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AHSP 2023 at EL’s Spruce Knob Mountain Center
Lunch for Attendees that paid for meals is set for Friday through Monday. Here is the Food Menu for reference.
Friday, 4:00-5:30 pm on the Yurt deck
Bring your astronomy, observing, or space-related items to sell. Bring your cash to get those items you need. Bring more cash for the items you want. Bring even more to get items you didn’t even know exist.
All transactions will be simply private between buyers and sellers. Sellers should stay with their items as long as they are on display.
Dinner for the attendee that paid for food as part of their registrations. Here is the Food Menu for seeing what is being prepared for each meal.
Duncan Lorimer is giving a talk on Fast Radio Bursts
Informal Visual Observing
Evenings, Friday and Saturday. Meet on the Yellow Observing Field (look for the red marker light).
This will be available every night at dusk to chat with beginners on a variety of observing topics. This informal get-together could cover anything from how to locate and recognize deep sky objects, types of objects to observe, tips on seeing faint objects, etc. Beginners questions will steer the topics discussed. Drop by for a short while or stay until the chat winds up for the evening. This is informal! Appropriate for observers of all experience levels.
Breakfast for AHSP Attendees that have paid for meals. Here is the Food Menu for checking what’s for breakfast!
Whether you are a seasoned birdwatcher or a casual observer you are sure to enjoy one of our two birdwatching sessions. Don’t miss this opportunity to see what West Virginia has to offer this time around. It will be later in the season and we expect cooler-climate populations to delight us with a visit.
Birdwatching sessions will occur Saturday and Sunday morning right after breakfast, weather permitting.
Bring binoculars if you have them. We will be walking through some uncut grass, so shoes (boots) that can withstand some dew may be a good idea.
Saturday, at 9:00 am on the Yurt Deck Patio
The SKMC’s staff will lead a canoe trip on Spruce Knob Lake. Canoes and safety gear will be provided. Gather and depart from the Yurt deck at 9:00 am on Saturday.
This is a “behind-the-scenes” tour, so you’ll get to visit labs, engineering facilities, and the telescope control room – locations that are normally off-limits to the public!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Cameras are welcome at GBO, however their use is restricted. In order to prevent radio-frequency interference to observations in progress, the observatory prohibits the use of digital cameras (and electronics-laden film cameras) in some locations close to the telescopes. Bring a simple film camera if you’d like to take pictures up close to the instruments.
We’ll hand out directions to GBO from SKMC before we go. If you’re arriving from off-site, GBO has a great map with directions to help.
Lunch for Attendees that paid for meals is set for Friday through Monday. Here is the Food Menu for reference.
Caving
Saturday at 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Spruce Knob Mountain Center Staff
The SKMC’s staff will lead a trip to a local Shenandoah cave. After many years of caves being closed for fear of spreading White Nose Syndrome in bats, it has been determined that human cave visits are not a contributing factor. SKMC staff will lead a caving trip on Sunday. Prepare to get muddy!
This will be a more detailed talk around observing at night AHSP
Back Ridge Observatory Open House
Saturday & Sunday, 3:00 pm at the observatory, or meet 2:45 pm on the deck.
Host is Joe Morris
Joe will open the observatory he has made available for SKMC’s use, on the ridge northwest of the observing fields.
Hands-on Radio Astronomy
NOVAC has arranged for access to GBO’s 40-foot educational dish. Participants will leave for Green Bank either with the tour earlier in the day or later in the afternoon. Observations begin in the late evening and continue as long as you’re willing to stay awake. Overnight accommodations are provided in dorm-style facilities at GBO. Space is very limited!
If you’re going on the Behind-the-Scenes Tour, you’ll stay at GBO following the conclusion of the tour. Otherwise, you should plan to be on-site at GBO by 4:15 pm.
No prior radioastronomy experience is required; GBO will provide instruction and support. You may wish to look over the 40-Foot Telescope Observer’s Manual [pdf] before you arrive to get an idea of how the equipment works and what you might want to observe.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Cameras are welcome at GBO, however their use is restricted. In order to prevent radio-frequency interference to observations in progress, the observatory prohibits the use of digital cameras (and electronics-laden film cameras) in some locations close to the telescopes. Bring a simple film camera if you’d like to take pictures up close to the instruments.
Printed directions to GBO from SKMC will be available on site. If you’re arriving from off-site, GBO has a great map with directions to help.
Dinner for the attendee that paid for food as part of their registrations. Here is the Food Menu for seeing what is being prepared for each meal.
Terry Mann is doing a talk on Aurora
Informal Visual Observing
Evenings, Friday and Saturday. Meet on the Yellow Observing Field (look for the red marker light).
This will be available every night at dusk to chat with beginners on a variety of observing topics. This informal get-together could cover anything from how to locate and recognize deep sky objects, types of objects to observe, tips on seeing faint objects, etc. Beginners questions will steer the topics discussed. Drop by for a short while or stay until the chat winds up for the evening. This is informal! Appropriate for observers of all experience levels.
Breakfast for AHSP Attendees that have paid for meals. Here is the Food Menu for checking what’s for breakfast!
Whether you are a seasoned birdwatcher or a casual observer you are sure to enjoy one of our two birdwatching sessions. Don’t miss this opportunity to see what West Virginia has to offer this time around. It will be later in the season and we expect cooler-climate populations to delight us with a visit.
Birdwatching sessions will occur Saturday and Sunday morning right after breakfast, weather permitting.
Bring binoculars if you have them. We will be walking through some uncut grass, so shoes (boots) that can withstand some dew may be a good idea.
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