Light Pollution is a major, growing problem for most amateur astronomers; a growing world population and relatively inexpensive power have lead to brighter nights and degraded observing in many areas. Light Pollution is any adverse effect of artificial light including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste.
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Stellafane Convention provides fantastic viewing as it is located in rural Vermont, high on a wooded hill. Low population density and being surrounded by forests mean less outdoor lighting and darker skies. Our forests provide shielding from most ground-level lighting, such as highways, traffic, and town centers, and we have worked diligently with local governments and businesses to decrease light pollution in our area.
Observing at Stellafane
At Stellafane, we have four observatories: the Porter Turret Telescope, the McGregor Observatory, the Bruening Observatory and the Andrew Simoni Solar Observatory. All will be operating during the convention - their eyepieces await you.
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There are also fields of telescopes made by attendees, literally several hundred will be there, and most will let you take a look through them. Quite a few will be doing astrophotography and would be happy to show off their results.
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You can take part in the Observing Olympics to win a collectible pin and show off your observing skills! We provide lists for both Binoculars and small scopes - give it a try and hone your observing skills.
The Porter Turret Telescope
The Porter Turret Telescope was constructed in 1930 by the club. Porter, who had endured more than his share of winter cold on polar expeditions early in his career, developed a design that allowed the observer to remain indoors and comfortable on the coldest winter nights. Extensively renovated, including new optics in the 1970s, the Porter Turret remains an excellent instrument, and is operated during the Convention during the day for solar observation, as well as at night
The McGregor Observatory
The McGregor Observatory at Stellafane East was constructed by the club between 1989 and 1995. It houses a unique instrument—a 13” f/10 Schupmann telescope mounted on a massive computer controlled alt-az mounting. For a time it was the largest operating Schupmann in the world. This design, which combines reflective and refractive elements, yields a coma-free and essentially apochromatic image, and is ideal for planetary observation. The Schupmann is operated during Convention.
The Andrew Simoni Observatory
This new building houses a c.1930 Hale spectrohelioscope acquired and donated to the club by member Matt Considine, and restored by club members. An invention of George Ellery Hale, and illustrated by our found Russel Porter, the spectrohelioscope. During convention, we look at solar prominences and sunspots in hydrogen-alpha light. The observatory was formally dedicated to the memory of Andrew Simoni during the 2018 convention.
The Bruening Observatory
The Bruening Observatory houses a 10-inch classical Cassegrain telescope on an all-brass Springfield Mount, both made by Dino Argentini of the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston. The observatory was constructed in 2005 with a donated Ash dome and named in honor of long time club member Carl Bruening. The Springfield Mount, invented by club founder Russell Porter, is unique in that the eyepiece remains in fixed position as the scope moves on both rotational axes.