A Brief History of NEFAF

Welcome to the official blog of the New England Fall Astronomy Festival or NEFAF! In the future this blog will be the place to find updates and insider info about NEFAF as well as fun and insightful educational astronomy tidbits. But I figured since this is the first post, I’d give you a little background on NEFAF.

NEFAF started as an idea between two huge astronomy-lovers- John Gianforte and Tom Cocchiaro- who dreamed of an event where they could spread their love and excitement about space to children and families all over New England. Luckily, John, an accomplished local astronomer,  is extremely involved with the UNH Physics Department, where he teaches astronomy courses in the summer, and has been involved as a volunteer with the UNH Observatory since it was founded in the mid-1980s. So in the winter of 2011 John approached the powers that be within the UNH Physics Department about hosting such an event. Meanwhile, Tom, an active member of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society (NHAS), approached that organization about participating in the event as well. Both the UNH Physics Department and NHAS were extremely excited about the idea and wanted to get involved, but both agreed that what the was still missing was a suitable location to host the event. It was immediately decided that the UNH Observatory was the ideal locale and a the dates were selected: Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2012. And then the ball really got rolling!

Next, the organizers, a rag-tag group consisting of UNH employees, students, Observatory volunteers, NHAS members, and friends began to raise funds and work with UNH departments to coordinated logistics for the event. Joining the UNH Physics Department, contributions came in from the UNH Office of the President, the UNH Office of the Provost, the UNH Alumni Association, the UNH Parents Association, the New Hampshire Space Grant Consortium, and the New Hampshire High Technology Council. On top of all the monetary support, Tom was able to solicit the donation of over $2000 in telescopes and equipment from Oceanside Photo and Telescope and Orion Telescopes and Binoculars. In addition to that, we received raffle donations of UNH windbreakers from the UNH Alumni Association, a signed Jonathan Papelbon baseball from the Boston Red Sox, and a certificate for free dog training from the NH SPCA! UNH food staple RRRamon’s Food and Coffee Cart also got involved, offering to be our food sponsor!

But the event still didn’t have a name! After several meetings and dozens of emails throwing words and acronyms around, the organizers finally settled on “New England Fall Astronomy Festival”. We liked making the geographic region large, to encompass all of New England and we wanted to highlight the autumnal feel of the festival. I think the Astronomy part is pretty obvious and “festival”, well that just plain sounds fun! So we had our name. Next we met with UNH’s Editorial & Creative services team who helped us develop a poster for the event.

The poster for the first-ever New England Fall Astronomy Festival, created for us by UNH Editorial & Creative Services

While we were working on the logistics and fundraising, we also had to try to put together a program of activities, talks, and demonstrations for the festival. We were lucky enough to secure NASA astronaut and UNH alumnus Lee Morin to give our keynote talk and invited well-known solar photographer Alan Friedman to speak as well. Joining them were former UNH Observatory Manager Matt Giguere, former NASA researcher Dr. Suzanne Young, Brother Albert Heinrich, Profs. Jim Ryan and Mark McConnell of the UNH Physics Department, and several NHAS members. We also amassed a group of volunteers, led by John’s wife Doris and daughter Becky, to coordinate hands-on astronomy activities for children and their parents. We also got a whole lot of other participants to join in the fun. Before we knew it we had science organizations from all over the state manning tables next to NHAS. ARLISS Team New Hampshire, the Earth, Sea & Space Center, the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA), the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, the Oyster River High School FIRST Robotics Team, and Project SMART were all represented.

Before we knew it, October was on us and there were just a few short days left before the big event. Ignoring a few small logistical hiccups everything was going swimmingly until the Friday of the event, then the skies opened up. It rained almost all day Friday, soaking the fields around the Observatory where the event was scheduled to be held. But we didn’t let that deter us! Despite a relatively small turnout Friday night, we remained optimistic for Saturday, the main day of the festival. The organizers and volunteers arrived early Saturday morning to prepare and to assess the rain situation. The ground was still very wet, but otherwise it turned out to be a crisp, clear New England fall day! Much to our excitement, over 500 people from around the Seacoast and beyond showed up to enjoy the event. Guests filled the day with solar observing, talks, and kids activities. Many a happy child could be found with planets painted on their cheeks and a hand-made mini-model of the Hubble Space Telescope clutched in a hand as they peered through one of a dozen-plus scopes set up around the UNH Observatory dome. After his talk, Lee Morin signed well over 200 autographs and took countless pictures with grateful children and their parents. As the day wore on, some children faltered, but the overall excitement and enthusiasm surrounding the day sure did not. As the sun dropped and night fell, nearly 300 people came out to join UNH Observatory staff and NHAS members for several hours of stargazing.

The poster for the first-ever New England Fall Astronomy Festival, created for us by UNH Editorial & Creative Services

A couple of NHAS members set up their personal telescopes near the UNH Observatory. These were just two of dozens contributed to NEFAF by NHAS members. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

NHAS members brought a fleet of telescopes to NEFAF to show guests the sun and stars. Inside the dome sits the Observatory’s 14-inch reflector which was also used for viewing at NEFAF. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

NHAS members show guests the sun through several solar telescopes. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

UNH Observatory Manager Ian Cohen safely shows a young observer the Sun through the Observatory’s main telescope, a 14-inch reflector. Credit: Loni Anderson

Here Joe Derek, long-time member of NHAS, sits with two beautiful telescopes. Joe built that large black motorized Dobsonian reflector, constructing every piece of it himself. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

A young NEFAF attendee greedily glares at the sun through this safe solar telescope. Credit: Tom Cocchiaro

This is what NEFAF is all about! A young astronomer-to-be looks at the Sun through a solar telescope. Credit: Loni Anderson

Young astrofans get stars, planets, and even some unique constellations painted on their faces by volunteer Megan Seneca, a UNH graduate student. Credit: Tom Cocchiaro

Several young guests construct their very own miniature models of the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: Tom Cocchiaro

Several kids work on creating their own constellations. Credit: Loni Anderson

NHAS member and NEFAF organizer Ted Blank shows a young man and his mom the inner workings of a telescope. Credit: Tom Cocchiaro

NHAS member and McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center educator, Bob Veilleux, shows off his huge collection of meteorites. Bob is NH’s foremost expert on space rocks. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

Tyler, an educator from the McAuliffe-Shepard Discover Center, teaches a group a kids a lesson about pressure with a demonstration. Credit: Loni Anderson

A member of the Oyster River High School FIRST Robotics Team shows one of his team’s projects to a captivated audience. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

Members of ARLISS Team New Hampshire sit at their table displaying one of their rockets. Credit: Kristi Donohue, EOS

Acclaimed solar photographer Alan Friedman gives his talk about how he captures such beautiful images of the Sun. Credit: Tom Cocchiaro

Our NEFAF 2011 keynote speaker, NASA astronaut and UNH alum Lee Morin, talks about the strength required to move a stubborn bolt in space. Credit: Loni Anderson

A young fan gets an autograph from our 2011 NEFAF keynote speaker, NASA astronaut and UNH alumnus Lee Morin. Credit: Loni Anderson

All in all the event was a huge success and the organizers immediately decided to try to make the New England Fall Astronomy Festival an annual event! So here we are, preparing for the second-annual NEFAF, scheduled (in conjunction with International Observe the Moon Night) for Friday, September 21 and Saturday, September 22, 2012. We hope to see you there! Please be sure to follow this blog and “Like” our Facebook page for the most up-to-date information about the event. And of course visit our website as well!

– Cheers,
Ian Cohen
Manager, UNH Observatory