RECON Spring Training Workshop
Jack C. Davis Observatory, Carson City, Nevada
April 4-7, 2013
We were excited to kick off the RECON Project during a four-day training workshop held at the Jack C. Davis Observatory at Western Nevada College in Carson City. Over thirty-five educators and astronomers from thirteen communities stretching north to Tulelake, California and south to Tonopah, Nevada attended this orientation workshop to become familiar with RECON, our telescope and camera systems, and plans for our coordinated occultation campaigns.
WORKSHOP RESOURCES:
Below are various resources and activities for promoting the RECON Project in your community:
RECON Overview
RECON Sky Basics
Elevator Pitches
Occultation Do’s and Don’ts
RECON Debrief
Workshop Notes (by Kathy Trujillo)
Printable Travel Form
Reimbursement Instructions
Community Reimbursement Form
CONFERENCE LOCATION:
Jack C. Davis Observatory
2699 Van Patten Drive
Carson City, NV 89703
http://www.wnc.edu/observatory/
Conference begins Thursday, April 4, with welcome lunch at the observatory
HOTEL LOCATION:
Gold Dust West
2171 East William Street
Carson City, NV 89701
http://www.gdwcasino.com/Carson/lodging.php
Check-in: Thursday, April 4, 5PM
MAP WITH DIRECTIONS FROM HOTEL TO OBSERVATORY:
SCHEDULE:
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS:
As an option for educators interested in receiving credit for the workshop, participants could receive up to 1-3 units of Continuing Education Units from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for $75-$95. Registration for CEUs must be completed BEFORE the last day of the workshop (April 7). Please note that registration for CEU credit is optional. To register, select the appropriate link below:
1 CEU ($75 total)
2 CEU ($85 total)
3 CEU ($95 total)
RECON EQUIPMENT TO BRING:
Below is a list of RECON equipment that was shipped to each community of the nine communities receiving telescopes and cameras. For the communities that that did not receive telescopes, only Item 3 below applies.
- Telescope, tripod, and telescope accessories (power cable, hand-paddle, T-adapter, diagonal, eyepiece, etc). These all came in two Celestron boxes – one with telescope and accessories and the second with the tripod.
- Dewshield, telrad, and second eyepiece. These all came in a third box that was shipped by a few weeks later from Starizona. Note, you can install the telrad mount to telescope using the following guide, or you can wait and we can do this at the conference.
- Mallincam Camera (including focal reducer in zip-lock bag and power/data cables), IOTA-VTI timer (no power cable included, we will provide at conference), and Mini-DVR (including two 4GB SD4 cards and power cable). These all came in fourth box shipped from Marc within the last two weeks.
At the conference, we provided each community that received a CPC-11 telescope with a large container to bring the telescope home in. The outside dimensions of this container are 37″ L x 22.75″ D x 23.25″ H. You should NOT bring the large Celestron boxes in which the telescope and tripod were shipped, as you would not likely have room on the return trip for both these boxes and the container we will be providing. Rather, we recommend putting a sheet around the telescope, placing the telescope upright in one of your passenger seats, and strapping it down with the shoulder harness of the passenger seat belt. After the conference, participants brought the telescope home in the container provided at the workshop, so it was important that this will fit in your vehicle. It is okay if you would like to bring the telescope accessories and camera/timer/dvr using the smaller boxes in which they shipped were shipped.
OTHER ITEMS TO BRING:
- Warm clothes (including jacket, hat, gloves, and warm shoes)
- Red flashlight (we will provide red cellophane for regular flashlights if needed)
- Water bottle
- Your enthusiasm and curiosity
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For more information on the RECON Spring Training Workshop, contact tnorecon-org@mailman.boulder.swri.edu.