For Dylan O'Donnell, one of Australia's most well-known astrophotographers, creating Star Stuff was just his way of tricking famous people in astronomy and science into hanging out with him.
"I don't have many friends, and I also can't go anywhere because I have young children, so I thought, if I pay all these people to hang out with me, it will artificially boost my online profile, and it worked!" Dylan said.
Star Stuff is one of the southern hemisphere's most popular astronomy events for amateur and professional astronomers alike, and it takes place in Byron Bay every June.
"It all began in 2017 when we had Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, David Malin, Dr Alan Duffy, and Dr Katie Mack. It was a star-studded line-up, and every year, it's a star-studded line-up.
He is also the local self-confessed space dork.
His YouTube channel, @DylanODonnel, has a large following, with over 48,000 subscribers. He uses the channel to share science, space, and astronomy news while dunking on flat-earthers and pseudoscience.
Dylan's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DylanODonnell
Dylan said the whole event is predicated on hearing from these fantastic rock star astronomers, astrophotographers, cosmologists, rocket scientists, and other interesting people in the space field.
"It offers a full day of presentations from the world's brightest and most engaging minds in space and astronomy, followed by a famous gala dinner at the Elements of Byron Resort in Byron Bay, New South Wales," he continued.
"Instead of making it a boring conference, there's a lot of loud music and responsible drinking," Dylan added.
Star Stuff boasts keynote speaker and fellow YouTuber Trevor Jones of @AstroBackyard this year.
"We also have Dr Kirsten Banks, a cutting-edge Indigenous Australian researcher and science communicator. Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith is Australia's Women in STEAM Ambassador and a Professor of Practice in Science Communication at the University of NSW," Dylan added.
"Our local comet discoverer, Terry Lovejoy, has discovered some of the brightest comets of the past decade, including the Great Christmas Comet of 2011. He continues to search for new comets today and has so far found six that bears his surname, adding to a further 11 that he found in images.
"He's a lovely bloke. I've always wanted to hear his story and learn how he does everything from his backyard. His name will live on through perpetuity because of the comets he has discovered," Dylan added.
"Finally, it's just little old me," he said.
Dylan is an Australian IT entrepreneur and amateur photographer whose astrophotography has been featured by the European Space Agency and NASA. His photos have been selected twice for NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Like people in astronomy, Dylan got hooked on the hobby after he bought a telescope.
"After a month, I was like, I need a bigger telescope. A couple of months after that, I was like, I need an even bigger telescope. Then you go down that path of trying to spend your way out of all the problems you've dug yourself into," Dylan added.
Dylan is a member of the Southern Astronomical Society in the Gold Coast, Queensland.
"They are one of the longest-running astronomical societies in Australia. They are a great bunch of people who fully support Star Stuff. I couldn't put it on without them.
"They have volunteers who help us with all the ticketing and arrangements and preparation and running the event on the day as well, which is great," Dylan said.
Star Stuff will be at the luxurious Elements of Byron Resort on the weekend of 6-7 July.
"In previous years, it's been a two-day event, but this year, because everything costs so much more compared to pre-COVID, we've decided to streamline things and fit as many speakers as possible into one day and make a full day and night of it.
"The talks are very diverse, and the one thing that ties them together is that they’re about space. So, in previous years, you might have someone talking about rocketry. Katie Mack will talk about the cosmological background of the end of the universe and those sorts of big-picture ideas.
"Then there are people like Trevor Jones and me who will talk about astrophotography. It's not so much a technical workshop but an entertaining talk,” Dylan added.
Dylan said that vendors, a telescope shop, and experienced astronomers and astrophotographers would be present and could offer advice.
"It's a great place to network and meet others in this beautiful hobby. If the weather is clear, and it has been for the last events, everyone heads up to the hill, where we'll look out over the ocean to see the majestic Milky Way,” he said.
Dylan said June is a beautiful time to see the Milky Way.
"The Milky Way is a big drawcard. For many people, whether you are from the southern or northern hemisphere or live in the city, it's worth your while to drive out of the city and travel down to Byron Bay just to see what it looks like,” he continued.
"To see the actual band of the Milky Way stretching out across the winter sky is beautiful, and it's something that a tiny percentage of humans on Earth will ever experience.
“There'll be an opportunity for participants to participate in astrophotography at night. There will be telescopes available, thanks to our volunteers from the Southern Astronomical Society, but I must stress that the stargazing will be weather-independent," Dylan added.
"If it's cloudy, the focus will be on the actual conference itself and the talks, and the great food and the alcohol, and the books, and meteorites.”
Dylan said that for the first time at Star Stuff, a collection of meteorites from Naren King’s personal acquisitions, certified by the Crystal Castle—Byron Bay, will be displayed for viewing and purchase.
“There is no greater conversation starter than having a piece of a planet that isn’t Earth on your desk!” Dylan added.
“If it's clear, we'll go outside and do the stargazing, solar viewing, and astrophotography, which will be the cherry on top.”
VIP tickets for the event have already sold out, but standard tickets are still available. To purchase them, click here: https://starstuff.com.au.
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