2009 Mulberry Mountain / AOAS Star Party
The Arkansas/Oklahoma Astronomy Society is proud to announce their second annual 2009 Mulberry Mountain Star Party, to be held on June 19th & 20th, 2009. Once again, this year’s event will take place at Mulberry Mountain Lodging & Events, which is a 650-acre facility located 16 miles north of Interstate 40, on Arkansas Hwy 23, near the city of Ozark, Arkansas. The facility boasts some of “The Darkest Skies in Arkansas,” at GPS coordinates N 35° 42′ 36″: W 93° 47′ 44″.
Please see their website at: http://www.aoas.org
Mulberry Mountain offers cabins, pull-through RV sites and improved tent campsites with water, electricity & showers. Virtually unlimited primitive campsites are also available. Contact Mulberry Mountain Lodging & Events by phone at (866) 667-1919 or by e-mail at mulberrymountain@aol.com for lodging information and reservations.
Here is their website at: http://mulberrymountainlodge.com/
AOAS plans to set up a Public Observation Area on the south side of the resort on Friday and Saturday evenings. All scopes are welcome, and encouraged. Amateurs who wish to camp in the Public Observation Area may do so (“Primitive” Camping), to sleep (?) near their equipment.
Vendors are being invited, and a “Swap Meet” will take place Saturday afternoon in the Conference Center, where anyone will be able to buy, sell, or trade any astronomical items.
2009 AOAS Mulberry Mountain Star Party – Speaker Line-Up
This year’s Star Party includes an exciting line up of speakers! Speaker events will take place in the Conference Center on Saturday, June 20th, at times indicated.
Coming to us from CAAS is our first speaker, Wade Van Arsdale, hails from Little Rock and is well-known in the amateur astronomy community. Wade is an accomplished astro-imager.
Getting Started In Astro-Imaging
by Wade Van Arsdale
1:00 to 2:00 pm
Member of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society (CAAS) Vice President and Co-founder, Arkansas Section, International Dark Sky Association.
Our next speaker is Dr. Derek Sears, is from the University or Arkansas’ Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Sciences. Dr. Sears has been on the forefront of planetary science for many years. Dr. Sears will be presenting an engaging lecture on the relationship between the Earth, Asteroids, and Meteorites.
Ménage à Trois: Earth, Meteorites, and the Asteroids by Dr. Derek Sears
2:15 to 3:15 pm
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Fulbright College Director, Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Sciences Author, Thunderstones: A Study of Meteorites Based on Falls and Finds in Arkansas
Another exciting speaker comes to us from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Marc Seigar. Dr. Seigar has conducted recent research and published results in various periodicals concerning “Massive Black Holes and the Structure of Spiral Galaxies”. This lecture promises an insight into some of the most basic cosmological questions about the Universe.
Black Holes and Dark Energy Research
By Dr. Marc S. Seigar
3:30 to 4:30 pm
Assistant Professor Dept. of Physics & Astronomy University of Arkansas at Little Rock
AOAS is also proud to welcome Dr. Daniel Kennefick and Dr. Julia Kennefick, both Assistant Professors of Physics at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Dr. Daniel Kennefick’s research falls in to two areas: the physics of gravitational waves and their sources and the history and sociology of Modern Physics.
“Not only because of Theory”: Eddington, Dyson and the 1919 Solar Eclipse Expedition which tested General Relativity By Dr. Daniel Kennefick and Dr. Julia Kennefick
4:45 to 5:45 pm
Assistant Professors, Dept. of Physics
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
In addition to the distinguished speakers listed above, the Arkansas Section of the International Dark Sky Association will begin the program 10:30 AM on Saturday morning with IDA-AR hosting a RALLY FOR DARK SKIES, which will include “Protecting the Night Environment”, a presentation on light pollution issues as well as a discussion on ways you can carry the IDA mission into your community. This will be followed by a brief business meeting. This event is free and open to all members of the public and attendees of the MMSP. For more information on this event and the IDA-AR please contact Arkansas Section Leader Jim Fisher at DarkSkyArkansas@gmail.com or 501-366-0948.
A $5.00 donation will be requested for Guest Speaker (non-IDA) events and tickets will be used in drawings for donated door prizes.
Ross Ellet
