Terence Dickinson Memorial

Terence Dickinson
November 10, 1943 – February 1, 2023

Dickinson was a renowned amateur astronomer, an exceptional astrophotographer, an incredible speaker, a prolific writer, an editor, a friend of Starfest and a kindred spirit.

Terence first spoke at Starfest in 1986, and appeared on stage twenty-two times in various roles. He was a keynote speaker, panel discussion moderator, a workshop leader, a field correspondent, a Zombie, and a night-show host (Johnny Carson mode), where he interviewed Tom Bopp.

He was an adjunct member of team Starfest, and helped us identify and connect with speakers, and gave us feedback.

Most importantly, he would walk around the field talking with everyone to see what they were doing, check out their equipment and soak up the ambiance. One of his favourite things was to chat with people over coffee at the Red-Light Café in the wee hours of the morning.

To honor his memory and keep his spirt alive, we have dedicated the Saturday Night Keynote Presentation to him. This presentation is now referred to as the Terence Dickinson Memorial Keynote Presentation. Dr. Katie Mack was the first Terence Dickinson Memorial Keynote Speaker in 2023.

Terence Dickinson Memorial Keynote Speakers

2023 Dr. Katie Mack – A Map of Cosmic Time
2024 Dr. Sara Seager – Planetary Atmospheres and the Search for Signs of Life Beyond Earth

Starfest 2023 Terence Dickinson Memorial Display

Click on this image to view in detail.

Starfest 2023 Terence Dickinson Memorial Presentation

Click here for the Terence Dickinson Memorial Presentation video given on Saturday night.

Terence Dickinson’s On Stage Appearances

Year	Format	Description
1986	Keynote	Revolution, Evolution and Mythology in Visual Astronomy
1989	Teleconference	The Neptune Encounter Teleconference with Peter Jedicke as the “local news anchor” and Terence as the “field correspondent” at JPL providing commentary on the latest images of Neptune taken by Voyager 2 during the fly-by. These images were obtained from the NASA broadcast network using a 10-foot satellite dish brought to Starfest for the occasion.
1990	Panel Discussion	Comet Hunting Panel Discussion with Doug George, David Levy and Rolf Meier
1990	Presentation	Telescope Performance: A Subjective Appraisal
1992	Presentation	S&T Optical Quality Experiment Terry Dickinson and Doug George described their roles in the S&T Optical Quality Experiment.
1992	Presentation	The Backyard Astronomer's Guide Terry Dickinson and Alan Dyer talked about their book, "The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide"
1993	Panel Discussion	Deep Sky Observing Panel Discussion with Grant Dixon, Alan Dyer, Bryce Heartwell and Jerry Spevak
1995	Workshop	Observing Basics Workshop Terry Dickinson conducted a workshop designed to help people new to the hobby become familiar with the night sky.
1996	Keynote	The Lure of The Night Sky
1996	Panel Discussion	A Tribute to Hyakutake, Getting Ready for Hale-Bopp
1997	Presentation	Choosing And Using Amateur Astronomical Telescopes
1997	The Tonight Show	Hale-Bopp: The Grand Finale Terence, in Johnny Carson mode, interviewed Tom Bopp
1999	Panel Discussion	The SkyNews Cloudy Night Show with Alan Dyer, Ken Hewitt-White and Ivan Semeniuk
2000	Panel Discussion	Observing Through The Decades Panel Discussion with Kendra Angle, Cathy McWatters and Dave Petherick
2002	Teleconference	California Dreamin': An Astrophotographer's Delight A teleconference hosted by Terence Dickinson with Tony Hallas, one of America's leading astrophotographers.
2003	Keynote	Mars Then and Now Long-time Mars observer Terence Dickinson traces Mars exploration from the days of Percival Lowell through to the 21st century.
2003	Zombie Walk	Star Trek First Contact Re-enactment To celebrate the 2003 close approach of Mars, we dressed up the stage as Mars and re-enacted the StarTrek first contact scene. Terry wanted in on the action and decided to emerge from the ‘Mother Ship’ and walk across the stage as a Zombie.
2004	Panel Discussion	The June 8, 2008 Transit of Venus Panel Discussion with Doug Cunningham and Dave McCarter
2006	Keynote	Digital SLRs and the Democratization of Personal Astrophotography
2007	Panel Discussion	McNaught: The ‘Tail’ of a Great Comet Panel Discussion with John Drummond
2008	Panel Discussion	August 1, 2008 Solar Eclipse Panel with Steve Barnes, Cathy and Richard McWatters, and Andreas Gada
2010	Presentation	Backyard Astronomy, circa 2060 A.D.