Astronomy Weekend: Blackwater Falls

The sky’s the limit at Blackwater Falls State Park, September 14-16, 2023. This weekend is the annual Astronomy fall event and made possible by the Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society. The activities/presentations are open to the public.

For 34 years, Blackwater Falls State Park and the Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society have presented this free event under the park’s dark skies. Day events include guest speakers on topics for beginner to advanced astronomers. Night events include star parties at the Harold Walters Nature Center.

Interested in learning more about the Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society? Visit this website:
https://www.kvas.org/index.html or email the society at kvas.wv@gmail.com.

The astronomy weekend outline includes:

Thursday, September 14, 2023
Check in time for the Blackwater Falls Lodge and cabins is 4:00 PM. Stop in at the Harr Conference Center to meet fellow astronomers. A Star party will be held at the Harold Walters Nature Center this evening.

Friday, September 15, 2023
Join members of the Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society for a welcome reception at 12:30 PM in the Harr Conference Center. Guest speakers begin at 1:00 PM. A Star Party will be held at the Harold Walters Nature Center this evening.

Saturday, September 16, 2023
Begin your day by joining fellow astronomers for breakfast at the Blackwater Falls Smokehouse Restaurant. Conferences begin at 9:00 AM. A Star Party will be held at the Harold Waters Nature Center this evening.

See below for a list of draft speakers and presentations and subject to change. The most current list will be on the events at https://www.kvas.org/index.html

Friday, September 15, 2023
12:30-1:00 Janet Willson Welcome Reception
1:00-1:30 Joyce Harman International Dark Sky Association
1:30-1:45 TBD Blackwater Falls Dark Skies Foundation Update
2:00-2:45 Duncan Lorimer Fast Radio Burst
3:00-3:45 Scott Blake The Adena Astronomical Observatory
4:00-4:45 Brent Maynard Solar Eclipse
5:00-5:45 Bill Brown West Virginia Astrophotography Association

Saturday September 16, 2023
9:00-9:45 Sue Bassett Don’t Look Up – Comet and Asteroid Impacts
10:00-10:45 Ed Connors and Bill Brown Beginning Astronomy
11:00-11:45 Tim Hamilton One Year of Astronomy with the James Webb Space Telescope
12:00-1:00 LUNCH
1:00-1:45 Indy Kochte TBD
2:00-2:45 Maria Hamilton Cosmic Symphony: Gravitational Waves and Their Counterparts
3:00-3:45 Loren Anderson Discovering of New Supernova Remnants

Astronomy Weekend Speakers
Joyce Harman Astrophotographer and Member of IDSA
Duncan Lorimer Professor of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University
Scott Blake KVAS Member, NASA/JPL/Cal Tech Solar System Ambassador
Brent Maynard Marshall University – Amateur Astrophotographer
Bill Brown President WVAA, Vice President KVAS, Amateur Astrophotographer
Sue Bassett Treasurer, Astronomical Society of Greenbelt, Maryland
Ed Conners Observatory Director, KVAS
Tim Hamilton Professor of Physics, Shawnee State University
Indy Kochte John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Maria Hamilton Professor of Physics, Marshall University
Loren Anderson Professor of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University

This event will have Door Prizes and Raffles

About the Kanawha Valley Astronomical Society
KVAS is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the promotion of amateur astronomy in and around West Virginia. The group works closely with local schools and the Avampato Discovery Museum at the Clay Center of the ARts and Science located in Charleston WV.

For more information a visit www.kvas.org. The society’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/KVAS.org

For overnight accommodations, call Blackwater Falls State Park Lodge at 304-259-5216.

Reserve lodging:

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