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d1anderson
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/11/07
Posts: 762
Loc: 33.8N 98.5W
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I was just wondering what you think are the top ten astronomy shows and star parties. Thanks for helping me out.
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Clear Skies
Dewayne
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Z12 dob
MEADE DS2130AT NEWT 494goto
MEADE NG60 REFRACTOR
The more you look the more you'll see! 
Don't forget to register at www.scopebuddies.com
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Tom Polakis
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/20/04
Posts: 816
Loc: Tempe, Arizona
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Off the top of my head, and in no particular order, here are more than 10 popular star parties:
RTMC Astronomy Expo (CA)
Oregon Star Party (OR)
Table Mountain Star Party (WA)
Grand Canyon Star Party (AZ)
Texas Star Party (TX)
Okie-Tex Star Party (OK)
Nebraska Star Party (NE)
Stellafane (VT)
Black Forest Star Party (PA)
Almost Heaven Star Party (WV)
Winter Star Party (FL)
Peach State Star Gaze (GA)
Astrofest (IL)
For trade shows, the two big ones are:
Northeast Astronomy Forum (NY)
Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (CA)
Tom
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Tom Polakis
Tempe, AZ
Visual observing, DSLR photography, lunar & planetary imaging
http://www.pbase.com/polakis/
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d1anderson
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/11/07
Posts: 762
Loc: 33.8N 98.5W
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Thanks Tom,
Not that it makes any difference, but have you had the opportunity to attend any of these?
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Clear Skies
Dewayne
-------
Z12 dob
MEADE DS2130AT NEWT 494goto
MEADE NG60 REFRACTOR
The more you look the more you'll see!
Don't forget to register at www.scopebuddies.com
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Tom Polakis
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/20/04
Posts: 816
Loc: Tempe, Arizona
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Quote:
Thanks Tom,
Not that it makes any difference, but have you had the opportunity to attend any of these?
RTMC about 20 times, TSP 5 times, Grand Canyon Star Party about 5 times, Oregon Star Party twice, Okie-Tex once.
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Tom Polakis
Tempe, AZ
Visual observing, DSLR photography, lunar & planetary imaging
http://www.pbase.com/polakis/
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b1gred
Enginerd
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 16287
Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL
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Don't forget WUTS (Weekend Under the Stars) in Wyoming.
It's DARK and wild, but a load of fun...
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"Dark Skies & Great Viewing"
RandyR / W0RDR
GPS 9.25 XLT/Sky Align /FeatherTouch
TV85 w/FeatherTouch
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d1anderson
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/11/07
Posts: 762
Loc: 33.8N 98.5W
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Thanks Randy,
Just in case ya'll are wondering, I'm going to retire in a few years and one of the things I'm gonna try to do is attend as many star parties as I can in one calendar year. So I'm putting together a list and starting a savings account. I don't want to have to do this on the cheap.
I truely appreciate your input.
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Clear Skies
Dewayne
-------
Z12 dob
MEADE DS2130AT NEWT 494goto
MEADE NG60 REFRACTOR
The more you look the more you'll see!
Don't forget to register at www.scopebuddies.com
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Skylook123
Postmaster
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 5266
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Keep in the back of your mind that the Grand Canyon Star Party, while a great observing experience, is focused on the outreach to the park visitors. And both rims have concurrent events, some folks have split the week between both locations.
For the North Rim, the available slots (only about a dozen available) are spoken for quite early in the year. For the South Rim, we haven't had a space issue as yet but the lodging, with some camping exceptions, fills early in the year. It's one heck of a lot of fun, but if you are new to the event you will need to be prepared, on the South Rim, for 1,000 or more visitors a night, with around 50 or more scopes set up. In checking over my list of South Rim astronomers from last year, we had 85 astronomers signed up for at least one night (no more than 40 total on any night - weather was not great), with about 3/4 repeat attendees. As I said, a whole lot of fun to share the oohs and aahs with the park visitors, and have the daytime to explore the Grand Canyon and the surrounding attractions like Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater, Lowell Observatory, Antelope Canyon, many Native American archaeological and archaeo-astronomical sites. I think, going by personal experience among the crowd, that half of the astronomers are retired so you'd fit right in!
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Jim
A Bad Night With A Telescope
Beats A Good Night Doing Anything Else
Teeter 18" Truss Dob/Sky Commander DSCs, "Derrick"
Meade 10" LX-5 SCT/Atlas-G "Ol' Blue Eye"
Orion 90mm refractor,
Meade 10" Starfinder Newt/JMI NGCMax DSCs,
Celestron 10x50 Ultima Pro
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d1anderson
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/11/07
Posts: 762
Loc: 33.8N 98.5W
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Thanks Skylook123, this is just the type of information that I would like to have. I'm hoping to have my accomodations with me when I start this adventure and not have to depend on local hotels, motels, inns, etc. My wife and I truely enjoy camping but we will want something more substantial than a tent (learned that lesson from the javelinas in Fort Davis State Park, Texas). The area surrounding the star parties is going to be high on the decision making list as (from what I can tell) a lot of these gatherings overlap.
Thanks for the advice and your experience.
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Clear Skies
Dewayne
-------
Z12 dob
MEADE DS2130AT NEWT 494goto
MEADE NG60 REFRACTOR
The more you look the more you'll see!
Don't forget to register at www.scopebuddies.com
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