AstroFest is an annual Star Party at Kopernik that features extraordinary speakers and night sky observing. Join the Kopernik Astronomical Society at the 42nd Annual AstroFest. Enjoy astronomy workshops, talks, exhibits, demonstrations, and solar and nighttime observing. Check out the detailed schedule of the event below!
NOTE: This is a preliminary schedule, and planning is still underway. Scheduled Activities may change without notice. As soon as changes are made, every effort will be made to update this listing. Please check back often for your planning purposes.
Event Details
| Hours: | Friday, October 11, 2024 – 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Observing all night if clear. Also the facility will be open from 2:00 PM to receive campers and/or people interested in setting up their observing gear. Saturday, October 12, 2024 – 9:30AM to 9:00PM, Observing all night if clear |
| Entrance Prices: | $6.00/day registration for adults. Under 16 free with parent. Groups of 7 or more, please contact us for group pricing. |
| Extras: | Fantastic raffle prizes, Swap meet, coordinated group take out meals from local restaurants, and snack foods will be sold. |
| Camping Information: | $10 a night additional fee for onsite camping. |
Event Schedule
Friday – October 11
| 2:00 PM | Facility opens to campers for setup, bathrooms open. Viewing in yard, both solar and astronomical. |
| 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Solar Viewing hosted by Ana Castillio, in the Yard (Spectroscope, H-Alpha and white light), in the Domes (Herschel Wedge on 6” Astro Physics Refractor) and with the Heliostat Refractor, dedicated to the memory of the “Legendary Barlow Bob” Godfrey in 2014, in the Physics Lab. Venus in the C-14 Edge HD. (Clear only) |
| 6:00 PM | Doors open to public, facility tours and observing (starting with the Moon, then the planets Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars). Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, snacks available in Lobby |
| 6:30 PM | Welcome to AstroFest 2024 – Drew Deskur, Executive Director, Kopernik Observatory & Science Center.
George’s Best Images, a Video Slide Show – most captured right here at Kopernik Observatory! – George Normandin, KAS President |
| 7:00 PM – 7:55 PM | The ZWO Seastar S50 – Keith Werkman, it’s been a year of learning how to get the most out of the ZWO Seestar S50. See what has been accomplished and learn how to make your own astrophotography images. Demo to follow later tonight. |
| 8:00 PM | Keynote Address – Lou Mayo – The Sun and Space Weather – Lou is the Chief Scientist for Gama-1 Technologies and professor of Astronomy at Marymount University. Lou is also president of ARIES Scientific, a non-profit dedicated to Astronomy outreach, and program Manager for the NASA SolarSTEAM heliophysics outreach program. |
| After the Program | Night Sky Viewing – in the Domes and in the Yard, demo of the Dwarf and ZWO SeeStar telescopes, Imaging Demo of FLI Camera on 20” OGS RC, Night Sky Laser Tours, hot beverages and snacks available, bathrooms and domes open all night. If cloudy: Movie in Space Science, Lobby closes at Midnight. |
Saturday – October 12
| 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM | Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, snacks available in Lobby |
| 9:00 AM – All Day | Vendors in Physics Lab, Dark Sky Exhibit, Facility Tours |
| 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Solar Star Party hosted by Ana Castillio, in the Yard (Spectroscope, H-Alpha and white light), in the Domes (Herschel Wedge on 6” Astro Physics Refractor) and in the Physics Lab (Heliostat Refractor, dedicated to the memory of the “Legendary Barlow Bob” Godfrey in 2014). Venus in the C-14 Edge HD. (Clear only) |
| 11:00 AM – 11:55 PM | Show and Tell Meteorites – Patrick Manley, KAS |
| 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Swap Meet – buy and sell your treasurers (in Earth Science Lab), KOSC used equipment for sale to raise funds for our new equipment. |
| 12:00 PM – 12:55 PM | Lunch – pre-order lunch, someone will pick it up and deliver it to you at Kopernik |
| 1:00 PM – 1:55 PM | Astronomy Clubs Roundtable Discussions – Dave Daniels |
| 2:00 PM – 2:55 PM | TBA and/or Cornell University – TBD |
| 3:00 PM – 3:55 PM | Remote Telescope Operation – Dave Daniels, KAS. Dave will demonstrate remote networking and connecting to a remote telescope. He will connect his scope at home via the Internet and control it from Kopernik. The remote imaging rig is controlled by a miniPC running Win-11 Pro. The overall rig consists of a ZWO AM5 mount, an ES 102ED refractor, a ZWO electronic focuser, a ZWO filter wheel, a guider, and a ZWO camera (OSC). His brief presentation will be followed up by Q & A. |
| 4:00 PM – 4:55 PM | Imaging setup – Patrick Manley, KAS. Patrick will complement what Dave did and show us his imaging setup. He will explain the required components and also give suggestions on alternative approaches. This will be a demo with Q & A. |
| 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Dinner Break and Musical Entertainment by Robert Siegers |
| 6:15 PM | Raffle and Door Prize Drawings – you need not be present to win! |
| 7:00 PM – 7:55 PM | TBA three of my speakers had to cancel – can anyone help here? |
| 8:00 PM – 8:10 PM | Welcome to AstroFest 2024 – Drew Deskur, Executive Director, Kopernik Observatory & Science Center |
| 8:15 PM | Keynote Address – Lou Maayo – Titan, Earth’s Real Sister Planet – Lou is the Chief Scientist for Gama-1 Technologies and professor of Astronomy at Marymount University. Lou is also president of ARIES Scientific, a non-profit dedicated to Astronomy outreach, and program Manager for the NASA SolarSTEAM heliophysics outreach program. |
| After the Program | Night Sky Viewing– in the Domes and in the Yard, demo of the Dwarf and ZWO SeeStar telescopes, Imaging Demo of FLI Camera on 20” OGS RC, Night Sky Laser Tours, hot beverages and snacks available, bathrooms and domes open all night. If cloudy: Movie in Space Science, Lobby closes at Midnight. |
Join the Kopernik Astronomical Society!
To learn more about the Kopernik Astronomical Society come to Kopernik Observatory on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. or checkout our website at www.kopernikastro.org