objects of unusual interest and surpassing beauty will be discussed.	Dave Bernson is a dedicated, lifelong, sky explorer and a 5-term president of the Salt Lake Astronom
David Tosteson	Fine Art of Observing Workshop	David’s passion is to seek out things no one has seen, and new types of objects fresh from research and professional literature using large reflect	Dave is an amateur with over 30 years of experience viewing deep-sky objects.
Derik DeVecchio	Quantitatively assessing the performance of computerized mounts. Case study: CGX-L	Presentation at Telescope Technology Workshops	Derik DeVecchio is a firmware engineer at Celestron for 9 years.
Derryl Barr	Saros Series 145 and the American Eclipse of 2017	Eclipse chasers have long known that whatever eclipse they have just observed, another will again occur with little variation 18 years and 11.32 da	Derryl Barr has been involved in astronomy for most of his whole life, and has recently witnessed f
Dolores H. Hill, Sr. Research Specialist Lunar & Planetary Laboratory	Explore New Frontiers with the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission to Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu	Dolores Hill will discuss highlights of the exciting NASA mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu and invite amateur astronomers to join the mission’s	Dolores Hill is a meteoriticist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona,
Dr. Bob Stencel, University of Denver Observatories	Observatories near Longitude 105 West - Past, Present & Future	The historically high and dry climate of the Rocky Mountain region has given rise to numerous observatories. These include the classic 1894 large	Robert "Dr Bob" Stencel is the William Herschel Womble Professor of Astronomy at Denver U
Dr. Don Bruns	Measuring Starlight Deflection during the 2017 Eclipse: Repeating the Experiment that made Einstein Famous	In 1919, astronomers performed an experiment during a solar eclipse, attempting to measure the deflection of stars near the sun, in order to verify	Dr Bruns has been an amateur astronomer since his first department store refractor showed the rings
Dr. Fran Bagenal	“Juno: Revealing Jupiter’s Interior” – NASA's Juno Mission to Jupiter: What’s Inside the Giant Planet?	Juno’s principal goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Underneath its dense cloud cover, Jupiter safeguards secrets to the fundamental processes and conditions that governed our solar system during its formation. As our primary example of a giant planet, Jupiter can also provide critical knowledge for understanding the planetary systems being discovered around other stars.	Dr Fran Bagenal is professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado,
Dr. Kate Russo	Researching the total solar eclipse experience – putting words to the ineffable	Dr Kate Russo has been engaging in researching the eclipse experience and eclipse planning for several years, starting with her surveys and interviews with eclipse chasers for her first book Total Addiction: The Life of an Eclipse Chaser. She has since surveyed and interviewed hundreds of people about their eclipse experiences. She undertook detailed research before and after the 2012 total eclipse in her home region of Far North Queensland. More recently, she undertook a post-eclipse research workshop at the Eclipse Festival in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Along with trying to put words to the indescribable experience of totality, her research also has real world applications – she undertook detailed post-eclipse interviews with eclipse coordinators in 2012 and 2015 to produce her White Paper on Community Eclipse Planning, which is being used by many communities along the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse.	Dr Kate Russo is an Australian author, psychologist and eclipse chaser who has lived in Belfast for
Dr. Stacey Palen	Solar System Life Cycle	Outline of the presentation: 1) Formation of the Sun and Solar System a) Giant molecular clouds	Dr Stacy Palen grew up in New Jersey, and earned a bachelor's of physics from Rutgers Universit
Dr. Stephanie J. Slater	Eclipses and Science Fiction	Across a wide variety of science fiction movies and books, eclipses capture the audiences’ attention. Dr.	Dr Stephanie J Slater is the Director of the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Res
Dr. Tim Slater	What’s So Hard About Understanding Eclipses?	Of all the wonders of the sky, perhaps the most awesome is that unexpected appearance of an eclipse.	Dr Tim Slater is a Professor at the University of Wyoming where he holds the Wyoming Excellence in H
Dr. Wladimir Lyra, California State University at Northridge, Department of Physics and Astronomy	Europa Clipper Mission	Where is the best place to find living life beyond Earth?	Wladimir Lyra is an assistant professor at California State University at Northridge, Department of
Fred Espenak	Photograph Basics for the 2017 Total Eclipse	Abstract:	Fred Espenak is a scientist emeritus at Goddard Space Flight Center and is NASA's expert on ecl
