2019 Stellafane Convention The 83rd Convention of Amateur Telescope Makers on Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont 43° 16’ 41” North Latitude, 72° 31’ 10” West Longitude Thursday, August 1 – Sunday, August 4, 2019 “For it is true that astronomy, from a popular standpoint, is handicapped by the inability of the average workman to own an expensive astronomical BE SURE TO VISIT telescope. It is also true that if an amateur starts out to build a telescope THE ORIGINAL STELLAFANE SITE just for fun, he will find before his labors are over that he has become seriously interested in the wonderful mechanism of our universe. Since so much of the Convention takes place at Stellafane East, it’s all And finally there is understandably the stimulus of being able to unlock too easy to miss the fun of seeing the original Stellafane Clubhouse and the mysteries of the heavens by a tool fashioned by one’s own hand.” the Porter Turret Telescope on Breezy Hill. Catch the shuttlebus near the —Russell W. Porter, Founder of Stellafane, March, 1923 Food Tent or the main camping area, or just take the short walk down the road opposite the entry “fruit stand” where you checked in. The original SOME STELLAFANE HISTORY site, including the Clubhouse and the Porter Turret Telescope, was des- In 1920, when a decent astronomical telescope ignated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. It remains the location for was far beyond the average worker’s means, the Stellafane Convention’s optical and mechanical competitions for Russell W. Porter offered to help some Spring- field machine tool factory workers to build amateur-built telescopes. their own. Together, they ground, polished, and THE STELLAFANE CLUBHOUSE figured mirrors, completed their telescopes, and began using them, soon becoming thor- The Clubhouse was designed oughly captivated by amateur astronomy. By by Russell Porter and con- 1923 they had formed a club, the Springfield structed by the members. Telescope Makers, and had built Stellafane The pink color may simply (originally “Stellar Fane”), our now legendary have been that of donated Clubhouse. By 1925 their activities had drawn paint, but it has been hal- the attention of magazine editors including lowed by long tradition. Web Waldron at Collier’s and Albert Ingalls at Many fascinating memo- Scientific American. They visited the club, and rabilia of the club’s earlier soon published articles about telescope mak- days can be seen here. Al- ing. This generated interest across the country, and the club decided to invite though it’s now a tight fit other amateurs to visit. On July 3, 1926, 29 people came to Breezy Hill, and The with today’s larger member- Stellafane Convention was established. It’s been held every year since, except ship roster, the Springfield Telescope Makers still hold some meetings at the during World War II. The Convention grew rapidly, and today nearly a thousand Stellafane Clubhouse. Photo is from the 1930s. enthusiastic amateurs make the pilgrimage to Springfield. THE PORTER TURRET TELESCOPE STELLAFANE EAST In 1986, faced with the loss of access to a neighboring field that had been the The Porter Turret Telescope Convention’s camping area, the STM, with the support of members who mort- was constructed in 1930 by the gaged their homes, purchased a 40-acre farm across the road from the original club. Porter had endured more Stellafane site. This became known as Stellafane East. In 1998, STM member than his share of winter cold on Harty Beardsley donated another adjacent 45 acres, ensuring that the Conven- polar expeditions early in his tion has room for growth. career. Following Hartness’s turret refractor design, he de- THE MCGREGOR OBSERVATORY vised a way to build a reflect- The McGregor Observatory at Stellafane East was constructed by the club ing telescope that also allowed between 1989 and 1995. It houses a unique the observer to remain indoors instrument—a 13” f/10 Schupmann tele- on the coldest winter nights. scope on a massive computer controlled Extensively renovated in the 1970s and fitted with new optics, the Porter alt-az mount. For a time it was the larg- Turret remains an excellent instrument. Photo is from the 1930s. est operating Schupmann in the world. THE ANDREW SIMONI OBSERVATORY This design, which combines reflective and refractive elements, yields a coma- Now completed on Breezy Hill, this new building houses a restored 1930s free and essentially apochromatic image, spectrohelioscope, donated and restored by STM members. An invention of and is ideal for planetary observation. The George Ellery Hale, the spectrohelioscope produces an image of the sun in Schupmann is operated during Convention. any desired visual wavelength. The spectrohelioscope will operate as weather Photo by Dennis di Cicco. permits during Convention. Schedule of Events and Presentations