2010 events overview

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRAO: Behind-the-scenes Tour

The 2010 tour will be a "behind-the-scenes" tour, so participants will get to visit labs and the telescope control room —locations that are normally off-limits to the public!

Hands-on Radio Astronomy

We have arranged for access to NRAO's 40-foot educational dish on the evening of Saturday, September 4th. Participants will stay overnight at NRAO and return the morning of Sunday, September 5. No prior radioastronomy experience is required; NRAO will provide instruction and support. Space is very limited!

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Cameras are welcome at NRAO. In order to prevent radio-frequency interference to observations in progress, the observatory prohibits the use of digital cameras (and electronics-laden film cameras) in some locations close to the telescopes. Bring a simple film camera if you'd like to get some pictures up close to the instruments.

 

Speakers

Bringing Telescopes to the People:
Building and Operating a Public Observatory on the Nation's Mall
Friday, September 3 - 6:30 p.m.

Dr. David DeVorkin

 

An updated version of his extremely popular AHSP 2009 talk, Dr. DeVorkin's talk will discuss how the Smithsonian team located the telescope for the public observatory, took it apart, evaluated it and then transported and reassembled it. And with almost a year of operation to talk about, he'll also discuss what he and his team have learned about public outreach. It's a great story about making astronomy visible on the nation's mall.

Dr. David DeVorkin is senior curator of history of astronomy and space sciences at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. His major research interests are in the origins and development of modern astrophysics during the 20th Century. He is the author/editor/compiler of several books and more than 100 scholarly and popular articles. David DeVorkin holds a Ph.D. in the history of astronomy from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and a Master of Philosophy in astronomy from Yale University.

 

Ring-Planet Rendezvous (Two-Part Talk)
Saturday, September 4 - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 5 - 3:30 p.m.

Robert Naeye

 

Expectations were sky high for NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn: humanity's first orbiter around the Ring Planet. But since going into orbit around Saturn in 2004, Cassini has managed to exceed even the most optimistic projections. The orbiter has returned thousands upon thousands of spectacular images of the planet, rings, and moons, and it has transformed our understanding of this miniature planetary system. Hexagonal storms on Saturn. Bizarre structures in the rings. Organic lakes on Titan. Liquid water just beneath the surface of Enceladus.

In this two-part lecture, Sky & Telescope editor in chief Robert Naeye will discuss some of the major findings and show some of the best pictures from Cassini and the European Huygens probe, which touched down on the surface of Titan in January 2005. The first talk will cover Saturn and its rings. The second talk will cover the moons.

Robert Naeye is editor in chief of Sky & Telescope magazine and SkyandTelescope.com.

Bob has authored two books and contributed to two others. His 1997 book Through the Eyes of Hubble: The Birth, Life, and Violent Death of Stars was published by Kalmbach. His 2000 book Signals from Space: The Chandra X-ray Observatory was co-published by Turnstone and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He helped write two chapters for the recent book Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, co-published by National Geographic and the Boston Museum of Science. And he contributed a chapter to a recent book celebrating NASA's 50th Anniversary, published by Faircount.

Bob owns five telescopes and more eyepieces than he can count. His favorite deep-sky activity is perusing the ghostly tendrils of the Veil Nebula using an OIII filter. Bob is a proud member of the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, and the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg, which is based near his hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

In case you're wondering, his family name is pronounced NOY-uh (think "paranoia"), which originates in the Flanders region of The Netherlands.

 

In the Footsteps of William and Caroline:
Conquering the Amateur Astronomer's Life List
Sunday, September 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Rod Mollise

 

Detailed description to follow.

"Uncle" Rod Mollise is familiar to amateur astronomers as the author of numerous books and magazine articles on every aspect of astronomy. He is most well-known, however, for his books on SCTs; especially his latest one, _Choosing and Using a New CAT_ (Springer), which has become the standard reference for these popular instruments.

Rod's previous book, _The Urban Astronomer's Guide_ was designed to help the many amateurs who must do most of their observing from light polluted urban and suburban backyards enjoy the deep sky, and has proven to be very popular with both novice and veteran astronomers. Rod's writings can also be found in astronomy magazines including _Sky and Telescope_, Amateur Astronomy Magazine, Astronomy Technology Today, and on numerous online forums including his website, Rod's Astro Land.

Uncle Rod is an engineer by profession, but he also finds time to teach astronomy to undergraduates at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

When he's not on the road speaking at star parties and astronomy clubs, Rod shares a rambling old Victorian home,"Chaos Manor South," in Mobile's historic Garden District, with his wonderful wife, Dorothy, three cats and, at last count, twelve telescopes.

 

If The Galaxy Is Full Of Intelligent Civilizations,
Why Haven't We Found Them Here?
The Fermi Paradox
Saturday, September 4 - 1:30 p.m.

Dr. Harold Geller

 

Dr. Harold Geller of George Mason University will discuss what has been known for years as the Fermi Paradox. Simply put, if the galaxy were full of intelligent civilizations, why haven't we noted any? This discussion will address the difference in time needed to evolve intelligent life forms and the time needed to spread a civilization throughout the galaxy, and how these relate to this famous paradox.

