By Layla Kalinen
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Claudio Veliz, one of the founding members and former president of the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVera) is looking forward to his 40th year attending Stellafane and sharing his passion for astronomy with both professional and novice astronomers.
Veliz said he will be giving a 10-minute talk with photo slides of some of his more noteworthy discoveries and looking forward to looking at the swap tables. He said what he looks forward to most of all is the camaraderie of people who gather annually together in hopes of, as they say in their greeting of one another, ‘clear skies.’
“There will be swap tables and telescope building classes and everyone just has an incredible time getting together to exchange ideas and experiences,” Veliz said.
The swap tables are akin to a giant astronomy lover’s yard sale where enthusiasts buy, sell and trade telescope parts, information and artifacts, he said.
“There will be anything from parts of telescopes to tiny screws and little pieces people search for,” he said.
Veliz said as far as star parties go, which he hosts and attends year-round in his home area of Chester, he said he lives for this bigger event and all of the people who tell their star stories.
“I’m looking forward to hearing Joe Rao, an incredible meteorologist and solar eclipse chaser, our keynote speaker, and a long-time friend that I haven’t seen in years,” Veliz said. “There will also be a series of 10-minute talks accompanied with photos in slideshows.”
Veliz said the 10-minute limit on the talks gives the most people an opportunity to show off their discoveries. He said that in his experience, the short discussions are interesting because of the various regions people come from to attend Stellafane. He said it gives people the chance to chase the sky at one of the most prominent locations with an onsite, gargantuan telescope worldwide.
“The most interesting and memorable talk was by a young guy who managed to pack a ridiculously large number of photos into a light speed, rapid fire slide show while managing to successfully narrate his experiences in a span of 10 minutes,” Veliz said.
Veliz said SoVera is always welcoming members to their group to go out and chase the stars and their own dreams.
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