REMOTE ACCESS AUTOMATIC TELESCOPES CONFERENCE II

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Marcia Room at the Lodge, Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Website www.GalileosLegacy.org

Just over 18 years ago, the first Remote Access Automatic Telescopes (RAAT) conference was held in Tucson (March 16-19, 1989). Russ Genet (Fairborn Observatory) organized the conference which was chaired by Dave Crawford (Kitt Peak National Observatory). The conference was sponsored by the Fairborn Observatory, the Smithsonian Institution, and the IAPPP. Not long before the conference, an automatic telescope had received instructions over the Internet, run automatically all night, and sent the results to the requestor following morning—an unattended, remote-access procedure that soon became routine.

Russ Genet and David Rowe, the RAAT II conference organizers, thought it would be worthwhile to revisit this topic. The Lodge at Cloudcroft was chosen as the venue not only for its cool summer clime, beauty, and historic charm, but because the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico have become a world center for remote access automatic telescopes of modest aperture. The conference will begin at 9 AM, break for a leisurely lunch, continue during the afternoon, and then adjourn for a Dutch-treat social hour and dinner. Talks and discussions will be informal. PowerPoint presentations will be supported, as will chalk talks.  Please let either Russ or Dave know if you plan to attend. If you would like to speak, please provide an informal talk title (which you can change at any time). Suggestions for discussion topics are also welcome. We hope that nearly all the observatories in the area will be represented. We would like to hear about what is working now and what is being worked on for the future. All subjects dealing with remote access telescopes, imaging, science and/or educational programs are encouraged, as are talks on non-automated observatories and all other astronomical topics of general interest. Registration is free, but room is limited, so sign up now. All are welcome!

Russ / russmgenet@aol.com / (805) 438-3305

Dave / dave@starryridge.com  / (310) 488-4983