AAVSO 103rd Annual Meeting will be held November 6-8, 2014 at the Hilton Hotel in Woburn, MA. This joint meeting with the Society for Astronomical Sciences (SAS) will feature a spectroscopy workshop as well as a special session in honor of AAVSO Director, Arne Henden as he prepares to retire in early 2015. We hope you will be able to join us for Arne's last meeting as Director of the AAVSO. Boston is a city filled with many interesting museums/attractions and autumn can be a beautiful time to visit New England. You may even want to stay a few extra days to enjoy the sights!
Click to jump straight to the Meeting Operations Page, where you can register, view your registration summary, pay your registration fee, submit an abstract, or revise your abstract. Please note: you must be logged into your AAVSO web account in order to register.
QUICK LINKS:
| - Updates | - Transportation |
| - Description of Events | - Registration/List of Fees |
| - Schedule | - Abstract Submission |
| - Accommodations | - Deadlines to Remember |
- Webcast of Saturday morning and afternoon sessions:
- We will be webcasting the membership meeting on Saturday morning. This session will include the Association's minutes, Treasurer's report, introduction of the AAVSO's next Director, Dr. Stella Kafka, Arne Henden's Director's report, and the most recent Council election results. The first of the talks in the special session honoring Arne Henden will also take place in morning session - just before lunch. The session begins at 9:00am Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, November 8, 2014. Here is the link to participate: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/545675837
- We will also webcast the Saturday afternoon session - a special paper session honoring the AAVSO's current Director, Dr. Arne Henden. These talks will focus on Arne's contributions to the field and specifically to the AAVSO. The session begins at 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, November 8, 2014. Here is the link to participate in the afternoon session: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/586649853
- Paper Order for Friday Paper Session: Click here to see a pdf version of the Friday paper session order.
- Paper Order for Saturday Special Paper Session in honor of Arne Henden: Click here to see a pdf version of the Saturday special paper session order.
- Detailed Schedule is posted here!
First Time Attendee Gathering: We will be holding an informal, coffee & pastries gathering Thursday morning for all first time AAVSO meeting attendees. Members of the AAVSO staff will be present to provide a warm welcome and answer any questions about AAVSO meetings or the organization in general. We want to help you make the most of your first AAVSO meeting by facilitating connections from the beginning. Details will be sent to all first time attendees who select the appropriate box on the registration form.
Thursday Afternoon Workshop - Spectroscopy With Just a Turn of the Filter Wheel, Presented by Dr. John Martin: The ease-of-use of filter wheel gratings has changed amateur spectroscopy making it possible to take low-resolution spectra without a change in tailpiece or a complicated setup. In skilled hands this addition to your filter wheel expands capabilities and opens up new territory in transient identification and time domain astronomy. In this workshop we will explore what it takes to get started using a filter wheel grating and discuss what they potentially add to your observing program.
Dr. Martin is an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of Illinois at Springfield and a dedicated member of the AAVSO Council.
Special Topic & General Paper Sessions: General paper sessions on variable star related topics will be held on Friday. Saturday afternoon will feature papers related to Arne Henden's interests, career, and time at the AAVSO. Posters will be hung on Friday and can remain posted through Saturday.
Membership Meeting: All attendees are invited to this gathering, which will be held Saturday morning. The purpose of this meeting is to inform attendees of the activities of the Association. The Director’s Report will be included and we will announce the AAVSO Council election results. All portions of the membership meeting will be broadcast online via GoToWebinar. (Details will be announced on the website.) We will leave plenty of time for Q&A and will be taking questions from both in-person and online attendees.
Closing Award Banquet: The Closing Banquet (buffet) will be held at the Woburn Hilton on Saturday evening. The banquet will be preceded by a cash bar and include several special award presentations. There will not be a full-length after dinner talk, but we are planning some special presentations and fun activities including a trivia game. The buffet will feature: sirloin steak, pork loin, salmon, salad, rolls, assorted side dishes, and a dessert table. No entree selection is required during registration. You are welcome to select any entree you wish from the buffet - or some of each!
