AHO General Assembly Meeting
Flagstaff, 29 September –1 October, 2025
We are excited to invite AHO members to register for the 2025 AHO General Assembly meeting which is being held on Sep 29 – October 1 (evening reception Sep 28), hosted by Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, USA. Members and invited guests are also welcome to attend remotely via Zoom.
A summary agenda follows. The last column indicates each session's restriction. A detailed and printable agenda is available here. Note: Rose Smith (Sommers-Bausch delegate) is the invited speaker for the Lowell Colloquium on 2 October, 3pm.
| Sun 28 Sep | 18:00–20:00 | Reception and Happy Hour (ADC - Great Planetary Hall) | M/I/TP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 29 Sep | 9:00–10:45 | Opening remarks Member observatory updates (Yerkes, Lick, Griffith, McCormick, Van Vleck) |
M/I |
| 10:45–11:15 | Break | M/I | |
| 11:15–12:05 | Member observatory updates (Cincinnati, Washburn) | M/I | |
| 12:05–13:05 | Lunch | M/I | |
| 13:05–14:30 | Member observatory updates (Illinois, Dominion) UNESCO workshop report Discussion: IAU C.4 and AAS HAD initiatives |
M/I | |
| 14:30–17:00 | Tour of Lowell Observatory and Plate Archives | M/I/TP | |
| Tue 30 Sep | 9:00–10:00 | Plans for 2026 AHO meeting Website and press kit Observatories of Ireland and UNESCO |
M/I |
| 10:00–10:30 | Break & mural unveiling | M/I | |
| 10:30–12:00 | Member observatory updates (Elgin) Royal Observatory Edinburgh renovation Transforming visitor serving organizations |
M/I | |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch | M/I | |
| 13:00–14:10 | Report on docent workshop Scientific Instrument Commission Symposium Lowell plate and inventory management |
M/I | |
| 14:10–14:40 | Break | M/I | |
| 14:40–17:00 | Yerkes/UChicago student research Hamburg Observatory outreach Discussion: social media efforts Lessons learned in building Lowell's ADC Discussion: the value of the AHO Open discussion |
M/I | |
| 17:30– 19:00– |
Dinner Star party |
M/I/TP | |
| Wed 1 Oct | 9:00–10:30 | Review of minutes Bylaws changes Other votes Nomination of board members/officers Membership Committee report |
M |
| 10:30–10:50 | Break | M/I | |
| 10:50–12:00 | Feedback and discussion on membership growth Election of new board members/officers Open discussion Close meeting |
M | |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch | M/I | |
| 13:00–17:00 | Optional tour of Lowell Discovery Telescope | M/I/TP | |
| M: members only; M/I: members and invitees; M/I/TP: members, invitees, and traveling partners. | |||
Great Planetary Hall (GPH) at the Astronomy Discovery Center
Lowell Observatory
1400 W Mars Hill Rd, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
See maps below for useful locations.
Click icons for street addresses, images, websites, and directions; open the sidebar to change base map. Alternatively use Google maps.
Street address: 2650 E Rte 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86004, USA.
The Americana Motor Lodge is Lowell's lodging partner and offers a discounted rate, booking instructions below (password-protected).
Note RSVP deadline: 12 September.
A limited number of individual rooms in Hall House at the observatory are available for booking.
Flagstaff's local airport is the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) with domestic flights to/from Phoenix, Dallas, and Los Angeles. International arrivals and departures are served by the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), about 150 mi/240 km south of Flagstaff (~2.5 hr drive depending on traffic).
Street address: 6200 S Pulliam Dr, Flagstaff, AZ 86005, USA.
Car rental, taxis, and other transportation services from FLG.
Street address: 3400 Sky Hbr Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85034, USA.
Car rental options from PHX.
Groome Transportation offers shuttles from PHX to Flagstaff.
It may be possible to connect major cities with Flagstaff via Flixbus or Greyhound.
Flagstaff is a stop in the Southwest Chief Amtrak line (Chicago – Kansas City – Albuquerque – Flagstaff – Los Angeles), but scheduled stops are at nighttime.
While Flagstaff has a public transportation system (map), it does not conveniently serve Lowell Observatory. However it serves other areas of Flagstaff reasonably well, including a stop near the Americana Motor Hotel (Route 66).
When not driving, using ride share apps like Uber and Lyft are a convenient way to get around.
