NEW DATE

 BoBFest has been rescheduled.

February 28th, 2026

For more information and to pre-register today visit http://bobfest.catawbasky.org.

While BoBfest is FREE, participants are encouraged to pre-register online. Participants receive 50% off CSC admission!

Before Saturday's events, please join us for:

Catawba Science Center in partnership with the Catawba Valley Astronomy Club presents: 

An Evening Exploring Our Expanding Universe with Pranvera Hyseni

Blast off into an exciting evening of discovery with planetary astronomer Pranvera Hyseni! A Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Cruz, Hyseni’s research focuses on understanding on the formation histories of asteroids, comets, and meteorites through spectroscopy analysis — and she even has an asteroid named after her!

Ms. Hyseni brought science to her community by establishing the nonprofit organization Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo in 2015. She is the founder of the Kosovo’s first observatory and planetarium, featuring a Celestron C14 Edge HD telescope, the largest telescope in the Republic of Kosovo. Pranvera’s research achievements extend to her discovery of a Main Belt asteroid, 2020 SS13, by using data provided by PAN-STARRS in collaboration with the International Asteroid Search Collaboration.

Ms. Hyseni’s dedication to advancing science education,  outreach, and astronomical research marks her as a notable figure in the scientific community. Highly regarded for her expertise, she is in high demand at universities and international astronomy conferences worldwide. As a testament to her profound impact, she serves as the Official Brand Ambassador for Celestron, inspiring countless individuals with the wonders of the universe.

Friday, February 27th from 7:00pm - 8:30pm in the Drendel Auditorium on the SALT Block

$4 for CSC Members

$4 for Catawba Valley Astronomy Club

$6 for non-members

Students free with Student ID

Click Here for Tickets!

Supported by Appalachian State University Department of Mathematical Science and the Department of Physics & Astronomy

Calling all amateur astronomers! BoBfest is a FREE in-person event open to any, and all, who have an interest in astronomy. This is the 34th Annual BoBfest! BoBfest is a place for regional astronomers to gather and share in their mutual love for the stars and beyond. Find your niche interest and attend a table talk or swap equipment at the marketplace. BoBfest is held in the Main Arts and Science Building (2nd Floor) on the SALT Block hosted by the Catawba Science Center and planned by the Catawba Valley Astronomy Club. Refreshments are available during sessions.

9:30 am Welcome & Club Announcements

9:45 – 10:30am Lucielle Miller Observatory at 50 YEARS!!

• Chris Williams and others -Drendel Auditorium
  The Lucile Miller Observatory in Maiden is 50 Years Old in 2026! Chris Williams is the former Maiden High School Student who made the initial contact with O. N. Rich and his offer to donate the 10 inch f8 reflector in the dome. Hear about how Chris presented the offer to Lucile Miller and learn how the observatory was planned, built, dedicated, and put into service. Other Catawba Valley Astronomy Club members will add to his presentation. We will have lots of pictures from the early years.
• About The Presenter:
  Chris Williams is a former student of Lucile Miller at Maiden High School in the early 1970s. He was studying in Raleigh when he met O. N. Rich

10:00 am - 1:00pm

• Solar Viewing — North Lawn weather permitting

10:30 am Club Announcements/Break

10:45 – 11:30 am Keynote Speaker #1- Pranvera Hyseni  Speaker Bio

• "Astronomy Outreach and Beyond" — Pranvera Hyseni  Drendel Auditorium
  Pranvera is a planetary astronomer and Ph.D. candidate in Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz. Her research combines NASA telescope observations, laboratory spectroscopy, and geochemical modeling to investigate organic matter in asteroids, with the broader goal of tracing how water and organics formed and moved through early planetesimals, shaping the ingredients for life. In 2020, she discovered the main-belt asteroid 2020 SS13. In addition to her academic research, she conducts astrometry and time-critical observations using her own observing equipment. She is the founder of Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo, the country’s first astronomy organization, and runs Astronomy with Pran, through which she leads hands-on astronomy education and public engagement programs.  She will also be presenting on Friday evening at The Catawba Science Center.
  

11:30 am Lunchbreak

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Table Top Talks Round #1

• Update on the 10,000+ Star Atlas - Sam Choate  Speaker Bio

• Solar Observing Topic to be determined - John and Dorothy O'Neal  Speaker Bio
  This is the perfect class for anyone who wants to enjoy the sky but has no idea where to start. Jeff will explore simple astronomy resources on phone apps, websites, and printable information. Big words, astronomical gobbledygook, and advanced concepts will be avoided whenever possible. This class will be a permanent Table Top Talk at all Future BoBfest meetings Beginning in 2025.

