TBA -- Keynote Talk

Alan Friedman Planetary Imaging

Phil Creed The effects of Haze on Deep Sky Observing

Bitten by the Astronomy Bug when he was 8 years old, Phil Creed is an amateur astronomer living in Canton, Ohio, with a particular interest in deep-sky and comet observing. He is a member of The Wilderness Center Astronomy Club of Wilmot, Ohio, the Astronomy Club of Akron, and the Columbus Astronomical Society.Owing to the fickle nature of Ohio's weather, Phil became interested in meteorology and its effect on deep-sky observing. While forecasts for cloud cover are ubiquitous, predicting transparency is more difficult. Nevertheless, the critical "go/no-go" call for driving long hours to dark-sky sites depends heavily on transparency.After a mysteriously hazy night behind a cold front, Phil researched some of the causes of haze and poor transparency. This eventually culminated in the August 2008 Sky & Telescope article "Clear(er) Skies Ahead". Join us at BSFP as Phil goes into more detail on haze, its causes, how to forecast it, and its effect on deep-sky observing.

Robert Tester Scope Building and Telescope Components

Glenn Muller Forces of Nature: A Seventeenth Century mystery unravels to reveal the intertwined lives of the era's most prominent astronomers.

Only slightly older than Sputnik, Glenn Muller has been a space junkie from as far back as he can remember. He bought his first scope, a 60mm Tasco refractor, upon entering high school but, after graduation, astronomy would be put on the back burner until he and his wife (Gail) would buy a 6" dob in 1999. Now with two more dobs (4.5" Starblast and 12" Hardin Optics), Glenn and Gail recently built the GEM 'n I Dobservatory in their backyard to house them.

An active member of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers, in Ontario, Canada, Glenn was on the Club Council for six years, four of those as Club Chair (President). He continues to support the club with meeting presentations, and participation in public events, and has given talks at astronomy gatherings such as Rochestarfest and the Cherry Springs Star Party.

Aside from frequent articles for his club's newsletter, Glenn's writing credits also include book and event reviews for Astronomy Magazine and Astronomy.com. More information on any of the above can be found in the astronomy section of their website at Here

TBA