Workshops & Presentations

Nightfall features a premium workshop on Saturday and free presentations throughout Friday and Saturday. The premium workshop requires a fee, preferably paid in advance. Space is limited but if seats are still available, the fee may be paid at the door.

Free Workshops

Be sure to attend the free presentations going on all day Friday and Saturday. Below is a list of free presentations we’re expecting. Please keep in mind that speakers and topics are tentative and subject to change.

Interested in volunteering? We may be able to accommodate additional volunteer speakers. If you are interested in presenting a topic of astronomical interest or helping with Nightfall in other ways, please send an email to presenters@nightfallstarparty.com!

  • Simon Tang: Latest and Greatest Stuff
  • Dr. Richard S. Eisenberg: Astronomy and the Aging Eye
  • Brian P. Cox: Star Hopping with a Dob
  • Bruce Herwig: Single, Stack, or Track—Taking and Editing Milky Way Images
  • Manny Leinz: Building and Equipping a Remote Observatory
  • Ken Graun: Getting Started in Astronomy: From the Night Sky to Telescopes
  • Jim Wayda: Your Expedition to Totality (April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse)
  • Ken Graun: Solar System Walk
  • RAS Outreach: Solar Outreach
  • FUJIFILM: Night Time Field Trip to the Breceda Metal Sculptures—Milky Way and the Monsters

Premium Workshop: Compelling Astrophotos—Working with Detail & Noise

Nightfall 2023 Presenter - Ron Brecher
Ron Brecher of Astrodoc.ca is our premium presenter at Nightfall 2023.

The most compelling deep-sky astrophotos have just the right balance of sharp details and smooth overall texture. Getting that result requires that only legitimate structure is enhanced, while dialing down, or preventing buildup of, noise.

Join Dr. Ron Brecher for his 2-part workshop geared toward helping you get the best from your astroimages. While he’ll use his preferred image processing software, PixInsight, the concepts apply to any image processing. The morning session will look at techniques to use in the linear state (before “stretching”). After lunch, Ron will focus on techniques that can be used after stretching, on nonlinear images.

Ron is an avid amateur astronomer with more than 20 years of experience. His photos and articles are regularly featured in print and online magazines, journals, CD covers, calendars and more. Ron writes for astronomy publications in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He is a PixInsight Ambassador, and is the Technical Reviewer for both editions of the highly-acclaimed reference text, Inside PixInsight. He is a Contributing Editor for Sky & Telescope magazine. Ron is available for one-on-one online astrophotography tutoring and support, including equipment setup, troubleshooting and image processing with PixInsight. Check out his website at www.astrodoc.ca.

Ron images from his home in Guelph, Ontario where he and his wife Gail live with a dog, two cats, two kids ands their partners. In “real life,” Ron holds a PhD and is a board-certified toxicologist with 30+ years’ experience in risk assessment and risk communication. To round things out, Ron plays guitar and lead vocals in the R&B band, The Exceptions.

Register for the Workshop

The Workshop with Ron takes place on Saturday, November 11th. Part 1 is from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Part 2 is from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Your registration fee covers both parts.

Premium Workshop

Additional Activities

  • Welcome reception
  • Swap meet
  • Solar viewing
  • Potluck star-be-cue
  • Evening Program & Night Sky Tour
  • Ice cream social
  • Hanging out at the pools, hot tubs, restaurant and bar!

See the General Info page for details about these activities!

Volunteer Presenters

Would you like to help by volunteering to be a presenter? If you have a presentation of astronomical interest you would like to share with Nightfall attendees, please contact presenters@nightfallstarparty.com.

Possible topics include; visual observing, astrophotography equipment and processing, light pollution, space exploration, and just about anything that may be of interest to the star party attendees.

Previous Premium Workshop Presenters

We’ve been fortunate at Nightfall to have the likes of Mike Unsold, Neil Fleming, Warren Keller, Adam Block and many other familiar names join us to share their knowledge and love for astronomy and astrophotography. Checkout the archives page for more information on previous Nightfall presenters.