AstroAssembly 2023

9:00am

Registration Open

Coffee & pastries provided. Registration cost (price includes evening pizza and snacks): members: $25, non-members: $30. (Registration coming soon)

9am to Noon: Astrophotography Contest Submissions

In the display tent. Photos will need to be printed 8x10 or 11x14, mounted or framed. See Rules & Guidelines for more information.

Swap Tables Open 10am to 5pm

Bring your own tables.

10:30am

Peering DEEP into the Andromeda Galaxy

Stephen LaFlamme

This would include a discussion of a few of the lesser known targets within the confines of M31. I will also present the story of that magical star within that helped determine the size of the universe in 1920.

Stephen LaFlamme held up a pair of binoculars during the summer of ’78 and “discovered” the crescent shape of Venus. This spectacle led to his lifelong passion for backyard astronomy. Reaching the point in high school where a career path had to be chosen, Stephen wanted to pursue astronomy. His Dad, who was paying for college, wanted him to be a pharmacist. So, while consuming his days counting pills for Walgreens, he spent his nights under the constellations with wonder. He designed and built a backyard dome some 25 years ago. Astrophotography rose to the forefront as local light pollution grew worse each year. Artificial light glow can be subtracted by software. A sampling of this work can be found under Universefromthebackyard on Facebook or Instagram. Stephen has many tales to share about owning meteorites, and a piece of the moon. His day spent with John Dobson. Being ‘visited’ by his deceased astronomy mentor one night at his observatory. And an amusing anecdote about a failed Astronomy Club start-up. Having retired three years ago and with no alarm clock to set, Stephen now takes full advantage of every opportunity to study the stars.

12:00pm

Lunch

$15 per person, paid in advance. See registration form for choices.

1:15pm

A Brief History of the Charles Hayden Planetarium

Darryl Davis and Caity Sullivan

The Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science remains a staple of cultural institutions in New England. Opened in 1958, this Planetarium has generated fond memories for hundreds of thousands of visitors and continues to do so today. Join Darryl Davis, a star of the Charles Hayden Planetarium staff since the 1980s, as he discusses the rich history and progress of this stellar space!

Caity Sullivan has been an educator at the Charles Hayden Planetarium in Boston for over 8 years now, and she also volunteers as a NASA Solar System Ambassador.

2:30pm

Light Pollution Effects on Human Health and Environmental Damage

Mario Motta

There are strong economic and climate-related arguments for use of LED of street lighting around the world. However, not all LED light is optimal. Some LED lighting fixtures produce excess blue emission, harmful to both human health and the environment. The problem is with the disruption of circadian rhythmicity through suppression of melatonin production by the pineal gland. Melatonin has been shown to be an important adjuvant to the human immune system, and thus when suppressed has detrimental human health effects. Many white LED street lights have a spectrum that contains a strong spike in the blue wavelength, which is most effective at suppressing melatonin during the night. There is now voluminous data showing a higher risk of hormonally linked cancers with melatonin suppression.

Also, improperly designed lighting fixtures can result in glare, and create a road hazard condition. This can be greatly mitigated by proper design, shielding and installation so that no light shines above 80 degrees from the horizontal. The visual hazard by these very intense point sources is magnified by higher color temperature LEDs because blue light scatters more in the human eye, leading to increased disability glare and has serious implications for night-time driving visibility.

I will present research data on the harmful effects of excess light at night on both human health, safety, and environmental adverse effects

3:45pm

Five to Buy and Five NOT to buy - equipment recommendations from Ed

Ed Ting

Ed Ting is a well-known amateur astronomer. His works have appeared in Sky & Telescope, Night Sky, Skywatch, Amateur Astronomy, Discover, and Popular Mechanics magazines. His writings have been translated into several languages, and he speaks frequently on the topics of astronomy and astrophotography. He has been on New Hampshire Public Radio, and on the Manchester, NH TV program, Star Hop. His web site, www.scopereviews.com, is a widely-read telescope review web site. He is a National Science Foundation Ambassador to Chile and a NASA Solar System Ambassador. He holds a BS in Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MFA from the New Hampshire Institute of Art, where he teaches a course on astrophotography. He is currently in graduate school at Dartmouth, where he intends to write a thesis on astroimaging.

5:00pm

Food & Social Hour

(pizza, snacks, soda, water, coffee)

6:00pm

Awards & Raffle

6:30pm

Get Ready for Totality 2024

Sean Walker

What to expect to see in the path of totality next year, with tips on observing and photographing the event.

8:00pm

Observing 8:00pm to 10pm, weather permitting

The observatory’s telescopes will be available for observing, or set up your own telescope on the grounds.