Another year, another AstroFest. We stayed at a different hotel this year (next door to the previous one), in the hope it would be quieter: it was! But the view wasn't quite as interesting:
Two days of fascinating talks again, on aurorae (the ones last year were some of the most southerly viewable ever), Mars, forthcoming eclipses, astrophotography (the quality of "amateur" photography today is streets ahead of professional photography several decades ago), black holes, observatories on the moon, star surveys, the UK Space Agency, star formation, the Antikythera Mechanism, exoplanets, and Enceladus. Something for everyone.
And the exhibitors had bigger than ever telescopes on offer, including one mount with four large telescopes on it! A bit beyond our budget, but nevertheless, the shape of amateur things to come?
The train down (Thursday afternoon) was 12 nearly empty coaches. The train back (Saturday evening) was eight packed coaches: we had to stand. Two different people offered me their seat: I must look older than I think I do! I politely (I hope) declined: I had after all been sitting down all day at the event.
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