2018 Stellafane Convention

The 83rd Convention of Amateur Telescope Makers on Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont, the 2018 Stellafane Convention, was held Thursday through Sunday, August 9-12, 2018.

The 2018 Convention was dedicated to STM past president and long-time member Walt Wheeler.

Suggestions Do you have a suggestion to improve any aspect of convention? We would like to hear about it! Please send them via email We are very interested in feedback, comments or suggestions on any aspect of convention, we are always working to make improvements every year.

The Simoni Observtory, home of the 1930 Cook Spectrohelioscope. The Simoni Observtory, home of

the Cook Spectrohelioscope

Thanks to All!

The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank all those who attended the 2018 Stellafane Convention and made it a success, especially all volunteers and club members who help with setup, program and operations and cleanup, and all the excellent speakers who make their expertise and experience available through their talks and workshops. To those of you who brought homemade telescopes to display on breezy hill, a special thank you for sharing your accomplishments and inspiring the next generation of telescope makers - we had a large number of interesting and innovative scopes this year.

Convention Summary

Optical competition was completed on Friday; both Thursday & Friday had good observing for several hours after sunset, but Saturday was completely clouded out. We did have some daytime rain Friday and Saturday but it was brief and not heavy.

For the first time in 88 years, a new building was dedicated on Breezy Hill: The Andrew E. Simoni Observatory, home of the 1930 Cook Spectrohelioscope. Samuel Hale, grandson of spectrohelioscope inventor George Ellery Hale, spoke at the dedication. The instrument is operational and gave attendees some excellent views of solar prominences in Hydrogen-Alpha.

There was a large field of telescopes in both the optical and mechanical competitions, and it was a treat to see all the various designs and innovations.

Keynote speakers Samuel Hale and Todd Mason spoke about the largest telescopes in the world, past and future.

A great selection of speakers, workshops, demonstrations and events for every level: children, teens, beginners, intermediate and advanced amateur astronomers. Click on the link above to see everything going on during convention.

Our Saturday Evening Program will feature keynote speaker Nagin Cox, NASA JPL Tactical Mission Lead on the Mars Curiosity Rover (See highlight box above). Kris Larsen will deliver the Shadowgram address on Messier Mania, Aperture Fever, and Eclipse-on-the-Brain: A Guide to Common Astronomical Ailments.

This year's theme, organized in collaboration with members of the Antique Telescope Society, returns to the workshop's historical roots with a focus on Antique Telescopes, Observatories, and Related Equipment.

Held at Springfield’s historic Hartness House, home of the Hartness Turret Telescope and the Hartness-Porter Museum of Amateur Telescope Making.

Donors

The Springfield Telescope Makers would like to thank the following people and/or companies for donating prizes to the raffle at the 2018 Stellafane convention or goods and services that are sold or used for the convention. We thank:

Special thanks to Tele Vue and Al & David Nagler for donating

sets of their Premium Eyepieces for many, many years.

This year, four sets were raffled off. Special thanks to Willmann-Bell and Perry & Patricia Remaklus for donating sets of their excellent Astronomy and Telescope Making Books for many, many years. This year's book prizes were three large sets of Willmann-Bell books. Todd Mason Student Transportation of America White River Jct., VT Kim & Dennis Cassia Astonomy Shoppe Tony Costanzo - Plaistow, NH Gary Cislak PTH Design PPaul Hendrickson - Chester, VT Jim & Martie Erickson John O'Neil

Call for 2018 Convention

Photos, Videos & Reports We would like to add your photos or convention report to our web pages, and link to your hosted videos on YouTube or other services. Your experiences gives a much more comprehensive view of the convention than we can do ourselves. Please send them via email

The 2018 Convention Photo gallery, with candid images taken by the Springfield Telescope Makers and many attendees who send us photos they have taken (See the pink box at right if you have photos to send us for posting on our web page).

Videos from the 2018 Convention; featured this year is the 3D video shown by keynote speaker Todd Mason at the Saturday evening program.

Roy Diffrient's 28-inch f/3.63 Dobsonian. This won master class first place awards in Mechanical & Craftsmanship and 4 Innovative Component Awards at the 2018 Convention. Roy Diffrient's 28-inch f/3.63 Dobsonian. This won master class first place awards in Mechanical & Craftsmanship and also 4 Innovative Component Awards

at the 2018 Convention

Details and photos of all the telescopes and other items entered and all the winners are here.

A challenge to observe at least 15 deep sky objects, accessible in small to large amateur telescopes, has been developed for us by Larry Mitchell, who is in charge of the Texas Star Party Advanced Observing Program. Try your observing skills and earn a pin for your efforts. A Binocular Observing List has been added this year!

This year's Observing Olympics will have new fun new lists of objects to search for and learn about.



A hands-on class working in teams to construct a piece of robotic technology that will be demonstrated at the Convention. Attendance will be first-come first-served. If you are 100% sure your Teen (age 12-17) will attend the convention and will want to attend this event, then you’ll need to get them on the list.



When is Astronomical Twilight during convention? When does the sun set and the moon rise? Click to find out.

(Close) U.S. Naval Observatory Data in Eastern Daylight Time Day & Sun Sun Moon Moon Astro.Twilite Date Rise Set Rise Set Begin End Thu Aug 09 05:49 20:01 03:29 18:49 03:55 21:54 Fri Aug 10 05:50 20:00 04:39 19:41 03:57 21:52 Sat Aug 11 05:51 19:59 05:43 20:25 03:58 21:50 Sun Aug 12 05:52 19:57 07:10 21:03 04:00 21:48

Milky Way over the Clubhouse, Mars under the boom. Mike hayes, STM 2018-08-06 Milky Way over the Clubhouse,

Mars under the boom

This page contains important information about the convention, including lighting policies, pet policies, food service, on-site bus service and where to set up your telescope. Check this page for answers to any questions you may have.

If you are not camping at Stellafane, you will need some place to stay. Here is a listing of Motels, Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, and Campgrounds in the area.

Need to know how to get to Stellafane? Here are written directions and a map for after you get off the Interstate. We also have a site map of the convention area. See also Local Airport Information.

The Food Services page has the general menu available for your information as well as pre-ordering dinner information.