Stellafane

His theory of cosmology is controversial, but I can't think of anyone
alive who has done more for the hobby of telescope making.

I would love to hear him talk more about telescope making and sidewalk
astronomy, and less about cosmology, but this doesn't seem to be what he is
interested in. I once heard him say that "Feynman almost got it right" -
that takes a lot of chutzpah!

Dennis

"Dennis Woos" wrote ...
The forecast is looking more like it will be "Rain-afane 2008".......

I hope the forecast will be proven wrong.......I hope to see you there -
stop by the Vermont Astronomical Society encampment which is up the hill
behind the swap (swamp?!) tables. We have a sign out.

Dennis,

I'll stop in to the VAS location. I always set up in the northeast
corner of the field just north of the bunkhouse (and south of the main
observing field). Look for an Obsession 20 floating in a sea of mud.....

Actually, over the past year I've seen a lot of poor star party forecasts
turn out to be wrong. One year for Stellafane they even had flood watches
out, but it turned out clear, but dewy and soggy, on Saturday night. The
latest forecasts at least limit the rain to hit-or-miss afternoon
thunderstorms, but still leave the nights cloudy. Year before last it was
raining heavily at 4 pm and clear by dark on one night. We shall see......

George N

"Mark S. Holden" wrote
.....
I wonder if John Dobson will be there?
........
Is he still planning to travel this year? Last I'd heard he was
recovering from a stroke.
I'm guessing Stellafane dropped lower on his priority list when the
Springfield ATMS invited him to attend a couple of years ago, but told him
he wouldn't be allowed to speak.......

Yes he wasn't "on the program" for the past few years, but John is John,
and last year he still managed to grab the mike for a while on Saturday
night and gave a short 'speech' that started with the energy generated by
dropping a marshmallow onto the surface of a neutron star and then
inevitably ended up with his views on cosmology. He has not looked as
healthy the past few years and I also heard the stroke story. Maybe for a
surprise Dobson will show up at Stellafane with short black hair, an
Astro-Physics refractor, and a "Big Bang is Best" t-shirt?

Maybe I'll grab the mike this year and talk about the best beers to bring
to a rainy star party!

......and now, off to pack for Stellafane 2008...... gotta remember both
the beer and the bino-viewer!!

George N

Mark S. Holden wrote:
jeff wrote:
Dennis Woos wrote:
Anybody going to Stellafane? My sons and I will be there, and are
looking forward to another great weekend of amateur astronomy. It has
been rain,rain,rain here in Vermont, but we are hopeful that we will
have gotten the rain out of our system and that 8/1-8/3 will be
wonderfully clear.

Last year we didn't bring any optics, and spent our observing time
looking through other's (mostly big) scopes. This was a useful
reminder that big is often not better! This year, I am tempted to
again roam the fields but spend more time observing with smaller and
homemade scopes. The view through a great 6" is just fine by me.

I wonder if John Dobson will be there?

John will not be here this year. His east coast loop is later in the
year.


Is he still planning to travel this year? Last I'd heard he was
recovering from a stroke.

I'm guessing Stellafane dropped lower on his priority list when the
Springfield ATMS invited him to attend a couple of years ago, but told
him he wouldn't be allowed to speak.

His theory of cosmology is controversial, but I can't think of anyone
alive who has done more for the hobby of telescope making.

John has always been welcomed, however, we declined the opportunity to
have him as the keynote as he tends to wander into religion. That said
he has always talked Friday afternoon, Saturday at the demos, and
Saturday night before the keynote.
He has been a welcome houseguest on several occasions and is an honorary
member of the Springfield Telescope Makers.
--
jeff

jeff wrote:
Mark S. Holden wrote:
jeff wrote:
Dennis Woos wrote:
Anybody going to Stellafane? My sons and I will be there, and are
looking forward to another great weekend of amateur astronomy. It
has been rain,rain,rain here in Vermont, but we are hopeful that we
will have gotten the rain out of our system and that 8/1-8/3 will be
wonderfully clear.

Last year we didn't bring any optics, and spent our observing time
looking through other's (mostly big) scopes. This was a useful
reminder that big is often not better! This year, I am tempted to
again roam the fields but spend more time observing with smaller and
homemade scopes. The view through a great 6" is just fine by me.

I wonder if John Dobson will be there?

John will not be here this year. His east coast loop is later in the
year.


Is he still planning to travel this year? Last I'd heard he was
recovering from a stroke.

I'm guessing Stellafane dropped lower on his priority list when the
Springfield ATMS invited him to attend a couple of years ago, but told
him he wouldn't be allowed to speak.

His theory of cosmology is controversial, but I can't think of anyone
alive who has done more for the hobby of telescope making.

John has always been welcomed, however, we declined the opportunity to
have him as the keynote as he tends to wander into religion. That said
he has always talked Friday afternoon, Saturday at the demos, and
Saturday night before the keynote.
He has been a welcome houseguest on several occasions and is an honorary
member of the Springfield Telescope Makers.

That seems like a reasonable and plausible explanation.

I understand he will be keynote at BFSP this year, so apparently his
health has improved.

Mark S. Holden wrote:
jeff wrote:

John has always been welcomed, however, we declined the opportunity to
have him as the keynote as he tends to wander into religion. That said
he has always talked Friday afternoon, Saturday at the demos, and
Saturday night before the keynote.
He has been a welcome houseguest on several occasions and is an
honorary member of the Springfield Telescope Makers.

That seems like a reasonable and plausible explanation.

I understand he will be keynote at BFSP this year, so apparently his
health has improved.

Great news on his health and recovery!
--
Clear skies,
Jeff