I had the privilege of attending the final launch of the Orbiter Atlantis and the final Shuttle launch this morning at Kennedy Space Center.

Here are two pictures, more to come.

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Image via Wikipedia

Registration for Stellafane, the SXSW for astronomy geeks like me, is now open.  You can sign up here.

If you are interested in gathering there – I’ve set up a Facebook Group for exactly that purpose.

Jeremy and I went to NASA Headquarters in Washington DC yesterday for a @NASATweetup with Astronaut Doug Wheelock, AKA @astro_wheels. Here’s the video fresh from NASA.tv

Wheelock is probably best known as the first astronaut to do a Foursquare check-in from space.  He even got a badge for it, which he proudly displayed on his flight suit.

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As if the chance to view a Shuttle launch wasn’t enough, my panel proposal “Open Source Astronomy” was selected for the South by Southwest Interactive Festival next March in Austin, TX.

Here’s the brief:

The Internet has had a tremendous impact on the science and hobby of astronomy. From universities collaborating over the Internet to amateurs and enthusiasts sharing and confirming discoveries and findings to the sharing of tips and ideas on listservs and web boards, the opportunities for collaboration and cooperation have ushered in a golden age of astronomy. This panel will focus on ‘open source‘ astronomy – the collaborations between research scientists and amateurs that take advantage of the Internet as well as the communities that have sprung up on the Web to support collaboration and research.

If you are heading to SXSW next year, please put this on your list of panels to watch!

I just found out I’m one of the lucky 150 Tweeters chosen to attend the next NASA Tweet-Up – the launch of STS-133! The launch is currently scheduled for November 1.

You’ll be able to follow me on Twitter and of course I’ll be posting here throughout the two days I’ll be at the Cape.

DSC_0056, originally uploaded by david parmet.

We came, was saw, we observed. Perfect weather – a clear calm sky and mild temperatures – made for perfect observing last night, the final night of Stellafane 2010.

I only made the decision to go around Noon on Saturday – a friend phoned me from the camping field and told me I better get up there, the weather was perfect. I got there barely in time to set up my tent before sunset but somehow managed to get a perfect spot to set up – right next to where I parked and with an unobstructed view of the Northern and Eastern skies.

My own personal list of things I can finally cross off of my bucket list (Astronomy edition) included seeing the shadow of Io crossing Jupiter, finding M51 in my finder scope (!); seeing clearly the intertwining limbs of the two galaxies and seeing the barest hint of a spiral structure in Andromeda.

But the highlight was the Milky Way, clear as spilt milk spread across the sky.

These pictures are rather rough and need some processing, but for now they will do.

Northeast Astronomy Forum from David Parmet on Vimeo.

NEAF – the Northeast Astronomy Forum – is the astronomy industry’s version of CES with a little bit of SXSW thrown in for good measure. Held annually at Rockland County Community College, it brings out all the big manufacturers, the publications and the vendors as well as hoards of eager hobbyists with money to burn on the latest gear.

Astronomy – the hobby – isn’t cheap. A basic set-up - telescope, eyepieces and related gear – can run over a thousand bucks. Higher end telescopes used by hobbyists can run into the thousands. So yes, the industry did suffer somewhat from the Great Recession but this year things seem to be bouncing back. I spoke with a range of folks – journalists and manufacturers – and all seem to feel that the worst is behind them.

On the other hand, many folks expressed their concerns that the hobby remains dominated by older men. More than a few people mentioned the need to get more children and families involved.

This year the organizers made the effort to include more activities for children and I did notice a lot more families walking up and down the show floor than I have in the past.

One very cool note – a certain software manufacturer showed me a very cool iPad application for controlling telescopes. They are still working out the bugs but the possibilities of touch and go control of telescopes (as opposed to using a laptop in the field) boggles the mind. So stay tuned, it’s coming soon to a star party near you.

NEAF, the North East Astronomy Forum, is just around the corner.

I’ll be there on Saturday, hanging with the folks from the Westchester Amateur Astronomers as well as with Night Vision Astronomy. Hopefully I’ll have some time to do some interviews which I’ll post up here.

There are a ton of workshops and speakers and of course vendors. You can get the whole scoop on the official web site here.

If you are going, drop me a line and let me know.

DSC_0228, originally uploaded by david parmet.

Last night was only the second time I’ve seen Mercury and the first time I’ve ever seen four planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn) in one night at one time.

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The sign of a perfect star party – the company, the equipment, the quality of the sky and the number of targets you can check off from your list. Last night had a bit of everything.

The Westchester Amateur Astronomers gather monthly at Ward Pound Ridge in Cross River to enjoy the dark skies. Last night we started with a 20 hour old Moon and quickly moved on to Mercury, the Orion Nebula, the Beehive and (my own personal long-time, never realized White Whale) the Leo Triplet (which I might add I managed to find manually).

And all night long we enjoyed great views of Saturn from the variety of telescopes assembled.

The clear skies are expected to continue at least for tonite, so I’ll be out late again.

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