Observatory Visit Project
A part of ASTRONOMY 101 is
actual observing experience -- real time spent observing the heavens.
Your assignment is to visit a real
observatory (see note below on what counts as a real observatory) and complete
a short paper about your
visit. Most observatories that are open
to the public offer night-time programs. Some observatories also offer day-time programs which feature observations of the
sun. You may visit during either night-time or day-time (solar) observations.
This is a project for you do
to independently. It is your
responsibility to carefully read this assignment and make sure that your visit
to an observatory meets the requirements of this assignment. Choosing which observatory to visit, finding out when its public programs are
held, where it is located, getting there, etc. is your job. You might think of this assignment as an
“on-your-own field trip” that you have the entire semester to do.
OBSERVATORY INFORMATION
Below are listed a
number of observatories that are close enough to Jefferson's Campuses that they
can be reached in a day trip.
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Otter Creek-South Harrison Observatory
850 Otter Creek Park Road Brandenburg, KY 40108 South Harrison Park Dr SE |
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South Harrison Observatory (the location at Otter
Creek is closed for the long term) is operated by
Jefferson Community & Technical College.
It features dark skies for night-time programs
and multiple good telescopes in a rural park setting. The building is a very utilitarian structure
– not much to look at from the outside.
It features daytime/solar programs with solar filters and a Hydrogen-alpha
telescope for sun viewing. It also
features a “Galileo replica” telescope that lets you see the stars as Galileo
saw them.
Photos below are from the observatory web site.
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Above: 6 inch refractor at S.
Harrison observatory. |
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Note that only the South Harrison
location is open for regular public programs. Jefferson’s observatories are not the only
observatory in the area. Within an
evening’s drive of Louisville there are a number of observatories, each worth a
visit. There is no one that is “best” –
each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
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The Cincinnati Observatory http://www.cincinnatiobservatory.org/ The Cincinnati Observatory Center 3489 Observatory Place (513) 321-5186 |
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This is a beautiful and historic public observatory
with classic long-focus refracting telescopes that are beautifully functioning
museum pieces in themselves. They are housed
in very nice, restored historic buildings.
It is located in the heart of Cincinnati and thus lacks dark skies.
Photos are from the observatory web site.
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11 inch refractor. |
16 inch refractor. |
Buildings and grounds of the
Cincinnati observatory |
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Holcomb Observatory http://www.butler.edu/holcomb-observatory/ Butler University |
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This observatory features a very large Cassegrain telescope. It is located at Butler University in the
heart of Indianapolis and thus lacks dark skies. It is an impressive facility -- one of the
largest public observatories in the world.
It also has a planetarium.
Photos are from the observatory web site.
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38 inch Cassegrain
telescope. |
Holcomb Observatory
building. |
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Indiana University Southeast (IUS) Observatory Indiana University Southeast 4201 Grant Line Rd., New Albany, IN 47150 |
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The IUS observatory holds public programs but does not post a web schedule.
You will need to call for information, and some students have complained that IUS lacks reliable information on
the observatory’s operation. It is
located in the Louisville’s Indiana suburbs, and so has average skies – not
particularly dark but better than the observatories that are located in the
heart of large cities. TARC runs to IUS.
Photos courtesy of Tammy Duncan, Jefferson Community & Technical
College student.
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IUS Observatory building. |
Inside the dome. |
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Kirkwood Observatory http://www.astro.indiana.edu/kirkwood.shtml 727 East 3rd Street, Swain West 319 (812) 855-6911 |
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Kirkwood Observatory features a classic refracting
telescope housed in a picturesque building on the beautiful Indiana University
campus. It is in the heart of
Bloomington, which is a relatively small town.
Thus Kirkwood will not have truly dark skies, but the skies will be
better than the skies over observatories located in major urban areas.
The observatory also houses a solar telescope. The solar telescope consists of a heliostat
on the roof of the building that directs an image of the sun down inside the
observatory. The solar telescope can then
display the sun directly (in “white light”), display a Hydrogen-alpha filtered
image of the sun, or display the solar spectrum. Note that parking can be difficult near IU –
when visiting, plan time to find a parking place.
Photos below are from the observatory web site and courtesy of Jennifer
Hatchett, Jefferson Community & Technical College student.
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Kirkwood Observatory |
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12 inch refractor |
The “inside” portion of the
solar telescope |
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Louisville Astronomical Society (LAS) Observatory James G. Baker Center for Astronomy 3912 East Curby Road English (Curby), Indiana 47118 |
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The LAS is a private club that regularly opens its
facilities to the public. Visit their
web page and look for information on a “Public Observation at Curby”. You will need to contact the LAS for
details. The LAS observatory building is
a utilitarian structure – not much to look at from the outside, but the
observatory features very dark skies for night programs. If you are interested, you can join the club
-- they welcome everyone with an interest in astronomy. The LAS has been in existence since 1933.
Photo below is from the observatory web site.
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LAS Observatory. |
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MacAdam Observatory http://www.as.uky.edu/observatory
500 S. Limestone Lexington, KY 40506 (859) 257-5330 |
MacAdam observatory is operated by the University of
Kentucky. It is a
new observatory with modern equipment in a utilitarian structure. It is located in the heart of Lexington and
thus lacks dark skies.
