Wednesday, 3/16/05
Though we last reported a night lost to storms, at around 11:30 p.m. on March 15 it cleared up and we spent the night imaging on the internet telescope. We could only take black-and-white images, but we still took a large number of pictures. It was fun sitting in a chair in a nice, warm building while operating a telescope.

Today we woke up around 11:00 and at 12:30 we left to visit an observatory at Apache Point. It was an hour's drive and during the drive we saw some magnificent views of the mountains.

At Apache Point we looked at two massive telescopes. One had a 2.5-meter mirror and the other had a 3.5-meter mirror (diameters). The 2.5 m telescope was being used in a project to map the universe in three dimensions. Using normal imaging and spectroscopy the project is planned to finish this summer. They will then move on to looking for planets outside our solar system. The 3.5 m telescope was built by a variety of universities who divide up its time. Soon it will use a laser to measure the distance between the earth and the moon over a period of seven years. From this, they will derive more information on gravity, which will lead to insights into cosmological theory. Both these telescopes use CCD cameras which are very sensitive to heat. The astronomers use liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of about -200 degrees Celsius, to cool their cameras.

After Apache Point we processed images we took on an internet telescope last night. Then around 6:00 Kenny cooked hamburgers and fries for us, which were both very good.

We then learned how to use the imaging telescopes. It is a very complex procedure because these objects are dim and so the exposure has to be long. During this time the Earth rotates, making the object appear to move. So these telescopes use a guide star to move the telescope against the Earth's rotation. Hans and Ella were the first at these new telescopes, and they both had problems with the complex controls.

Tonight it is cold so all four kids are imaging using inside computers. Mrs. Gehret and Mr. Coberly are outside using the 25-inch telescope that we used on Sunday night. Well the night is young and there is much imaging to be done.

-Nick