Outsidecon

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Outsidecon Tennessee's premier Sci-Fi con held in the great outdoors. OutsideCon is held yearly at Montgomery Bell State Park at 1020 Jackson Hill Road, Burns, TN.

Not only do you get a great convention you get to camp out, hike, swim, fish and boat, if you have one, all for the price of the con. *boats must be human or electric powered, no gas engines are allowed on the lake

As always, OutsideCon provides plenty of food, merriment and mayhem. It does not, nor has ever, provided alcoholic beverages. However patrons, fans and family are welcome to BYOB and may imbibe on the premises. Just pick up after yourselves. Tennessee law prohibits the possession and/or consumption of alcohol by persons under 21 years of age.

09/24/2026
I, Chuck Schlemm, ASTRONOMER FOR HIRE, had an enjoyable evening sharing views of the night sky with guests at Outside C...
09/15/2026

I, Chuck Schlemm, ASTRONOMER FOR HIRE, had an enjoyable evening sharing views of the night sky with guests at Outside Con on Saturday 9/12/26 from 7:30-10:30 at Montgomery Bell State Park Group Camp 1.

20-40 of their campers came out to see telescopic views of some celestial wonders. I used an 8” Dobsonian reflector to present the starry sky.

Guests were able to see many targets. We started with Venus setting just above the trees around 7:30. I showed Vega and the quadruple star system Double Double in Lyra; the Big Dipper handle’s middle binary stars of Mizar A&B and Alcor; and red stars of Arcturus in Bootes, and Antares, the heart of Scorpius.

A huge hit was seeing the ~1 trillion stars of the Andromeda Galaxy ~2.5 million light years away. We also could see M110 a dwarf elliptical galaxy (NGC 205) next to Andromeda.

I pointed out several constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Ursa Major & Minor (the Big & Little Dippers), Andromeda, and Pegasus. I also pointed out our Milky Way Galaxy and Sagittarius (the asterism The Teapot) near the center.

We finished the night around 10:30 with good views of Saturn and its tilted rings & its moon Titan.

We also saw ~10 satellites traveling at ~17,500 mph including the International Space Station with 7 astronauts in orbit.

Thanks to all who came. We had a good time. I received many thanks for showing all the stars.

I want to thank Bryanna Michael for inviting me to Outside Con 26 and I plan to come back next year.

Chuck Schlemm
ASTRONOMER FOR HIRE
625-969-4523
[email protected]

09/15/2026
Bryanna looking for the standing stones so she can travel back to medieval Scotland.
09/14/2026

Bryanna looking for the standing stones so she can travel back to medieval Scotland.

Poodle considers a career change as a lady ranger.
09/14/2026

Poodle considers a career change as a lady ranger.

Ernest is prepared for anything on the trek up to Montgomery Bell.
09/14/2026

Ernest is prepared for anything on the trek up to Montgomery Bell.

Fellow campers! Here is your weekend schedule!
09/11/2026

Fellow campers!
Here is your weekend schedule!

Address

1020 Jackson Hill Road
Burns, TN
37029

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