May 23-26, 2008
Camp Oakes
Big Bear City, California

Originally called the Telescope Makers Conference, the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC) was founded in 1969 by Clifford W. Holmes as a way for amateur telescope makers to share their craft. In 1975, the RTMC moved to its current home at Camp Oakes, a YMCA camp near Big Bear City. Located 50 miles northeast of Riverside in the San Bernardino mountains, the site offers space for camping, several dormitories and 18 three-sided shelters, a meeting/dining hall, and the Charles Walker Observatory. The camp is located at an elevation of 7,600 feet. Click on the following link to view a labeled aerial photograph of Camp Oakes.

Since its inception, the RTMC has expanded to encompass all aspects of amateur astronomy from beginning to advanced topics and from telescope making to "armchair" astronomy. Recently, the RTMC has included events for the whole family with horseback riding, hikes, activities for spouses and activities for the young kids. In 2000, the official name of the conference was changed to the "RTMC Astronomy Expo."

During the RTMC the camp has more people than a typical recreational campground of its size, but the primary reason for attending is precisely because it offers a chance to rub shoulders with a large number of people who know telescopes and like to talk about them. What we offer is a chance to see and look through a large variety of telescopes (with relatively dark skies and high altitude), attend talks by professional and amateur astronomers on different aspects of telescope construction and use, see some astronomical equipment and software in use, and buy astronomical equipment and software (often at reduced prices). The vendors contribute door prizes for Saturday and Sunday evenings. We don't know exactly what prizes we'll have in advance, but in the past there have been telescopes of 8 to 12 inches in aperture.

Vendors ranging from major telescope manufacturers to people selling T-shirts have booths at the telescope field and along the paths leading to it.

Date
The 40th annual RTMC Astronomy Expo will take place on Friday, May 23, through Monday, May 26, 2008 (Memorial Day weekend).

Location
YMCA Camp Oakes, five miles southeast of Big Bear City on State Route 38 at Lake Williams Road between mileposts 44 and 45. This location is about 50 miles northeast of Riverside in the San Bernardino mountains.
Longitude 116° 45' 15" West
Latitude 34° 13' 50" North
Altitude 7250 feet (2210 meters)
Click here for maps and directions.

Moonrise and Moonset (PDT)
Friday, May 23: Moonrise 11:17 PM
Saturday, May 24: Moonset 9:13 AM, Moonrise 11:54 PM
Sunday, May 25: Moonset 10:13 AM
Monday, May 26: Moonrise 12:26 AM

Theme
This year's theme is "Alien Worlds, Planets, and Moons."

Program Schedule
A program schedule is available for download.

Keynote Speaker

The Keynote Speaker for 2008 will be Chris Butler. His presentation is titled "From Nine Planets to Nine Billion Worlds: Visualizing the New Frontiers of Astronomy." Chris is an internationally renowned artist and public speaker who focuses on science, nature, and maritime subjects. His illustrations have appeared in thousands of publications worldwide, from the Times of London to Scientific American. Among his screen credits are the National Geographic IMAX film Forces of Nature and Griffith Observatory's Centered in the Universe, on which he served as art director. Chris was the 2006 recipient of the Western Amateur Astronomers' G. Bruce Blair Medal for service to astronomy, a prestigious award previously bestowed upon astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and famed illustrator Chesley Bonestell.

Mike Unsold ImagesPlus Workshop

Mike Unsold will present the featured workshop Sunday at the RTMC AE. He is the developer of the ImagesPlus camera control and image processing software for DSLRs and other astronomical cameras. His professional career started in the late 1970s and includes many years of teaching mathematics at Kent State University and software development. Currently he is the owner of MLUnsold Digital Imaging and author of ImagesPlus, the "gold standard" for image processing of digital camera astroimages. The workshop will review the basics as well as more advanced concepts of image capture, calibration, and processing. You must pre-register and pay an additional fee for this workshop. These workshops have sold out for the past two years, so register early.

Phoenix Spacecraft Landing Broadcast
The Phoenix spacecraft is scheduled to land on Mars at 4:36 PM PDT on Sunday, May 25. The live NASA broadcast may be viewed in the dining hall starting at about 4:15 PM on Sunday.

Beginner's Corner
The Beginner's Corner and observing field will feature nighttime observing for those who want guided hands-on experience with their new hobby. Star-hopping, collimating, setup, alignment, and all those procedures that look so complicated in print will be brought to life in a special corner of the observing field. This is in addition to the other comprehensive presentations of the Beginner's Corner.

All this will be happening amid the vendors and swap meeters, campers, and astro-friends that gather here annually. As always, Camp Oakes will be providing for the non-astronomically inclined with a full set of family activities.