Dr. Jeff Terry of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and Argonne National Laboratory is a Mac advocate; author of the Mac-only application *iCCD* , which is used to control Starlight Express astronomical CCD cameras and process FITS images; and organizer of the first Macintosh Astronomy Workshop, which was held at IIT in Chicago in September, 2005. Dr. Terry has posted the following in the Mac forum at Astromart.com and in the Yahoo MacAstronomer group at <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macastronomer>:
Begin quote: "It is coming up on the time for deciding whether or not there will be a MacAstro Workshop II in January 2007 in conjunction with MacWorld.
"We have some funds already in the budget, not too much but a bit that can be used for advertising. What is missing is someone to act as the local organizer in the SF Bay Area.
"If we do not get a volunteer soon, we will be forced to reconsider the viability of having these Workshops. The first one went very well. I would hate to see it go away. It does require someone to step up and volunteer to be the local organizer." End quote.
A volunteer organizer would likely be a hard-core Machead, and would reside in the SF Bay area. He or she would *not* *necessarily* be one of the few, the proud -- the Mac-based amateur astronomy community -- but the job would certainly be more interesting for an astronomer or other person interested in the Mac in science. Professionals are most welcome!
I attended Macintosh Astronomy Workshop I in Chicago last September. It was a most rewarding experience, and it would be a shame not to keep this program going. This would not be a huge job. I would volunteer in a New York minute *if* I lived a couple of thousand miles closer to SF.
You may read about MAW I here: <http://mrmac.mr.aps.anl.gov/~macastroworkshop/> and here: <http://www.davidillig.com/maw-astrofest.shtml>.
If you're the person for this job, please contact Dr. Terry at terryj *at* itt *dawt* edu.
Thanks for reading!
Davoud
Macs in amateur astronomy: <http://www.davidillig.com/astromac.shtml>
Dr. Terry's QuickTime movie of Comet 73P and the Ring Nebula will knock your socks off -- bottom of this page <http://mrmac.mr.aps.anl.gov/~astronut/pages/cometM57.htm>
My my own photo of Comet 73P <http://www.davidillig.com/ast-73p_s-w060429.shtml>. Telescope control, camera control, and autoguiding via a PowerBook.
Alan Friedman shows what a /highly/ /skilled/ /person/ with a Mac can do in amateur astrophotography: <http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/images/jupiter/friedman.jpg> and <http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2006/images/lunaralps/friedman.jpg>
N.B. Dr. Terry, who is a friend of mine (since MAW I) did not ask me to post this information.