• One of the largest telescopes in the southeast and what’s happening with it now - Don Brooks Speaker Bio
  Don Brooks is the current president of the Cleveland County Astronomical Society and has been a member since the mid-90s. Organized many of the past BoBfest when it was at Gardner-Webb University. Has constructed more than a few observatories and telescope piers, and repaired more than a few telescopes as well, but designing and building the 29-inch telescope has been a highlight for him

• Very Basic Stargazing for Very Basic Beginners- Jeff Whisenant  Speaker Bio   This is the perfect class for anyone who wants to enjoy the sky but who has no idea where to start.Jeff will explore simple astronomy resources available on phone apps, websites, and with printable information. Big words, astronomical gobbledygook, and advanced concepts will be avoided whenever possible.This class will be a permanent Table Top Talk at all Future BoBfest meetings Beginning in 2025About The Presenter:
  Jeff is currently the Treasurer and Communications Chair for The Catawba Valley Astronomy Club. His interest in astronomy started when he saw Comet Bennett from inside his living room in the early 1970s. He acquired a simple 60mm refractor in 1980 and begin a deeper study of the heavens. A lifelong friend of Lucile Miller, he joined CVAC in 1989 and is an active observer and program presenter with the Lucile Miller Miller Observatory in Maiden, NC.

• Milky Way Photography - Chris Cashwell

2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Table Top Talks Round #2

• Astronomy Watercolors and Painting - Corrie Ann Delgado
  
• An Interesting Topic To Be Determined - Chris Waldrop 
• What Is In The Sky in 2026 - Jeff Whisenant 
• Observing Lunar Rotation and Phases - Joe Heafner

3:30 pm Door Prize Drawings

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Barre Spencer Astro Photo Awards

Click Here for Details 

4:00 pm Closing Remarks from BoB Eskridge

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm  After BoBfest --> Open House for Attendees — Hosted by CVAC Members Lucile Miller Observatory

Map of Classrooms

Extra Science Fun!

Family Science Events by Catawba Science Center
Ongoing from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm

8:30 am – 3:00 pm Submissions open for Barre Spencer Memorial Astrophotography Contest

Awards 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Vendors & Swap Tables Open a.k.a. The BoBfest Marketplace! 
Are you looking for some extra astronomy items? Do you have too many 25mm Plossls? We encourage all participants to bring astronomy related items to sell or trade. Come to the BoBfest Marketplace and explore the vast universe of astronomy doo-dads, thingamajigs, and whatnots! You might just find something you cannot live without, or you might be able to sell or trade your items. We should be able to provide table space for you, but if you have a lot of stuff to move, you may want to bring your own tables.

If you have any questions or plan to bring a lot of items and need tables/space, please contact us and register here.

Catawba Science Center
On the SALT Block
243 Third Avenue NE
Hickory, NC 28601

Directions

Parking Map

Planetarium Shows

Catch a Planetarium Show in Catawba Science Center's Millholland Planetarium. BoBfest attendees receive 50% off their admission!

Oasis in Space

Show Time: 10:45am

Oasis In Space takes you on a startling and beautiful journey through our Solar System and beyond in search of water and water worlds like Earth.

Magic Tree House: Space Mission

Show Time: 11:45am

Experience the Aurora

Show Time: 1:00pm

Marvel as the Northern Lights shimmer and glisten overhead through time-lapse footage captured in the Arctic Circle. This immersive show is the next best thing to being under Alaska's winter night sky. Unearth the science behind auroras, and learn about mankind's quest to find and understand this incredible phenomenon.

Legends of the Night Sky

Show Time: 2:00pm

Legends of the Night Sky: ORION takes an imaginative look at the stories and legends about Orion, the great hunter of the winter sky. It’s an ideal show for family audiences and younger viewers.

Astronaut

Show Time: 3:00pm

With the voice of actor Ewan McGregor serving as a guide, Astronaut leads viewers through the mental and physical training that astronauts must endure before they are ready to take on the rigors of living and working in space.

Astronaut includes an animated astronaut-in-training named Chad. This unfortunate character serves as a guinea pig, subjected to all the perils that astronauts face in space. During the course of the show, Chad is bombarded with meteoroids, cooked by radiation, mutated when exposed to cosmic rays, and whisked away when he becomes detached from his spacecraft.

Brought to you by