Dr. Geller is currently Associate Professor and Observatory Director at George Mason University (GMU). He received his doctorate and master's degrees from GMU. He has taught physics and astronomy full-time for the past 11 years after having been an adjunct instructor for 8 years.

In 2010 he shared in four Telly Awards and in 2009 two Telly Awards for a series of online videos with Astrocast.TV. In 2008 he won the GMU Faculty Member of the Year Award and published a book titled "Astrobiology: The Integrated Science."

Past achievements include: award winning tour guide and lecturer with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; past President of the Potomac Geophysical Society; developer of two educational multimedia CD-ROMs with CIESIN; faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas; doctoral fellow of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; and, lecturer/operator at the Einstein Planetarium in the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Geller has contributed to over 40 publications in education, astrophysics, astrobiology, and biochemistry.

 

Color Perception and Meaning in Astronomy
Saturday, September 4 - 3:30 p.m.

Alan Goldberg

 

Why do colors in astrophotos look so good, while colors in the eyepiece are so muted? The answer to this question leads to an intriguing story of the nature of the sky objects, physics of light, eyeballs, cameras, and computers. Alan will try to explain and show the difference between true color, pleasing color, and informative color when applied to imaging stars, planets, nebulae, and objects beyond.

Common and Not-So-Common Telescope Optics
Sunday, September 5 - 1:30 p.m.

Alan Goldberg

 

Galileo first looked at the sky and made profound discoveries with a telescope 401 years ago. For good reason, almost no one uses his telescope design today.

Instead, we have developed a wide variety of telescopes using refraction and reflection to optimize performance, convenience, and cost. These designs solve the problems of viewing the heavens for everyone from amateurs viewing on field trips to professionals viewing from space, and looking at everything from the Sun and its corona to the faintest galaxies and nebulae.

Alan will provide a non-technical overview of the major and some minor optical telescope designs, and their advantages and disadvantages for various astronomy applications, from binoculars to adaptive optics. He will help explain why there is not a simple answer to the question: which telescope is best?

Alan Goldberg is a member of NOVAC and a principal scientist with The MITRE Corp. in McLean, VA. Heís been an amateur astronomer since elementary school, and finally owns an 8" SCT. After graduate study at Univ. of Texas and MIT in astronomy and planetary science, he worked on the design and operation of the Hubble Space Telescope. He has also worked on Landsat, NASA's Earth Observing Satellite (EOS) series, and NOAA's NPOESS weather satellite. He currently assists the government in buying commercial space-based Earth imagery.

The Human Eye at Night
Monday, September 6 - 6:30 p.m.

Brad Hoehne

 

Brad will speak about the physiology of the eye: how dark adaptation works, what the resolution of the eye is, and how to use this information to observe difficult objects.

Brad Hoehne is the Vice President of the Columbus Astronomical Society.

 

On-field Activities

Field Collimation Workshop
Monday, September 6 - 1:00 p.m.

Rod Mollise

Uncle Rod shows you how to align the optics of your reflector without blood, sweat, or tears.

Polar Alignment

Tom Kennedy

Achieving imaging-quality polar alignment is not as hard as it sounds. Come to this always-popular workshop and learn all you need to know to master polar alignment.

Informal Visual Observing Workshop
Evening, through Sunday, September 5

Donna Blosser

Donna will be available every night at dusk to chat with beginners on a variety of observing topics. This informal get-together could cover anything from how to locate and recognize deep sky objects, types of objects to observe, tips on seeing faint objects, etc. Beginners questions will steer the topics discussed. Drop by for a short while or stay until the chat winds up for the evening. This is informal!
Appropriate for observers of all experience levels.

 

On-field activities schedule pending, and will be subject to sky conditions.

 

Outdoor Events

Birdwatching

Ian Carmack

Saturday, September 4
Sunday, September 5

Whether you are a seasoned birdwatcher or a casual observer you are sure to enjoy one of our two birdwatching sessions. Don't miss this opportunity to see what West Virginia has to offer this time around. It will be later in the season and we expect cooler-climate populations to delight us with a visit.

Birdwatching sessions will occur Saturday and Sunday morning right after breakfast, weather permitting.

Bring binoculars if you have them. We will be walking through some uncut grass, so shoes (boots) that can withstand some dew may be a good idea.

Geology Hike

Lyle Mars

Date to be announced

This is a fascinating hike for those interested in learning more about the geology of the Spruce Knob region. No prior knowledge of geology needed.

Summit Hike and Canoeing

The Mountain Institute Staff

Sunday, September 5^th

The Mountain Institute's staff will lead a Spruce Knob summit hike and a canoeing trip.

Please notice that we will be unable to host our traditional caving event. Caves all along the eastern seaboard are closed voluntarily because of White Nose Syndrome, a disorder that is causing cave-dwelling bats to die off in large numbers. While humans aren't affected by this disease, they're clearly involved in its transmission.

 

All events, times and dates are subject to change without notice.