Plan now to attend the

Central Illinois Mini Conference for Amateur Astronomers

Hosted by the TCAA

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Twin City Amateur Astronomers (TCAA) is inviting Illinois astronomy clubs - CUAS, PAS, SAS, PAS, RAA, etc.- to attend a mini conference on Saturday, September 21, 2019. This informal event will be start off at the Illinois State University Planetarium and then move to the Sugar Grove Nature Center between Shirley and McLean, IL. This site is home to the TCAA's Sugar Grove and Prairie Sky Observatories. The site is easily accessed from Interstate 55 southwest of Bloomington. Later that evening, small groups will travel to our dark-sky site - Waynesville Observatory. Mark your calendar now and spread the word to members of your central Illinois astronomy club.

Program: The tentative program is as follows and is subject to change:

3:00 p.m. Contributed talks begin at the Illinois State University Planetarium
4:45 p.m. Depart for Sugar Grove Nature Center
6:00 p.m. Picnic and Open House at SGNC Observatories
7:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker
8:00 p.m. Visits of Waynesville Observatory

Call for presentations: The TCAA is now soliciting 15-minute (or longer if necessary) contributed presentations that will consist of a 10-12 minute talk followed by 3-5 minutes for questions and answers. The number of such talks will be limited, and not all who offer to present will necessarily be given an opportunity to do so. You may request to present a talk by completing the Talk Request Form. It would be ideal if each participating astronomy club would contribute one talk to the program. A screen, video projector, and a laptop computer will be available for use, but presenters are free to use their own computers so long as they have a direct VGA output (PCs) or a dongle providing a VGA output (Macs).

Picnic: This FREE event will feature a selection of brats, hamburgers, and a choice of sides. Refreshments also will be provided. This Star-B-Q is being made possible courtesy of the TCAA and will be available only to those who have preregistered by the deadline.

Keynote speaker: The TCAA will have an invited speaker to give the keynote talk at 7:00 p.m. at Sugar Grove Nature Center. The speaker will be Carl Wenning, member of the TCAA and Chair of the North Central Region of the Astronomical League. He will speak about the pending collapse of Earth's magnetic field and what it might mean for our technological society.

FREE registration: Due to a need to have sufficient food and other resources available at this event, pre-registration will be required for all who wish to attend. Online Registration is now open and will close on September 14th - one week prior to the event. No on-site registration will be permitted.

Rain date: There is no rain date for this event. Because we have access to a large picnic shelter and a nature center, the event will be held rain or shine...

Parking: When you park, please park with your headlights facing away from the observing field if there is any expectation of evening viewing.

Why attend?

• Visit two of this country's most advanced amateur observatories.
  • Prairie Sky Observatory, a 16' x 24' roll-off-roof observatory, was constructed during the summer of 2013 and houses some of the best amateur telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters, and computer systems. Our telescopes include apertures of 11", 14", and 17". We also have a 90mm Hydrogen-alpha telescope.
  • Waynesville Observatory was opened in 2018. It holds 10", 16", 20", and 24" telescopes, all outfitted with some by one of the best mounts, cameras, and filter sets that money can buy.
• Bring your observing equipment along to speak about and share with others, and to view the night sky from our SGNC location.
• Learn what others have been doing as you listen to contributed talks, and hear what our keynote speaker has to say.
• Experience the camaraderie of fellow amateur astronomers. Camaraderie is one of the main reasons why clubs for amateur astronomers exist. This event will provide a great opportunity to establish and grow your network of like-minded individuals within central Illinois.

About the TCAA: If you would like to learn more about the TCAA, feel free to visit our About the TCAA web pages.