Return to Stellafane!
This week I return to Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont, for the annual Stellafane Convention. Stellafane is my favorite place in the world. It’s where I won 3rd prize in 1958 for my high school project telescope and 1st prize in 1972 for my 12″ scope. The rich association of telescope making with Stellafane is why this place is considered the “birthplace of American Telescope Making”.
I hope you enjoy the following slide show from last year’s convention. It features many images from the Telescope Competition.
By the way, “Stellafane” comes from the Latin words “stellar” (star), and “fane” (shrine) so “Stellafane” is a “Shrine to the Stars”. Never been there? All amateur astronomers should make a “pilgrimage” to this “shrine” at least once!
Stellafane 2017
Photo captions
- The pink Clubhouse on Breezy Hill.
- Always good to have a Tele Vue TV-60 setup for solar when traveling.
- The raffle offered some great prizes.
- Steve Benson (white pants) of Walpole, NH, and the 6-in f/10 Refractor he entered in the Telescope Competition.
- David Kelly of Easthampton, MA, won several awards with his colorful 12½-in f/4.5 Newt-Dob.
- Close-up of David Kelly’s Newt-Dob.
- James M. Synge (red Stellafane shirt) of Lexington, MA, won a Special Award for his Transiting Exoplanet Detector (built for the PANOPTES citizen science project).
- Alan Ward of Sudbury, ON, won some awards for his Alt-Az mounted, 6-in f/10 Refractor. (Al Nagler on the left).
- Dominic ‘Gilligan’ Fucile, from Waquoit, MA, with his “Gilligan’s Island Refractor”.
- Close-up of Dominic ‘Gilligan’ Fucile’s scope.
- David with parents Al (green shirt) and Judi Nagler.
- David Nagler with FiOS1 weatherman and amateur astronomer Joe Rao and wife Renate.
- Al Nagler (green shirt) and with his gang.
Partial Solar Eclipse on August 11th
This partial eclipse will be visible in Northern Canada, Greenland, Northern Scotland, Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, Northern China and Arctic regions.
See our January blog post 2018: Solar and Lunar Phenomena Overview for more on eclipses, supermoons, and micromoons this year.
More Info
- Stellafane website.
- Stellafane 2017 Telescope Competition page.
- Read About Tele Vue on website (mobile site)
- About Al Nagler on website (mobile site)
