Mac Astronomer Volunteer-Organizer Needed for MacWorld SF, 2007

Dr. Jeff Terry of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and
Argonne National Laboratory is a Mac advocate; author of the Mac
application *iCCD* , which is used to control Starlight Express
astronomical CCD cameras and process FITS images; and organizer of the
first Macintosh Astronomy Workshop, which was held at IIT in Chicago in
September, 2005. MAW I was sponsored by IIT and the Chicago
Astronomical Society, and was a not-for-profit venture. Dr. Terry has
posted the following in the Mac forum at Astromart.com and in the Yahoo
MacAstronomer group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macastronomer:

Begin quote:
"It is coming up on the time for deciding whether or not there will be
a MacAstro Workshop II in January 2007 in conjunction with MacWorld.

"We have some funds already in the budget, not too much but a bit that
can be used for advertising. What is missing is someone to act as the
local organizer in the SF Bay Area.

"If we do not get a volunteer soon, we will be forced to reconsider the
viability of having these Workshops. The first one went very well. I
would hate to see it go away. It does require someone to step up and
volunteer to be the local organizer."
End quote.

A volunteer organizer would likely be a hard-core Machead, and would
reside in the SF Bay area. He or she would *not* *necessarily* be
a member of the growing Mac-based amateur astronomy community --
but the job would certainly be more interesting for an astronomer or
other person interested in the Mac in science. Professionals are most
welcome!

I attended Macintosh Astronomy Workshop I in Chicago last September. It
was a most rewarding experience, and it would be a shame not to keep
this program going. This would not be a huge job. I would volunteer in
a New York minute *if* I lived a couple of thousand miles closer to SF.

You may read about MAW I he
http://mrmac.mr.aps.anl.gov/~macastroworkshop/ and he
http://www.davidillig.com/maw-astrofest.shtml.

If you're the person for this job, please contact Dr. Terry at terryj
*at* itt *dawt* edu.

Thanks for reading!

Davoud

Macs in amateur astronomy: http://www.davidillig.com/astromac.shtml

Dr. Terry's QuickTime movie of Comet 73P~ and the Ring Nebula will knock
your socks off -- bottom of this page
http://mrmac.mr.aps.anl.gov/~astronut/pages/cometM57.htm

My my own photo of Comet 73P
http://www.davidillig.com/ast-73p_s-w060429.shtml. Telescope control,
camera control, and autoguiding with a PowerBook.

Alan Friedman, who was a speaker at MAW I, shows what a /highly/
/skilled/ /person/ can do using a Mac in amateur astrophotography:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/images/jupiter/friedman.jpg
(note surface detail on Ganymede!) and
http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2006/images/lunaralps/friedman.jpg

N.B. Dr. Terry, who is a friend of mine (since MAW I) did /not/ ask me
to
post this information.

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com