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Astro Fest


Radders

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In my humble opinion , to be honest I'd stick with the IAS ...  :smiley:

Astrofest is a pain to get to being in central London , a pain to get parked at , too small and overcrowded , and all in all an uncomfortable expensive day out ...  :embarassed:

The IAS is at Stoneleigh Park now , a much more easily accessed location , loads of room and parking and a much better venue all round ...  :laugh:

Undoubtedly there will those who are of the opposite opinion , but I suspect they will be Londoners ...  :rolleyes:

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Strangely, central London has these slightly scary machine that run on rails in tunnels under the streets, called 'The Tube' or sometimes 'The Underground'.  I know!  They make travel around the area very easy indeed.  For those of you who think that underground is for moles, they also have big red buses - like cars, only much, much bigger!  With room for 70+ people inside, someone who does the driving for you and you don't have to worry about parking it - same as the 'Underground' trains.

This can be a little disconcerting for those out of town, but it is considered the 'norm' within the M25 area.  There is a tendency to stop and stare, sometimes open mouthed, in disbelief at this remarkable machines.  They really are a wonder of the modern, mechanical age.  Local people will smile fondly at you and ruffle your hair in a gentle manner if you find yourself caught out by these new fangled devices!  And don't believe the nay-sayers who will suggest that you will suffocate at speeds over 8 miles an hour.  It is completely untrue!

(with a little bit of tongue in cheek!) :grin:

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Always open to arguement, and there are always arguements about astrofest.

I would say do not compare Astrofest and IAS, make up your mind if you want to go to either as an event on it's own.

Astrofest is popular and generally fully sold out each year (especially the Saturday)

It is London so just about no-one drives to the actual place - you have to live in London to ever want to consider driving in it and then many do not. Equally if it were in central Brimingham or Manchester driving would be a bad idea.

Arguing about "driving" is pointless, no one would really drive to Astrofest and you have little option but to drive to IAS. Access is so opposite that a debate about it is irrelevant.

From Derby I assume train - check when you are able to arrive in London, there are restrictions and that could mean Friday is little use. I cannot get to London on weekdays before 10:30 so say 30 minutes to get there and I have missed the first 2 talks.

The place they use is either not big or they have become too successful (both now?). It was OK the first visit I made some years ago - about 8 years I guess, now, become busier over time. Consider the catchment they have however, probably 1/5 of England  I doubt that Kensington has plans to add another floor to the town hall unfortunately.

I doubt they can move. A move to a bigger place would increase their costs, that means the public cost rises so possibly less people and they could fold. Also oddly they may be in central London but that is both for and against them. South Ken is easy. 15 minute tube and you are at Oxford St, Leicester Sq, Shaftsbury Ave.

For me it is easy, jump on a train for 40 minutes, IAS is a drive for an hour and a half,  fuel is £25 and train is the same. The IAS is easier to wander round and look at all the goodies. I went to the first IAS and the talks were somewhat disorganised, not sure of last years and this year they have relocated. Half my problem is after the IAS all I can do is jump in a car and drive back, and really that does not appeal.

Sitting on the stairs at Astrofest talking to someone is strangely relaxing. I also read of many planned meet up's at Astrofest. Perhaps it is a case of meetup, go to talks, go for a pint and a bite to eat afterwards. It can be a bit more of a "day out". I suspect that with IAS the end of the event is the end of the day, at Astrofest it need not be.

So yes both have astronomy and scopes at the core, after that just different.

A lot will depend on the purpose of the visit.

If looking at or for goodies then the IAS, if talks etc then Astrofest.

Astrofest has the "advantage" of being London and so speakers are probably easier to come by - UCL and other "local" universities.

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The only thing I would add to the above is that is is more like 1/3 of the population who live within an hours travel of central London which is, apparently, more than live in the whole of Spain! I think that might help to explain why it is held where it is and why it is so popular.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

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Think I may just leave it till the last minute and decide. Probably drive down then as it cheap parking then tube it in. The thought if it being in a small venue may put me off.

Least with the IAS it is well spaced out and even take stuff back to the car if you've brought anything. Not sure why they've moved it till October though??

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Only problem with "last minute" is that the tickets to the talks sell out quick, expect the Saturday ones to go long before the show is on.

As said suspect the event has outgrown the venue, but bigger venue means a risk as cost will rise - wonder what Earls Court or Olympia would charge to use part of their place. So could end up with no astro show. From the organisers point of view being a good bet that every ticket for every talk/event will sell means they know how they stand. It is the attendee that faces the problem.

Do wonder if they could get the place for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So add another day and not a new location. That would at least offer the option to return to 2 days if financially not viable.