Photos below are from the observatory web site.
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MacAdam Observatory and its
telescope. |
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The BB&T Observatory https://www.thomasmore.edu/academics/tmu-observatory/ Thomas More University: 333 Thomas More Parkway Photos are from the Thomas More University web site. |
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Observatory building. |
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BB&T observatory is
operated by Thomas More University.
It is a new observatory with modern equipment. It is located in the suburbs of Cincinnati
and thus has mediocre dark skies. |
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GOETHE LINK Observatory http://www.linkobservatory.org/ https://www.facebook.com/pg/LinkObservatory/
8403 Observatory Rd Photo is from the Link Observatory web site.
Observatory building. |
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This observatory features a very large Cassegrain
telescope. It is located south of
Indianapolis and features reasonably dark skies. It is operated jointly by the Indiana
University School of Astronomy, the Link Observatory Space Science Institute
and the Indiana Astronomical Society. |
Finally, if you have
an opportunity to visit another observatory it will probably be OK (for
instance, if you are going to be in Chicago and it will be convenient for you
to visit Yerkes Observatory that would be great!). Check with your instructor.
Note that some observatories
will cancel their public programs if the weather is not clear. Before you make the trip, find out ahead of
time whether you will at least get a tour of the observatory if the weather
turns cloudy. You don’t
want to waste the trip.
Some observatories may offer a planetarium
show. Planetarium shows (stars projected
on a dome) are nice but they are not the real heavens. They are purely educational facilities. The planetarium at UofL,
for example, is not an observatory, even if it has a telescope in its lobby or
courtyard. Observatories, on the other
hand, are real scientific instruments for studying the real heavens – even when
they are public observatories used primarily for education. Planetariums do not “count” for this
assignment. If you go to a planetarium show while visiting an observatory, then enjoy
the show – but do not use the planetarium to fulfill this assignment.
What if the observatory holds a program and you go,
but the weather turns bad? The criteria
for this assignment will be this -- Did you get to go in the observatory and
at least see and get a tour of the instruments (and a photo of you at a
telescope), even if cloudy weather kept you from seeing through them? If "yes", then the assignment
“counts”. You will be able to complete
the assignment. Ask someone at the
observatory if they will take a photo of you with one of the telescopes. If “no” then you will have to make another
trip to complete the assignment. Keep in
mind, though, that observatories are usually happy to have interested
visitors. If you get there
and the weather has turned bad and they are going to cancel the program
and close up shop, ask for a tour and
a chance to see the telescopes! They
might open it up just for you.
What
to do at the observatory
Take a
notebook with you.
Record your
name, the date, the time, and the name and location of
the observatory you are visiting.
If the weather
is clear, ask the astronomer at the observatory about each object that you
observe through the telescope. If there
is a large group there, the astronomer may give the whole group a brief
description of what you are viewing.
Whether you get the information one-on-one or in a group, take
notes. Ask what things mean. If the astronomer says, for example, that you
are observing “the globular cluster "Messier-13", and you have not
covered globular clusters or Messier objects in your class, ask
what a globular cluster is and ask what "Messier-13" is. If you have studied globular clusters, then
ask the astronomer some specific questions about them. Again, take notes on what you learn.
If the
weather is not clear, and you are just getting a tour of the observatory, ask
the astronomer at the observatory about the instruments. Again, if there is a large group there, the
astronomer may give the whole group a description. Whether you get the information one-on-one or
in a group, take notes. Ask what things
mean. If the astronomer says, for
example, that the telescope is an 8-inch Clark Refractor, and you have not
covered telescopes in your class, ask what a Clark Refractor is, and why
it is an "8-inch". Again, take notes on what you learn.
Get someone
to take a photo of you at one of the telescopes. Ask permission first before you take photos. Flash photos, especially in dark locations,
can be disruptive and uncomfortable, and can possibly damage light-sensitive
equipment. Occasionally an observatory
will report to me that my students had been there -- these reports are almost always positive.
But, on rare occasions there have been complaints about students who are
rude in their use of flash cameras. In
such cases I will give no credit for the assignment.
Your
paper
At the top of the paper put your name, the date,
the date and time you visited the observatory, and the name and location of the
observatory.
Write a
short paper (500-word minimum) paper discussing what you saw at the observatory
and what you learned from your visit.
The paper must be typed/word-processed and must have correct grammar,
spelling, etc.
Attach the
photo of you at the telescope to your paper. The paper will not be accepted without a
clear photo of you at the telescope.
[Note – this
handout is over 1300 words.]
What to turn in:
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Your paper
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Your photo
A few final notes
Students sometimes
ask “Can I take family along to the observatory?” or “Can we get a group of
classmates together and go as a group?”
Certainly! This is an independent field trip project and you
are free to organize it however you see fit, so long as you fulfill what is
asked for in the assignment. Note that
if you go with a group of other students you are responsible for taking your
own notes and writing your own unique paper.
If a picture is taken with four of you in front of a telescope, make
sure each person gets a copy of the photo to turn in with their paper.
This
assignment is intended to be enjoyable and interesting. Observatories are cool places. I hope your trip is fun.