Telescope Reviews: ASAE- Looking Ahead to 2013

I already communicated my main suggestion to Alan (who was receptive), but here is what I can come up with.

Number one problem was with the speakers. It was a great roster, but there has to be a program handed out that is sorted chronologically and by conference room. On Sunday, I watched none other than Wally Pacholka and Babak Tafreshi speaking at the secondary room with less than a dozen in attendance. That was a travesty, considering how good these talks were. Other than by talking to them personally, there was no way of finding out when they would give their talks.

I only learned through the grapevine that Story Musgrave had canceled on Friday. Nothing was posted, and one of the Meteorite Men was called upon for Sunday's keynote.

To that end, ASAE should have an individual who is dedicated to the speaker program, not in getting them to make the trip, but also properly introducing them, making sure the A/V works, that sort of thing. This person should be somehow compensated for the effort. The speaker schedule for both rooms should be posted at a number of locations, and changes noted in big letters.

I don't think many attendees even know the secondary room existed. Perhaps a solution would be to split that huge room into two with that temporary wall that exists for that purpose. It didn't appear that the large room was ever more than one-third full. The other problem that would be solved by splitting the large room would be that of the lecturer in the middle, and your choice of two widely spaced screens to view. The podium could then be set up next to the screen so we can watch the speaker and the screen at the same time.

A couple smaller suggestions...

Moon phase: if amateur astronomers are really coming here from around the country, then by all means have it on a New Moon weekend in November. If it's mostly people from the Southwest, I wonder if Third Quarter might be a better choice. A number of people from Phoenix shied away from ASAE in favor of observing at their favorite dark site. New Moon weekend is precious time, and some folks (including me) are selfish enough not to want to do public star party duty. Frankly, I was exhausted after so much great stimulation from the conference, and wouldn't have been able to stay up past midnight observing on Saturday night.

Lunch options: There was so much to see that I didn't want to leave the site to search around for restaurants. I had a serviceable deli sandwich in the vendor room. Maybe they can get some concessionaires to show up, particularly with mom-and-pop Mexican food, since this is Tucson, after all. At the very least, include a good map with nearby restaurant suggestions.

Tom