Tag Archives: Barlow Bob

Tenth Annual NEAF Solar Star Party (NSSP) Announcement – Direct From Barlow Bob

Greetings fellow astrophiles!

2013february24_nssp_bbdgaEast Coast amateur astronomers have been gearing up for NEAF all Winter long (see our original announcement HERE). One of the special extra NEAF events, now in its 10th year, is the NEAF Solar Star Party (NSSP), featuring several solar-safe scopes, many well-versed solar observers, and hopefully an active solar surface as we approach solarmax.

The host of the NSSP is none other than Barlow Bob (the brightly lit one pictured at right with the author at NEAF 2011), a solar-centric observer who has graced several CNY locations in the past few years both with truly remarkable views of our nearest star and his great knowledge of optics, light properties, and the Sun itself. Provided the skies are at all reasonable, you can be guaranteed of some excellent views of prominences and sunspots.

The official announcement from Barlow Bob is below:

EXPERIENCE THE GOLDEN AGE OF
AMATEUR SOLAR ASTRONOMY

The Rockland Astronomy Club Is Proud To Present

The 2013 Tenth Annual NEAF SOLAR STAR PARTY

APRIL 20 AND 21, 2013

At Rockland Community College – Suffern, New York

NEAF attendees are invited to observe the Sun with attitude in different
wavelengths, through a variety of solar filters and spectroscopes.

Join us, for two days of solar observing at NEAF 2013.

No star party entrance fee, or registration required.

BRING A PIECE OF CLEAR SKY TO SHARE
WITH VENDORS AND FELLOW PHOTON-DEPRIVED
AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS.

For further information, please visit our website:

www.rocklandastronomy.com & neafsolar.com

Rockland Astronomy Club Hosts NEAF 2013!

Greetings fellow astrophiles!

Barlow Bob (Rockland Astronomy Club member and Solar Observing guru) has sent an official invitation to NEAF 2013, hosted at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY (a leisurely 4 hour drive from Syracuse). Celebrating its 22nd Anniversary, NEAF is an annual two-day event featuring speakers, solar observing (neafsolar.com), workshops, and vendors, vendors, vendors!

At present, Ryan Goodson (representing New Moon Telescopes) and I are confirmed Syracuse attendees. As NEAF is THE vendor-focused daytime event in our area, it serves as a focal point (no pun intended) for many other local societies to attend and see other amateur astronomers they don’t get to see all year (and it even happens in the daytime, so you actually get to see what your nighttime cohorts look like).

I spent a large portion of NEAF 2011 attending the many astrophotography lectures (a highlight for me being Alan Friedman’s explanation of how he processed the print I later purchased) and accessorizing my own scope (“Ruby”) with Televue eyepieces. NEAF 2012 was a surgical strike with another observer looking to purchase his first high-end refracting telescope (also for imaging). In both cases – and amateur astronomers will recognize this point immediately – it is very difficult to find one location that has on display so much high-end equipment for your (1) direct questioning of vendors, (2) indirect questioning of happy (or not-so-happy) owners, and (3) general viewing pleasure. While we stress the importance of starting observing with nothing more than binoculars and a good star chart, amateur astronomy can become a VERY expensive habit depending on where you want to focus (no pun intended) your observational study. Beyond the educational lectures and workshops, NEAF provides you direct access to a wealth of equipment and information that is hard to collect from web searches alone.

So, if you’re fortunate enough to be collecting a refund on April 15th (or have been smart and saved up all year for a pilgrimage to the Televue booth), consider attending the largest indoor event in East Coast amateur astronomy.

Information about NEAF 2013 can be found at its website: www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf/index.html.

Show Hours:

* Sat. April 20 – 8:30AM to 6:00PM
* Sun. April 21 – 10:00AM to 6:00PM

Ticket Prices (at the door):

* $20.00 for adults (one day)
* $35.00 for two-day admission ticket
* Under 16 free with parent

Parking:

* FREE parking for more than 1,000 cars and RV’s

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ABOVE: a Dobsonian with everything on it!

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ABOVE: 1/2 of the vendors at NEAF 2012.

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ABOVE: more than just astronomy equipment for sale!

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ABOVE: view of the 2012 Solar Star Party.