Detailed Schedule is posted here!
Thursday, November 6th
- Morning: AAVSO Council Meeting (council members only)
- Morning: First-time Attendee Gathering
- 2:00pm - 5:00pm: Spectroscopy Workshop
Friday, November 7th
- 9:00am - noon: General Paper Session & Posters
- noon - 2:00pm: Lunch break
- 2:00pm - 5:00pm: General Paper Session & Posters
Saturday, November 8th
- 9:00am - noon: AAVSO Membership Meeting
- noon - 2:00pm: Lunch break
- 2:00pm - 5:00pm: Paper Session Honoring Arne Henden
- 6:00pm: cash bar opens followed by
- 7:00pm: AAVSO Closing Banquet
Sleeping rooms have been reserved at the Woburn Hilton for AAVSO meeting attendees at a special group rate of $129 plus tax. (Hotel address is: 2 Forbes Road, Woburn, MA 01801.) Please make your reservations by calling the hotel at 781-932-0999 before October 30th, 2014. Please be sure to mention that you will be participating in the AAVSO meeting when making room reservations. If you have any difficulties securing the group rate, please ask for Debra Senf (Sales Director).
Roommate matching assistance will be available for those who would like to lower costs by sharing a room - just complete the appropriate section of the registration form.
- The hotel has free shuttle service within a 5-mile radius of the property. A shopping mall, many restaurants, and bus service to/from the airport are all located well within 5 miles. A subway stop, which provides service into downtown Boston for sightseeing, is also located within the 5-mile radius.
- For those driving or renting cars - there is plenty of free onsite parking!
- From the airport:
- Taxi: Travel from airport to the Woburn Hilton will be about $60.
- RECOMMENDED! Logan Express Bus: Runs every hour to half hour depending on the day of week. Direct to airport, no other stops. No reservations required. Fare is $12 one-way & $22 round trip. This bus picks up at all airport terminals and drops off less than 10-minutes from the Hilton at the Anderson Regional Transportation Center. You can take the free hotel shuttle (call the hotel front desk upon arrival: 781-932-0999) or a taxi from there.
Please complete the MEETING REGISTRATION FORM by October 15, 2014. You can complete this form online (you must be logged into the AAVSO website) or you can call the AAVSO (617-354-0484) to request that a paper copy of the registration forms be mailed to you. After October 15th registration will be more expensive and some events may be sold out. Note that the registration fee includes cofee breaks throughout and a hot breakfast buffet on Friday & Saturday.
Students: Educators bringing students to the meeting are welcome to use the family rate to register themselves and up to 3 students. Educators with larger groups or students who would like to attend on their own should contact us for more information.
Spouse/Guest Networking: We encourage attendees to bring spouses, family members & other guests to the meeting, but we know that some guests may not wish to attend all of the sessions. We will set up a mailing list so that spouses/guests can share sightseeing ideas and make plans to "hit the town" together. Sign-up for this mailing list is available via the meeting registration form.
List of Fees:
Meeting registration: Single early - $125, Family early - $190, Single late - $135, Family late - $200
Spectroscopy workshop: $25
Banquet buffet: $62
Abstracts will be accepted on a space-available basis until October 15, 2014. You can complete this form online via the 103rd Annual Meeting page (strongly preferred) or you can call the AAVSO (617-354-0484) to request that a paper copy of the abstract form be mailed to you. NOTE: The abstract form will not appear until you have registered for the meeting.
Meeting attendees are permitted to submit up to 2 abstract forms. (This can be 2 posters, 2 oral presentations or one of each.) Abstracts are limited to 500 words.
DEADLINES TO REMEMBER
• October 15th - Early Registration Deadline & Early Abstract Submission Deadline
• October 30th - Hotel Reservation Deadline
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about the meeting.
We hope to see you in November!