AstroFest2015-BannerBase

The Kopernik Astronomical Society Presents Kopernik AstroFest 2024

Join the KAS In Our 42nd Anniversary of Celebrating the Night Sky
October 11th  – October 12th, 2024

Kopernik Observatory & Science Center – 698 Underwood Road, Vestal, NY
Join Us for AstroFest!
Special Guest Speakers
 

Lou Mayo
The Sun and Space Weather
Titan, Earth’s Real Sister Planet

Tim Roske
Wide Field Astrophotography

Dave Daniels
Remote Telescope Operation

Dr. Keith Werkman
The ZWO Seestar S50
Astronomy Packed Three Day Event Featuring:
  • Astronomy workshops
  • Daily solar observing
  • Getting Started discussions for beginners
  • Equipment Discussions
  • Daily Night Sky Observing
  • Kopernik Observatory Tours
  • Guest Speakers and Presentations
  • HAM Radio Demonstration & Discussion
  • Raffles, Raffles and more Raffles
  • …and much…much…more
 Special Events:
  • Kopernik AstroFest Solar Star Party (KASSP)
  • Amateur Astronomy Club Roundtable Formal Discussion
  • Meteorite Lobby Discussion/Show and Tell by Patrick Manley
  • …stay tuned for more activities as planning progresses…
Schedule of Events
10/6/24 – NOTE: This is preliminary schedule, and planning is still underway .  Scheduled Activities may change without notice. As soon as changes are made, every effort will be made to update this listing. Please check back often for your planning purposes

Friday Schedule:

Time

Activity
2:00 PM Facility open to campers for setup, bathrooms open
Viewing in yard, both solar and astronomical
2:00 – 6:00 PM Solar Viewing hosted by Ana Castillio, in the Yard (Spectroscope, H-Alpha and white light), in the Domes (Herschel Wedge on 6” AstroPhysics Refractor) and with the Heliostat Refractor, dedicated to the memory of the “Legendary Barlow Bob” Godfrey in 2014, in the Physics Lab.
6:00 PM Doors open to public, facility tours, and observing
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, snacks available in lobby
6:30 – 6:55 PM Welcome to AstroFest 2024 – Drew Deskur, Executive Director Kopernik Observatory & Science Center. George’s Best Images, a Video Slide Show – most captured right here at Kopernik Observatory! – George Normandin, KAS President
7:00 – 7:55 PM The ZWO Seastar S50 – Keith Werkman, it’s been a year of learning how to get the most out of the ZWO Seestar S50. See what has been accomplished and learn how to make your own astrophotography images. Demo to follow later tonight.
8:00 PM Keynote Address – Lou Mayo – The Sun and Space Weather – Lou is the Chief Scientist for Gama-1 Technologies and professor of Astronomy at Marymount University. Lou is also president of ARIES Scientific, a non-profit dedicated to Astronomy outreach, and program Manager for the NASA SolarSTEAM heliophysics outreach program.
After The Program Night Sky Viewing – in the Domes and in the Yard, Demo of our new ZWO SeeStar S50 telescope, Night Sky Laser Tours, “Learner’s Land” – bring your scope and set it up with help from the KAS and Kopernik staff, hot beverages, and snacks available, bathrooms and domes open all night, Lobby closes at Midnight.
Midnight Lobby Closes (Restrooms remain open all night)

Saturday Schedule:

