Tri Star 2015

 

I got a call from a club buddy asking if I were interested in tagging along to the yearly Tri Star even put on by GTCC. I looked on the internet and checked out the schedule of events (http://www.gtcc.edu/observatory/tristar/schedule.aspx). It looked pretty interesting so I agreed to go. Typical for me I got interested in messing with my new Rebel T5i and stayed up way too late. 6:15am came way too fast but excitement at having something to do overruled my sleep deprived brain. 

We arrived early enough to do some browsing through the Astrophotography exhibits and do some "meet & greet" with members of other Astronomy clubs and science groups. There was a very cool Meteorite setup that I enjoyed looking at. I drooled a bit when I spotted a Takahashi OTA for sale. The drool quickly dried up when I saw the $3495 price tag. 

Morning Presentations

We stayed for the 2 morning presentations, the first of which was given by Dr Tom Brown. I have to say it was an awesome talk on recent work done with the Hubble ST. Tired that I was I didn't come closed to falling asleep!

The second presentation...well, I admit my eyelids dropped a couple times. Biology is not my favorite subject so even though the speaker was engaging I had a hard time staying focused.

 Lunch

For the lunch break several RAC and CHAOS members piled in a mini-van and drove to a local Mexican restaurant. I rate the place 4 of 5 for atmosphere. 3/5 for service and food. It was decent but I'd probably look around if I go next year.

Afternoon Presentations

We only stayed for the first presentation which was on the Crab Nebula. It was a really well put together presentation but for me the information was a bit esoteric. I'm sure anyone with a PhD in Astrophysics would have appreciated it more than I did but the photo's were cool. To my credit I followed most of what he said I just don't know if I buy into the "Missing Mass" all the study are based on. I really find it hard to believe we are missing 4~5 solar masses of matter from the Supernova remnant. That's a lotta gas to misplace if you ask me.

Overall a really good time and worth the loss of sleep. It going on my radar for next year and I'll plan to get a little more rest this time.