Mtg & Talk

Note the new starting time: 7:00pm
The Warren Astronomical Society meets monthly on the third Thursday in Room 205 in the "E" building at Macomb Community College, 14500 E 12 Mile Road, Warren, MI, 48088.
We do a bit of club business early on, then have a major presentation usually put together by one of our members.

Feature
Smart Telescopes: How Smart are they?
By Dr Gary Nichols
From the initial Kickstarter projects to the entry into mainstream Consumer devices, "Smart Telescopes" seem here to stay. But what are they capable of doing for us? Are they simply the combination of what can be purchased separately? Do they offer any advantages over standard astronomy? Can they compete in the astrophotography realm? Technical advances and decreasing prices have brought these devices from the small circles of innovators and the pockets of the wealthy to mass marketing and the general public, but just what are they capable of doing and what can you expect from these devices.
About the Speaker
Dr Nichols is a self taught astrophotographer with experience with both OSC and mono setups. He has been doing EAA before the initial Kickstarters of Unistellar and Vaonis. He started down this round in 2017 with Unistellar and followed up with Vaonis in 2020. Gary has a substantial amount of time invested in these devices as well as Dwarf Lab and ZWO. Most recently he moved to Celestron's recent entry into this space. He has used these devices in his astrophotography and for outreach and loves to share his experiences and learning path.
If you would like to present a short talk (5-15 minutes) or a long talk (40-60 minutes) at a future meeting, please email Dale Partin at firstvp@warrenastro.org.

The views expressed in presentations are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent, and should not be attributed to, the Warren Astronomical Society.