KIDS=ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN TEENS=ACTIVITY FOR TEENS NTA =FOR THOSE NEW TO ASTRONOMY INT=INTERMEDIATE ADV=ADVANCED ATM=AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING COMP=TELESCOPE COMPETITION ALL=SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE MCE=MAJOR CONVENTION EVENT OBS=OBSERVING PLEASE SEE DESCRIPTIONS ON FOLLOWING PAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 8:30am – 5pm Hartness House Workshop: Advanced Telescope Making Hartness House Hosted by Tom Spirock (Separate registration and fee for this workshop) noon – 4pm Large RV Permit Holders MUST arrive Entry Gate PLEASE DON’T ARRIVE BEFORE NOON! 3pm – 10pm Early Entry Permit Holders CAN arrive Entry Gate PLEASE DON’T ARRIVE BEFORE 3PM! 6pm – 9pm Hartness House Workshop: Advanced Telescope Making Hartness House Dinner & Keynote Hosted by Tom Spirock (Separate registration & fee) 8:30pm – midnight Observing Olympics Observing Fields Coordinated by Eileen Myers Telescopes & Binoculars OBS 9pm Observing with the Hartness Turret Telescope Hartness House Weather Permitting OBS 9pm – midnight Observing at the Porter Turret Telescope and the McGregor Observatory OBS FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019 9am Registration Gate Opens 9am – noon Mirror Coatings West of Clubhouse Presented by Alan Ward ATM 9am – 6pm Cook Spectrohelioscope open for Solar Observing Simoni Observatory Weather Permitting OBS 9am – 6pm Porter Turret Telescope open for Solar Observing Weather Permitting 0BS 10am – 6pm Shuttle Bus Operates Bus Stops: Pine Island, Food Tent, Pink Clubhouse 10am – 6pm McGregor Observatory open OBS 10am – 4pm TELESCOPE MAKING DEMO Tent North of T-Shirt Sales Organized by Read Predmore ATM 10am – 10:30am Intro & Rough Grinding Presented by Glenn Jackson ATM 10:30am – 11am Fine Grinding Presented by Rick Hunter ATM 11am – 11:30am Making Dental Stone Tools Presented by Junie Esslinger ATM 11:30am – noon Making Pitch Laps Presented by Phil Rounseville ATM 1pm – 1:45pm Polishing & Figuring Presented by Dick Parker ATM 2pm – 4pm Testing (Bring your own mirror) Presented by Dave Kelly (Bring your own mirror) ATM 11am – noon Astronomy Activities for Children: Our Star the Sun McGregor Library Presented by Kris Larsen Ages 5-12; Limited to first 25 KIDS 11am – noon Using New Hardware & Software to Increase Telescope Accuracy Flanders Pavilion Presented by Dan Gray ADV ATM noon – 1pm Free Time Relax or Enjoy Lunch No on-site talks or demos scheduled ALL 1pm – 2pm Checking Out Einstein Flanders Pavilion Presented by Richard Berry INT 1pm – 2pm Introduction to 3D Printing for Amateur Astronomers McGregor Observatory Library Presented by Corey Mooney INT ATM 1pm – 5pm Stellafane Teen Robotic Project (Requires Advance Signup) Bunkhouse Presented by Paul Fucile Teens 12-17 TEENS 1:30pm – 5:30pm Mirror Coatings West of Clubhouse Presented by Alan Ward ATM 2pm – 3pm Solar Observing Hour Observing Fields Please set up your Solar Scope and Share OBS 2pm – 3pm Introduction to Stellafane McGregor Observatory Library Presented by Kim & Dennis Cassia ALL 2pm – 3pm Talk: Imaging Satellite Galaxies of the Milky Way Flanders Pavilion Presented by Al Takeda INT 2pm – 6pm Breuning Observatory (Domed Observatory) open OBS 3pm – 4pm The Gregorian: An Alternative for the Planetary and Lunar Observer McGregor Observatory Library Presented by Phil Rounseville ATM 3pm – 4pm A Dipper Full of Stars Flanders Pavilion Presented by Richard Sanderson NTA 3:30pm – 4:30pm Demo: Imaging Satellite Galaxies of the Milky Way By the Breuning Domed Observatory Presented by Al Takeda INT 4pm – 5pm Binoculars Flanders Pavilion Presented by Phil Harrington NTA 4pm – 5pm Astronomy Activities for Children: Star Friends McGregor Observatory Library Presented by Kris Larsen Ages 5-12; Ltd. to first 25 KIDS 5pm – 8pm Hartness-Porter ATM Museum Open Hartness House Hosted by Bert Willard, Curator ALL 2 5pm – 7pm Free Time Relax or Enjoy Dinner No on-site talks or demos scheduled ALL 5pm – 8pm Telescope Competition Registration Clubhouse Optical and Mechanical Registration COMP 6:30pm – 7:30pm Friday Evening Videos Flanders Pavilion Astronomy documentaries for the whole family ALL 7:30pm Friday Evening Informal Talks Flanders Pavilion Brad Vietje, MC Short presentations by Convention Attendees MCE 8:30pm – midnight Observing Olympics Observing Fields Coordinated by Eileen Myers Telescopes & Binoculars OBS 9pm – midnight Observing at the Porter Turret Telescope, McGregor Observatory, and Bruening Observatory Weather Permitting OBS 10pm Telescope Optical Competition Begins Fields around Clubhouse COMP 10pm– Registration Gate Closes SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 2019 7am – Registration Gate Opens 7am – noon Swap Tables Swap Table Area – North of Main Camping Area MCE 8am – 6pm Porter Turret Telescope open for Solar Observing