7th ASSA Symposium - Actual Program
28-30 September 2006
www.assabfn.co.za/symposium2006

This program serves as the schedule for the activities of the 2006 ASSA Symposium as it actually took place, hosted by ASSA Bloemfontein Centre, in association with Boyden Observatory. The activities mainly took place at Boyden Observatory outside Bloemfontein.

THURSDAY 28 September 2006

09h00: Arrival at Boyden Observatory
10h00: Welcoming speeches (Organising committee, ASSA Council, Boyden Observatory)
10h30: Information session: The New Amateur Astronomer, by Phillip Coetzer
11h00: Tea break
11h20: Presentation: An Introduction to the History of Boyden Observatory, by Dawie van Jaarsveldt.
12h00: Panel discussion: Serious Amateur Astronomy: Linking with Professionals (Panel members: Tim Cooper, Brian Fraser, Pat Seitzer). Opportunity for questions and answers.
13h00: Lunch
13h45: Presentation by keynote speaker - Tim Cooper, ASSA.
"The Contribution of Southern African Amateur Observations to Professional Astronomical Studies"
14h45: ASSA Deep Sky Section Director, by Magda Streicher
15h00: Tea Break
15h20: Demonstration: Astrophotography and CCD operations            
Presenters: Pat van Heerden, Department of Physics, UFS – “Introduction to CCD operations”
Hannes Calitz, Boyden Observatory – “CCD image processing”
Chris Middleton, ASSA – “Hardware & equipment in Astrophotography”
16h50: Explore Boyden Observatory on your own, photo opportunities, Boyden Treasure Hunt
18h00: Evening meal
19h10: Open air night sky show on the auditorium
19h30: Boyden Observatory Special Tour of the Facilities:
- Visiting the historical 10 inch Metcalf telescope, the Alvin Clark 13 inch, the UFS-Boyden 60 inch, the Main building and historic library
20h30: Astronomy in action:
- "The Art of Deep Sky", through the 13 inch Alvan Clark refractors (Magda Streicher)
- Astrophysics: demonstrating exoplanet search with the 3rd largest optical telescope in South Africa
- On the observation platform: telescope viewing, sky watching, talk to the experts...
21h30: End of day's activities

FRIDAY 29 September 2006

08h45: Workshop: Popularization of Astronomy
Presenters: Dr. Matie Hoffman, Gerrit Penning, Dr. Patrick Seitzer, Kevin Govender
10h30: Group Photo
10h40: Tea Break
11h00: ASSA Future Directions, by Chris de Coning
11h30: Presentation by SKA/KAT representative - Dr. Adrian Tiplady,
"South Africa's radio astronomy future: Competing for the Square Kilometre Array and constructing the Karoo Array Telescope"
12h15: Presentation by keynote speaker - Prof. Phil Charles, SAAO; "SALT: the First Year"
13h00: Lunch and national media event
14h00: Presentation by keynote speaker - Prof. David Block, WITS: “The Wonders of Carbon Stars and Cosmic Dust”
15h00: Tea break
15h20: Presentation: The Forgotten Star in SA Astronomy, by Jacques van Delft
16h00: Visit to the 20-cm coelostat solar installation at Boyden Observatory
16h15: Break, preparation for dinner
19h00: Evening Dinner at Kopano Nokeng Country Lodge near Boyden. More information and Menu.

SATURDAY 30 September 2006

09h00: Visit to the Geology Department of the University of the Free State (includes Geology museum and meteorite collection) Talk by Prof. Marian Tredoux entitled "The Real E.T.'s: what they tell us about our planet".
10h20: ASSA Section Director report: Variable Stars (Brian Fraser)
10h30: ASSA Centre brag session: Garden Route (Jabie Bruwer)
- Proceed to the historic Lamont-Hussey Observatory on Naval Hill for the final session of the Symposium -
11h30: Presentation by keynote speaker, Dr. Patrick Seitzer (University of Michigan, USA):“Saving our Night Skies”, including reference to the history of the Lamont-Hussey Observatory, Naval Hill.
12h30: End of official Symposium activities