Time

Activity
7:30 to 10 AM Coffee, tea, hot Chocolate, juice, donuts available in Lobby
9 AM- all day Vendors in Physics Lab, Dark Sky Exhibit   and Facility Tours
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Solar Star Party hosted by Ana Castillio, in the Yard (Spectroscope, H-Alpha and white light), in the Domes (Herschel Wedge on 6” Astro Physics Refractor) and in the Physics Lab (Heliostat Refractor, dedicated to the memory of the “Legendary Barlow Bob” Godfrey in 2014). Venus in the C-14 Edge HD. (Clear only)
11:00 AM – 11:55 AM Show and Tell Meteorites – Patrick Manley
11:00 – 6:00 PM AM Swap Meet – buy and sell your treasurers (in Earth Science Lab), KOSC used equipment for sale to raise funds for our new equipment.
12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch – pre-order lunch, someone will pick it up and deliver it to you at Kopernik
1:00 – 2:00 PM Astronomy Clubs Roundtable Discussions – Dave Daniels, MC – Sidewalk Astronomy, CSSP
2:00 – 2:55 PM TBA and/or Cornell University – TBD
3:00– 3:55 PM Remote Telescope Operation – Dave Daniels, KAS. Dave will demonstrate remote networking and connecting to a remote telescope. He will connect his scope at home via the Internet and control it from Kopernik. The remote imaging rig is controlled by a miniPC running Win-11 Pro. The overall rig consists of a ZWO AM5 mount, an ES 102ED refractor, a ZWO electronic focuser, a ZWO filter wheel, a guider, and a ZWO camera (OSC). His brief presentation will be followed up by Q & A.
4:00 – 4:55 PM Imaging setup – Patrick Manley, KAS. Patrick will complement what Dave did and show us his imaging setup. He will explain the required components and also give suggestions on alternative approaches. This will be a demo with Q & A.
5:00 – 6:30 PM Dinner Break and Musical Entertainment by Robert Siegers
6:15 Raffle Prizes
7:00 – 7:55 PM Wide Field Astrophotography, Tim Roske –Tim is a lifelong photographer and photojournalist. His talk is geared to the general public using the equipment that they have and software such as Sequator and other photo editing programs. Cameras, tripods, simple trackers, even cell phones, will be discussed..
8:00 – 8:10 PM Welcome to AstroFest 2024 – John Spitzer, President of the Kopernik Society
8:15 PM Keynote Address – Lou Mayo – Titan, Earth’s Real Sister Planet – Lou is the Chief Scientist for Gama-1 Technologies and professor of Astronomy at Marymount University. Lou is also president of ARIES Scientific, a non-profit dedicated to Astronomy outreach, and program Manager for the NASA SolarSTEAM heliophysics outreach program.
After the Program Night Sky Viewing – in the Domes and in the Yard, Imaging Demo of FLI Camera on 20” OGS RC, Night Sky Laser Tours, hot beverages and snacks available, bathrooms and domes open all night.
Sci-Fi movie in Space Science, Lobby closes Midnight.
Midnight Lobby Closes (Restrooms remain open all night)
AstroFest Donors/Sponsors
Our AstroFest Donors (Past and Present) Are Amazing – Please Support them!
Presented by
Event Details
Hours: Friday, October 11, 2024 – 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Observing all night if clear.  Also the facility will be open from 2:00 PM to receive campers and/or people interested in setting up their observing gear.
Saturday, October 12, 2024 – 9:30AM to 9:00PM, Observing all night if clear
Entrance Prices: $6.00/day registration for adults. Under 16 free with parent. Groups of 7 or more, please contact us for group pricing. 
Extras: Fantastic raffle prizes, Swap meet, coordinated group take out meals from local restaurants, and snack foods will be sold.
Camping Information $10 a night additional fee for onsite camping.
Kopernik Observatory Equipment

6″ AstroPhysics Super Planetary F/12 Refractor Losmandy G11 Mount

 20″ Optical Guidance Systems Ritchey-Chretien F/8 14″ Celestron C14 F/11 SCT Celestron CGE Mount
About Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, the KAS, and AstroFest
We are hoping you would consider being a part of our event. At this time talks are targeted for a more advanced group of amateur astronomers from Kopernik, and other astronomy clubs, as well as college professors, graduate and undergraduate students from area Colleges and Universities; as well as interested members of the public. Our AstroFest celebration will begin at 6 PM on Friday, October 11th, and concludes Saturday, October 12th (of course observing overnight if skies are clear). You can decide how much you would like to participate from one day or both. Camping will be available at the observatory or you can find lodging in Vestal hotels.
We are hoping for clear skies to observe after the talks Friday and Saturday, and sunny skies for solar observing on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  This will be our 6th annual KAS Solar Star Party that was founded by the late and great Barlow Bob (RIP).
At this event, we will support a swap meet if people are interested, and you are welcome to sell your astronomical items or trade with others that participate. We will provide a free spot under our Gazebo or dining canopy to do so (first come, first served). This year we will be featuring the sale of various telescopes and equipment no longer needed by the observatory – most of it donated in years past.
One of the purposes of this year’s event is to get others to visit us and see the jewel we have here in Vestal. Not-for-profit Kopernik Observatory is regionally known as a “Space Education Center”. We also claim to be the best sited, best equipped observatory in the Northeast US which is open to the public. We have three domes, one with a 6” f/12 Astro Physics Planetary Special (the second best of the batch of 25 produced) on a G-11 mount/clock drive and NGC-Max; one with a Celesteron 14” with a CGE computer drive and our flagship, a 20” Ritchey-Chretien with an OGS drive. On occasions we talk with astronauts in space on the ISS, and in the past, on Mir and the Space Shuttle via amateur radio station.
Directions to Kopernik Observatory, 698 Underwood Road, Vestal NY: From the E or W – take Route 17 (Southern Tier Expressway – future I-86). Get off at the Vestal Exit 67 S (26 S) and proceed up the hill about 5.5 miles. Just past Vestal Center (alleged to be a 40 mph “speed trap”), turn right at the sign “Observatory 2 Miles” onto Glenwood Road. If you miss the turn, you will hit the Pennsylvania state line in about a mile – just turn around and go back a mile. Take Glenwood road a block to the first left hand turn (about .2 mile). This is Underwood Road. Drive up the hill 1.8 miles. Kopernik Observatory is on the left. From the N or S – take I-81 to Route 17 (Southern Tier Expressway – future I-86). Then follow directions from E or W.

Comments are closed.