Fred Espenak	ASTROCON 2017 Keynote Lecture: Experiencing Totality	The total eclipse of 2017 is the first one visible from the contiguous United States in 38 years. It offers millions of Americans the opportunity to bask in the light of the solar corona for two minutes. The overwhelming majority of 2017 eclipse observers are "totality virgins", having never experienced a total eclipse before. Just what is it like to stand in the Moon's shadow and watch daylight diminish to an eerie twilight? And what does the corona really look like? Has the total eclipse been completely over-hyped by the media or is it something even more? There are few events in life that leave a permanent, indelible impression. A total eclipse of the Sun is just such an event. The simple act of recollection can quicken the pulse as vivid memories flood one’s mind. It all begins with such little fanfare — a tiny notch along one edge of the Sun. An hour passes as the Moon slowly creeps across the Sun’s disk. In the final minutes, daylight grows feeble. A dark curtain rises in the west as the Moon’s shadow races towards you at speeds exceeding a thousand miles per hour. Suddenly, the darkness sweeps over you as the Sun’s light flickers out and totality begins. I will share some eclipse accounts of my own as well as those of others, illustrated with images and video captured around the world with the hope of preparing you for your own experience with totality on August 21.	Fred Espenak is a scientist emeritus at Goddard Space Flight Center and is NASA's expert on ecl
Graeme Jenkinson	REAL SCIENCE FOR THE TIME POOR AMATEUR - The study of Double Stars from the Southern Hemisphere	Like many of us I am continually in awe of the skills of the modern day amateur astrophotographer with the huge range of quality CCD astro cameras	Graeme Jenkinson is an amateur astronomer who works and lives with his wife in Oakey, a small countr
J. McKim Malville	J. McKim Malville	The talk will summarize the archaeoastronomy of three sites of the ancient world: Nabta Playa in southern Egypt, the earliest known example of mega	During the International Geophysical Year Dr Malville wintered over at Ellsworth Station in the Anta
Jim Fox	Pro-Am Workshop Abstract	Jim will describe some of his experiences working with professional astronomers on various projects. He will then suggest ways that an interested amateur can find ways to contribute directly to advancing astronomical science.	When asked how he got into astronomy, “I always wanted to be an astronomer, once I got through the c
Martin Ratcliffe	The 1898 and 1995 Indian eclipses: A contrasting view	There’s a famous journey involving a long sea voyage to India by the British Astronomical Association in 1898.	Martin is currently Director of Professional Development for Sky-Skkan, a digital planetarium compan
Mike Hotka	Visual Astronomy 101	Talk outline Introduction Who am I? Setting Intentions and Goals	Mike Hotka has been an amateur astronomer for almost 50 years.
Mike Murray	The Fine Art of Observing	Whether you're observing the night sky with binoculars, telescopes, or even the naked eye, there is lot of detail waiting to be seen if you employ the right techniques. Photographs are time exposures that can bring out color and certain features, but there are many details that the dynamic range of the human eye can detect that photos do not show! Seeing the fine points in an object is one of the most exciting aspects of observing, and this talk will review many "tricks of the trade." We will cover topics such as dark adaptation, averted vision, good optics, seeing conditions, optimizing the body, appropriate cover, and more.	Mike Murray is the Astronomer and Planetarium Manager for the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City,
Patricia Reiff, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice	MMS mission delivers promised measurements of ‘magnetic reconnection	“Space weather is driven by the interactions between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, and one of the most important of these interactions	Professor Patricia H Reiff is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and was the fou
Robert Arn	Nightscape Photography: The Juxtoposition of Earth and Sky	Explore the world at night through your DSLR camera. Juxtapose wide open meadow, towering mountains, and vast deserts under the Milky Way.	Robert Arn has spent more than 10 years in the field of astrophotography.
Shane L. Larson, Research Associate Professor, Northwestern University/Adler Planetarium	The Gravitational Universe	Of all the known forces of Nature, gravity plays a singularly important role in the Cosmos --- it is the only force that matters on the mind-boggli	Shane Larson is a research associate professor of physics at Northwestern University, where he is a
Terry Mann	Astrophotography/Digital Imaging Workshop	For some, this will be the first time you are close to truly dark skies.	Terry Mann wants to live in a world where skies are clear, nights are long, and the stars look like

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