To a lot of the people around London it is a day and possibly evening down/up/over there. Which IAS is not. Cannot meet a friend or two and have an evening with anyone at IAS. It is likely this aspect that makes the 2 events so different.

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Thinking about Astrofest and / or IAS again this year. Astrofest is still very doable by Tube, even though I'm a fair bit further out now, conversely it may make IAS easier. 

The only reason I didn't go to IAS last year was because I was going through the throes of downsizing / decluttering prior to moving house.

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I normally go to AstroFest for the talks, much more comfortable arena and easier to pay attention to the speakers. Though this year I'm not very inspired by the (still incomplete) lineup. The trade area I find far to cramped and congested.

On the other hand, I prefer the trade layout at IAS and tend to go there to browse, much more leisurely. I have done several talks there as well, but found the seating very uncomfortable, view very restricted, and overall got less out of the talks even though the subject matter was of interest.

Travel wise about the same from Milton Keynes in both time and cost; train/tube to London or cross country drive for IAS. I wouldn't make the London trip on a Friday, even though the talk lineup is often more of interest. As already observed it is difficult or expensive to get to the early talks on a weekday unless you live in London, and missing them dilutes the value of the journey.

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For me, Astrofest is an easy journey by tube train so I do tend to go every year.

I did actually drive to Astrofest once, there is a car park more or less underneath the building, but expect to pay premium rates!

Don`t forget to check the Transport for London website journey planner for any engineering work that is happening on the Saturday.

A quick glance tells me that the Circle, Hammersmith and City and the Metropolitan lines have partial closures. I don`t know what the status of the overground train lines will be like. 

One thing to remember is, when the conference stops for coffee or lunch break (11:10 am  12:50 pm 15:40 pm) that is when the trade stand area gets rammed with people!

On some years I have booked a day off work and gone on the Friday. It was still busy but not so bad.

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I've been to a number of Astrofests, try to go on the Friday if the talks interest me.

I've been to one IAS (at Warwick), the trade part was good, space for talks was poor.

Astrofest does get crowded, but is easy for me to get to (from Reading, train in then tube), my son lives not far from IAS so if I do it this year I will stay with him.

Horses for courses, trade = IAS, talks = Astrofest - all my opinion!

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I've booked the Session 3 on saturday morning :) This year Sandrine has elected to stay at home ..  "Yes I'd like a DDM60" .. now where did my bank cards go? :D

It looks like the Rosetta challenges have caused a hole in their schedule, but I think it's good to have a look at stuff.

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For me, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Astrofest

Pros

Better talks

More bargains

Cons

More expensive to get their

Longer day

Exhibition area way too cramped

IAS

Pros

Much less expensive to get their

shorter day

on-site parking

Exhibition area very spacious

More exhibitors

Cons

Talks not as good

Fewer bargains

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  • 2 weeks later...

Coming from Northumberland, London is easier to get to. Never been to Astrofest though so not sure what the tube is like from kings cross to Kensington on Fridays at around 10am. Only going to PM talks so hope to get round exhibition in the morning. Got a small shopping list so hope there are some bargains to offset the cost. Also want to see the Pulsar observatories and The apos if there is one on display. Hoping To meet up with a few friends too, then back to the frozen north. Minus three last night. Spent 15 mins looking for Lovejoy with binos but no luck. Pleiades were fantastic though!

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Forgot to add that as a non driver, IAS is a nightmare to get to. Not a very green choice of venue, but I can see the plus points if it really has a lot more space. I'll have to see if some kind soul here in the north east would like to split petrol costs for October.

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From King's Cross take the Piccadilly line to Earl's Court. Change to the District line taking the spur to Kensington High St. I seem to remember that the hall is signposted from there.

At around 10 am you should be out of the worst of the rush hour, but the tube is always pretty crowded.

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I can`t wait till October for the ias show which is very good i and is less crowded so you can actually talk to people and enough room to view items your interested in, so i`ll be going to this years Astrofest and maybe grab a bargain or too.

i rang to cancel my credit card the other day and ended up instead getting 12 months interest free credit on it.

ohh dear

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I might warm up with AstroFest then do IAS. Never been to an Astro show so getting quite excited.

£50 train, plus taxis*, plus ticket, plus lunch, plus a couple of beers (as I am on an exciting day out in the big smoke so it is allowed).

Not a cheap day. But, with a bit of judicious shopping / show discounts, I reckon that I can make it pay!

Paul

* I have the misfortune of living outside the M25 so regard the London Undergaround system with the deepest suspicion. And, I seem totally inept at guessing where the big red things are heading. Anyway, my wife informs me that taxis are public transport as "anyone can take one...". I'm a bit scared that she actually believes that.

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