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the newly licensed Peter Ceravolo trying out his wings andgetting a few aerial snapshots of the Starfest gathering.Rachel, along with her parents and I, attended one moretalk in the afternoon, that by Ivan Semeniuk. He enthusiasticallylaunched into the early history of asteroid discovery, highlightingthe discovery of Ceres nearly 200 years ago, coming full circleto our own opportunity to personally discover Ceres in the fallas it passes through opposition in the Hyades — very close toits original discovery position. Emerging from the main tent,we were dismayed to find the western sky scudded withherringbone clouds in front of a higher icy whitewash. It wasnot a good sign for the evening observing session or for goodweather the next day. Sure enough, over suppertime the Sundisappeared prematurely, taking with it the last clear skies ofStarfest ’98. Final score: Clouds 2.5 nights, Stargazers 0.5 nights(not counting the two clear nights enjoyed by those who camein the days before Starfest).After supper Lief Robinson of Sky & Telescope gave a widerangingtalk on the opening horizons for amateur collaborationwith professional astronomers. He echoed the feeling I have(and I am sure the feelings of many in the hall) that we are inthe “golden age of amateur astronomy.” With widely availablequality equipment, personal computing power, and Internetcommunications, it is now more possible for the amateur toengage in useful, serious research. A particular strength foramateurs is their ability to dedicate extended observing timeto projects, unlike professional astronomers who are sorelysqueezed for observing time. Leif showed many examples ofuseful, exciting amateur astronomy, including sensitizedcamcorder videos of Perseid meteor fireballs (voices on tape inexcited Japanese), and the 4-second asteroidal occultation ofa 2 nd magnitude star. I found the last video even more breathtakingthan the solar eclipse video offered earlier in the day, probablybecause I have tried (and failed) many times to see and timean asteroid occultation. I felt (and feel) duly inspired!By then it was time for a reluctant last look around. Racheland I settled into the Red Light Café for an extended cozy stay.What better pastime is there for clouded out astronomers thancoffee, games and conversational company… and even theoccasional song?The view of the grassy area on Friday instead of Saturday. Joe O’Neil (inwhite shirt at left) is standing by his table of goodies, while fellow LondonCentre member Marc St. Clair (pony tail) is demonstrating his freshlybuilt,Dobsonian, binocular 20-cm telescope.As you might guess, my first Starfest was a lot of fun, eventhough we woke up to thundershowers and drizzly rain on theSunday getaway day. The hot breakfast available from the RedLight Café was especially welcome that morning! My thanksare extended to the folks at the River Place campground forproviding excellent facilities, and to the North York AstronomicalAssociation for organizing and running a wonderful gathering.Next year’s Starfest runs from July 15–19; I am hoping evennow that I will not be doing field work then…Phil McCausland is a planet-watcher and avid stargazer presentlyattached to the London Centre of the RASC, who also has close tiesto the Windsor and St. John’s Centres. In his alter-life he is workingon a Ph.D. in geophysics at the University of Western Ontario. Hehopes that his interests in geophysics and astronomy will soon dovetailtogether nicely.292JRASC December/décembre 1998