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We will experience first-hand what it is like to be an astronomer: observe the night sky in a mountain location where the dark skies allow much better seeing than in Chicago; use the latest imaging telescope technology; view distant galaxies and nebulae; visit national observatories and talk with research astronomers about their work.
Our quest for clear, dark skies takes us 9,000 feet up to the New Mexico mountains to spend 7 days and 6 nights at the New Mexico Skies Amateur Astronomy Guest Observatory in Cloudcroft. At this observatory students learn to successfully use a variety of astronomical equipment to find, observe, and image the moon, planets, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. We will use Dobsonian telescopes, Newtonian and Cassegrain focus reflectors, and refracting telescopes. Students will take pictures of astronomical objects using photographic and electronic (CCD-charge coupled device) cameras.
During the day we will take several trips to nearby professional observatories and local points of interest.
Sunday, 3/13/05 photos below
At 11:15 a.m., we set out on our flight to El Paso from O'Hare International Airport. There were four of us and two teachers, Ms. Gehret and Mr. Coberly. The flight itself was uneventful, and some of us watched "Return of the King" on Nick's laptop. Also, Ms. Gehret pointed out some geological formations called alluvial fans, which we could not see due to clouds and interest in the movie.
We landed in El Paso, Texas, around 1:00 p.m., and we ate lunch. Finally, we rented a van and, with some difficulty, piled ourselves and our luggage into the van.
The trip from El Paso to New Mexico was fairly entertaining. As we entered New Mexico, we saw a tumbleweed. Several minutes later, we hit one as it rolled across the road, causing a crunching noise. Also, outside a convenience store, we saw a truck mounted with massive fake Hershey's Kisses.
We made the mandatory stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint where the officer asked if we were all U.S. citizens. He was quite amused to find that we had a Finnish citizen among us; I don't imagine he gets to see many passports from Finland in his job.
Ms. Gehret pointed out the alluvial fans, or sloping formations extending from the nearby mountains. She also emphasized the layers of sediment visible on cliff sides and the channels sloping down to the basin. We purchased groceries and unpacked in our lodge.
After a quick dinner, we went to a library, meeting with some other astronomers. Our observations were delayed by clouds, so we watched an alpha (not even beta) version of a program developed by NASA and other groups, which simulated the night sky, earth, and space. It was faulty, but still cool.
Later, around 9:30 p.m., we observed the sky. It turned bitterly cold. We used a large telescope with a 25" mirror to observe. It had a useful tool: Sky Commander, which allowed us to plug in the catalog number of an object and it would tell us how to move the telescope.
We started with observing the various constellations with the naked eye. Jupiter in Virgo and Saturn near Gemini were clearly visible. Next we observed the planets with the large telescope, observing their rings and moons. Occasionally, we took breaks due to cold and exhaustion. Finally, we observed various galaxies, star clusters, and constellations, seeing a massive spiral galaxy and another case of one galaxy sucking matter from another.
The night has been fascinating, but I am tired as I write this at 1:30 a.m. And we still have a lot more observing to do tonight.
We're sleeping in tomorrow.
--Kenny
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